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Where are the English No.10s?

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Mesut Ozil ArsenalFootball has never been a sport of rapid evolution. In fact we embrace the proud tradition of the sport, even when it happens to hinder the sport’s progress, such as the fervent opposition to goal line technology that we witnessed for years prior to its introduction.

Every now and then though, something comes along and provides some much needed refreshment for a generation of familiarity. For mine, it was Barcelona’s development of ‘tika-taka’ football. Born by Johan Cruyff, honed by Pep Guardiola, this new pass and move philosophy saw both Barcelona and the Spanish national team into a new era of unforeseen dominance. As its success grew our conceptions of how football could, and should be played, were transformed.

The fixation now is replicating it, with managers such as Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez adamant in their adoption of the Spanish system and the success it will bring, though none have quite captured its brilliance or fluidity, regardless of the huge difference in resources. Yet although many have failed tactically, the legacy of ‘tika-taka’ and its growing influence in world football, can now be found in almost every top side.

‘Tika-taka’ effectively gave birth to a new type of player, or at least saw his rise to prominence. That is the advanced playmaker, the trequartista, the No. 10. With the rise of possession football came the decline of the standard 4-4-2, as no longer do the top mangers look to a powerful striking partnership to overwhelm a defence; they look to their creative star between the lines to unlock the door. Of course this is hardly detrimental to the standard of the Premier League, which currently boasts some of the greatest No.10’s in the game. However there is a greater issue here, which is simply this; why has our country failed to produce a single one?

The closest we have is Wayne Rooney, who is often deployed behind striking partner Robin van Persie, dropping off in order to have more influence in the general play. However Rooney is a powerful player who likes to come deep to collect the ball and dictate. A No.10 sits in the hole, finding the space to exploit once he has the ball. Rooney was raised a striker, wants to play as a striker, and deep down is as far from a No. 10 as any.

Rooney is a traditional English footballer. As is Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Jack Wilshire; all inherit the direct structured style that England have adopted for so long. At an early age they were thrown into 11-a-side football and the standard 4-4-2, taught the English way at the schools and academies. The English style is bred in our players, similarly to the Brazilians and Spanish.

Here we come to the major issue. There have been many reasons touted for why the English national side continues to struggle, and this lack of creativity may be worth a thought. It is true that ‘tika-taka’ and the advanced No.10 are far from the English style; after all there is little room for quick paced counterattacks when you’ve always got the ball. But this is the new footballing environment, one which our rival international sides are embracing. Spain have them (countless in all honesty), Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany and even France can all call upon at least one for their international squads, many of whom (Juan Mata, David Silva, Mesut Ozil, Oscar, Phillipe Coutinho, Samir Nasri etc) ply their trade in the Premier League.

England’s failure to produce players of this calibre, to embrace this style similarly, is limiting their ability to compete at the highest level. This is what the FA must realise in their bid to strengthen the international side. The problem is not just the Premier League’s influx of foreign talent, the oil-rich investors or substandard academies. For the England side to progress they must also learn to adapt, from the highest to the lowest level of player development. They must learn to accept that the footballing world has outgrown their style. They need to learn to produce a No. 10.

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