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false number 9

noun

Etymology

From the traditional use of the number 9 for centre-forwards, and the difference from a traditional centre-forward, who would stay near the line of defenders until an opportunity arose to move past them toward goal.

Definitions

  1. An unconventional lone striker or centre-forward who drops deep into midfield.

    • not in his favoured midfield role, either but as a false No 9: the sort of role Guardiola only hands to his chosen, crystalline few: Mario Götze at Bayern Munich (less successfully), Lionel Messi at Barcelona (a little more so).

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for false number 9. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA