Luca Toni has claimed that Pep Guardiola “ruined football” and his career with the “false nine” approach which he has employed at different points in his coaching career.
Guardiola shared a nice dinner with former Italy forwards Roberto Baggio and Toni during his recent visit to Italy during the October 2024 international break.
During his dinner with the aforementioned pair, Luca Toni cheekily expressed that he couldn’t find a club for four years because of Pep Guardiola.
The Hearty Conversation Between Luca Toni And Pep Guardiola
Toni posted a lovely clip on his Instagram account where he was able to make Guardiola break down in laughter with a back-and-forth on forwards.
The 47-year-old said: “Pep, you ruined football. With the false nine, I couldn’t find a team for four years. Seriously. Can you say that you only used the false nine with Messi? Do you even like [classic] center forwards?”
Pep Guardiola, who was laughing as Luca Toni made those comments, reverted by claiming that he now enjoys the services of Norwegian forward Erling Haaland.
He said: “I have it, [Erling] Haaland, 60 goals. We won the treble with that striker, but the center-forwards must be good! Understand?”
Toni agreed with the assertion of the former Barcelona boss and pointed out that “Big center-forwards are better.”
Possibly, Luca Toni has taken this stance because he was a big and bulky center-forward during his playing career.
What Is The “False 9” Strategy?
It seemed at some point like the false 9 approach would make the traditional striker roles extinct, as many managers opted against utilizing this strategy, which typically involved arrowheads staying higher up the pitch and leading the attacking line.
The False 9 basically operates as a deep-lying forward, dropping into midfield to create numerical superiority and overload the opposition’s midfield.
An Example Of A Game Where Pep Guardiola Deployed The “False 9” Strategy
During the 2008/09 season, Guardiola decided to utilize Lionel Messi in a “false nine” position, with Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o playing from the flanks.
The approach yielded the right result, as Barcelona went on to annihilate their arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu by 6-2 in May 2009.
Pep Guardiola’s Current Tactical Approach
It appears the Spanish tactician has reverted to the traditional style, opting to utilize an arrowhead to lead his attacking department.
He occasionally makes use of the “false 9” strategy, but his distinct style currently is playing with the traditional number 9s, particularly when you have a striker as phenomenal as Erling Haaland; you obviously would be forced to stick to this.
Luca Toni
Luca Toni, who was born on May 26, 1977, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered to be one of the best strikers from Italy to have played the round leather game.
Toni played for several clubs in his career, including Fiorentina, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Genoa, Empoli, Verona, and Vicenza.
He made 648 club career appearances, scoring 301 goals and providing 85 assists across all competitions.
Internationally, Luca Toni made 47 appearances for Italy, scoring 16 goals and providing 2 assists.
Toni won several trophies in his career, including 1 FIFA World Cup, 1 Serie A, and 2 Bundesliga titles.
Roberto Baggio
He is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions.
Roberto Baggio, who was born on February 18, 1967, played for many top teams in his career, including Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Bologna.
Baggio made 605 club career appearances, scoring 278 goals and providing 153 assists across all competitions.
Internationally, Roberto Baggio made 56 appearances for Italy, scoring 27 goals and providing 14 assists.
