Erling Haaland is sparking a renaissance for No 9s
As the feeling grows that Manchester City might finally win the Champions League this season, their quarter-final might also have shown how Champions League are going to be won in the future.
It was difficult to think of a modern game in the competition so defined by number-nines. That isn’t just down to the obvious quality of Erling Haaland, but also the lack of such a forward at the other end. Bayern Munich had clearly made a space for such a player and performed like that, to the extent that they kept brilliantly working the ball to the edge of the City area only to not know what they wanted to do with it. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has performed creditably for the German champions but the demands get greater the higher you go. He looks a compromise choice, as was the case with so many of Bayern’s attacking decisions on the night.
No such compromises necessary for Guardiola. He had Haaland.
The manner in which this stood out is all the more surprising given that the game was managed by two figures who would usually need nines less than any other. Both Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel are arguably the most innovative and creative tactical coaches in the game, and both have actually won this competition without proper number-nines.
It reflects how this tie might point to a future shift, if one that harks back to the post.
We might be at least seeing the beginnings of the return of the centre-forward.
It is well known Bayern thought they might have Haaland, and they are now actively looking for a top-class forward. There is a growing expectation in Germany they can get Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, and they certainly have the budget.
They aren’t the only major club looking at him, though, in what could be a scramble for the Nigerian. Manchester United are also prioritising a nine and want him. Whoever doesn’t get him will have to look to a limited list of alternatives but one that might finally be growing.
Other prospective options are Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani, Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko, Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund and even Milan’s Rafael Leao.
While the last of those has become hugely admired for his work in another role, it is said by those close to him that his preferred position is centre-forward.
That points to how not all of these players have had the same development, and not all are of similar levels or even attributes.
Haaland is clearly unique, a product of his own physicality and mindset, who stands totally apart. Similar can be said of Kylian Mbappe who can play number-nine as well as almost anyone in history. The emergence of the two next best players in the world coming in that position, though, can help herald cultural change.
The development of this relatively disparate group of forwards will only further it, as a number of youth academies now give deep consideration about how to coach number-nines. There is increasing investigation into how to hone highly instinctive abilities, going against the homogenous production of midfielders and creators.
Much of the latter has been defined and influenced by Guardiola, so it would bring things full circle if he was also to herald a grand switch back. This is what Haaland can do. This was why they signed him.
As one figure close to the club set-up said, City would probably be no worse in the league without Haaland, but he undeniably brings them much closer to the Champions League. That similarly isn’t just down to the goals, even though they give Guardiola those singular key moments that can suddenly decide ties – bursts of pure execution amid so much build-up. He also smoothes Guardiola’s thinking. By having to put Haaland in, and make a decision so obvious, there is less scope for the Catalan to over-think things. It’s harder to change shape elsewhere in the team when you have to play Haaland as a focal point.
It might well set – or reset – a trend for the game. The competition still has to be won of course. This juncture tie, however, was disproportionately settled by number-nines. Next up is an even bigger one between Haaland against Karim Benzema.
Real Madrid are already looking to a successor to the French forward. This, in so many ways, is the future.
