The "False 9" Messi

May 1st, 2009, the day before El Clásico. Pep Guardiola explained to Messi something that would later prove to revolutionize football. He explained to him the false 9 position and wanted him to play it against Real Madrid. The rest, as they say, is history. Today's topic will be about that, so without further ado, let's get into it.

The day after that meet-up with Pep, Messi dropped a masterclass against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, assisting the first goal, scoring the third and fifth goals, and pre-assisting the sixth goal. His new position in the game definitely made an impact on the pitch as Barcelona thrashed Real 6-2 on their own ground.

He won the Ballon d'Or that same year, and the false 9 position seemed to accustom him greatly since he was the best player in the 2009/10 season as well, scoring 47 goals (winning the Golden Boot as well) and giving 11 assists in 53 games with Barcelona, and winning yet another Ballon d'Or later on. In the 2010/11 season, he was once again the best player in the world, with astounding performances both in La Liga and the Champions League, which meant yet another Ballon d'Or rolling in for him, scoring 53 goals and giving 23 assists in 55 games with Barcelona.

In the 2011/12 season, we would see perhaps the best version of Messi, racking up to 73 goals (winning the Golden Boot once again) and 29 assists for a total of 102 goals generated in the season with Barcelona. This won him the Ballon d'Or, obviously. In the 2012/13 season, he was in his most clinical form ever, but injuries did cause some problems for him. Nevertheless, he got 60 goals (winning yet another Golden Boot) and 15 assists in 50 games. In his final season as a false 9, the 2013/14 season, he got 41 goals and 14 assists in 46 games. After that, MSN was consolidated and Suárez moved into the central position, pushing Messi to be a right-winger once again like he was under Rijkaard. Although he did play from time to time as a false 9, using Suárez as a reference point, he was mainly a right-winger or an attacking midfielder from that point on.

Overall, his role as a false 9 was to cause a lot of tactical problems to the opposing team, leaving them in a no-win situation. If he was pressed by a defensive midfielder, it would free up space for Xavi and Iniesta to put the ball forward. If a centreback pressed him, then that would leave a flank open to exploit, and if he wasn't pressed, then he could just run havoc with his skillset.

As we can see, Messi's performance while being a false 9 was spectacular for the most part, and due to his tactical importance, goals and assists don't do justice to just how vital he was for Barcelona in that period.