Everyone on a football team is encouraged to score goals. However (in theory), no one does it better than a select breed of players. We call them strikers, forwards, or attackers. Call them what you want, I guess. The point is that their teams rely on them to finish attacking moves.
Nowadays many teams line up with number 9s, inside forwards or both as their main attacking option, but what’s the difference between the two?
In summary, a true number 9 (otherwise known as a striker) is typically the team’s focal point in attack. They are the player that teams will look to feed the ball in the box so they can finish off attacking plays. There are several variants of number 9s, but all number 9s typically start in the same central position. Inside forwards can also be a main goal threat for their team. However, an inside forward typically starts slightly behind a number 9s position and either stays central of drift inside from the wing position.
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What is a number 9?
A number 9, otherwise known as a striker, is simply the term used to describe the most advanced player on a football pitch. In the early days of what we call modern football, the most advanced player was referred to as a centre forward. Back in those days, teams would line up with 5 attacking players in a 2-3-5 formation, as shown below.
It was only once position numbers were introduced to the game in 1933 that this player would become known as the number 9.
As you can imagine, major defensive reform was required after the realisation that having 5 attacking players may not be ideal. Despite this, the role of the number 9 has maintained relevancy in just about every formation and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
In most cases, the number 9 is the designated goal scorer in a football team. However, the manner in which they score goals is not always identical. No two football players are the same. As a result of this, number 9s are typically differentiated based on their playing style and their unique characteristics.
What are the different types of number 9s?
Centre Forward
A traditional centre forward (CF) is a number 9 variant that usually has a prominent physical presence. They are built to go toe to toe with centre backs and protect the ball high up the pitch so their teammates can join the attack. An efficient CF is also a great goal scorer and will use their physicality and technique to fashion goal scoring opportunities.
Further characteristics that are present in a good CF are great short passing and jumping capabilities.
Good Example: Didier Drogba
Embed from Getty ImagesA great recent example of a traditional centre forward is Didier Drogba. Mostly known for his time playing for Chelsea, Drogba was an incredible footballer.
While at Chelsea, he would provide his team with a safe passing outlet when the defence came under pressure. He would hold up the ball and allow players such as Frank Lampard and Joe Cole to shine.
Much has been said about his goal scoring ability, with many feelings as though he did not score enough of them. However, with 104 goals in 253 games for Chelsea, he certainly held his own. And of course, one of those goals was a late equalizer in a Champions league final that Chelsea eventually went on to win. Clutch.
Other Examples
Further Examples of Centre Forwards include Gonzalo Higuain, Mario Mandzukic, Alan Shearer and Artem Dzubya.
Poacher
Likened to the infamous real-world poachers that I’m sure we’re all aware of, poachers (in a footballing sense) are the ultimate opportunists.
These number 9 variants are the embodiment of ‘right place at the right time’. A poacher’s sole mandate is to score goals. Nothing more, nothing less. They do so by reading the game and anticipating rebounds and deflections in the opposition’s penalty area.
Poachers are often criticized because they seemingly lack some of the more technical skills that we normally attribute to footballers. They are not particularly great passers of the ball or have notable strength or ball carrying ability.
These players also tend to have very few touches of the ball during the match. In fact, they specialise in only needing to touch the ball once; with those touches often resulting in goals. What they lack in technical and physical abilities, they more than make up for with their footballing knowledge.
An effective poacher has extremely high positional awareness, agility and reaction time. They don’t really need much else. These attributes allow them firstly to anticipate where the ball will go, and secondly, to position themselves to strike at the right time.
As such, poachers are rarely involved in the build up play of attacks and prefer to latch on to crosses and loose balls.
Good Example: Filippo Inzaghi
Embed from Getty ImagesPerhaps the ultimate poacher in recent history is Filippo Inzaghi. The Italian is one of the finest goal scorers to bless the sport.
He had the ability to position himself in the best situations and frequently beat the offsides trap when making attacking runs. In addition to this, he is also regarded as the most offsides player in history. He was even dubbed as the man who was “born offsides”, by Sir Alex Ferguson.
I struggled to find exact statistics on his offsides record, so I guess you’re going to have to take my word on this one.
Having played for several Italian teams, he is best known for his time with AC Milan. It was there that he won 2 champions league titles and two Serie A titles. He was also a member of the Italian national team that won the world cup in 2006. However, with the abundant attacking talent in the squad, he only made one appearance in the whole tournament.
Other Examples
Further examples of poachers include Javier Hernandez, Miroslav Klose and Bas Dost.
Target man
A target man, funnily enough, is exactly what you might think he is. A player that teammates will naturally look to pass to in any given situation in the opposition’s half.
The job of the target man is to stay close to the oppositions centre backs and outmuscle them to win the ball when it is passed to them. After doing so, they will quickly offload the ball to their more creative teammates.
This type of number 9 is usually preferred by teams that are used to not having much possession. This is because these teams will more than likely be clearing the ball out of their own box frequently throughout a match.
When they do so, they need a big strong player to hold the ball up and keep possession, so that the opposition does not start another attack.
Don’t get me wrong, target men are also used by teams that exhibit high amounts of possession. However, in these set ups, they are mostly used to win headers, outmuscle defenders in the box and score goals.
As such, an effective target man is a strong, tall (above 6 feet) player that has great positional awareness and heading ability.
The target man and the centre forward share many of the same characteristics. However, the differences between the two is that the target man is not always the main goal source in the team. They are also not expected to be as good at passing the ball.
In addition, they usually play with their back to the oppositions goal. As such, the bulk of their job involves being a physical presence that retains possession. A target, if you will.
Good example: Olivier Giroud
Embed from Getty ImagesA good example of a target man is Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman has been used primarily as a target man in just about every team he has played for. Mostly known for his playing time with Arsenal and Chelsea at club level, he would use his height and physicality to bully premier league defenders.
With a goal record of 86 goals in 230 matches in the English Premier League (EPL), he has never been a prolific goal scorer. However, that has never been his primary mandate, so I doubt that he’s upset about that.
Even further to that, he was the starting striker for the France national team in the 2018 world cup. This French team went on to win the whole tournament and scored 14 goals (the second highest). Olivier Giroud scored none of them- however, he was highly effective at the job he was given, nonetheless.
Other Examples
Additional examples of target men include Cristian Benteke, Peter Crouch and Aritz Aduriz
Finisher
No word better describes these types of 9s as ‘lethal’. These players are the epitome of the phrase ‘goal scoring threat’. It’s no wonder that they’re described as ‘danger men’. Okay, I’ll stop now.
In all seriousness, finishers are the types of forwards that do just that; finish. Rest assured that when a team puts together a fluid attacking movement and delivers a ball into the box; a goal is the most likely result.
The difference between a finisher and the 9s mentioned before is that finishers specialized in all forms of finishing.
This means that they are great at poaching, scoring with their back to goal, scoring long and short-range goals, headers, etc. All that they require is decent service into the box or well weighted passes into their feet in the final third.
Therefore, a quality that a good finisher must have is great ball striking ability-the ability to hit the ball cleanly and generate enough power to take it passed the goalkeeper. In addition, they must have a great first touch to set up scoring chances and quick feet create space to take a shot.
Good example: Robert Lewandowski
Embed from Getty ImagesArguably the best pure finisher in the 21st century, Robert Lewandowski is an exceptional talent. He is most well known for playing in Germany, for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Although this may be slightly revisionist, I can’t seem to think of a time in his playing career that he has suffered from a long dip in performance. Really goes to show that class is permanent, but form is temporary.
Lewandowski is a tall, strong striker with immense technical ability. I, for one, felt a huge wave of relief when he finally picked up a champions league trophy with Bayern Munich in 2020.
However, this was not surprising. He ended the 2019/20 season with 65 combined goals and assists in 47 games (55 goals and 10 assists). Yes, you read that right.
Other examples
Additional examples of finishers include Zlatan Ibrahimović, Sergio Aguero and Robin van Persie.
Playmaker
A playmaking number 9 is a striker that has a knack for dropping deep and creating goal scoring opportunities for others, all while scoring goals themselves. This is the type of player that absolutely cannot live without the ball at their feet. As such, they go searching for it, asking to receive passes wherever they possibly can.
These players have incredible finishing ability and are no strangers to benefitting off the playmaking abilities of their teammates. In addition, playmaking number 9s possess a great first touch, dribbling ability and a wide passing range.
These players are not necessarily the most physically dominant players, as they rely on their agility and dribbling ability to progress the ball, rather than brute strength.
The playmaking number 9 may sometimes find themselves dropping as far back as the midfield to start building up attacks. In that respect, they are similar to an advanced playmaker.
However, the main difference between the two is that a playmaking number 9 is still a number 9. They are still focused primarily on scoring the goals, as opposed to creating them.
Good Example: Thierry Henry
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of the best examples of a playmaking number 9 is Thierry Henry. The Frenchmen terrorized just about every premier league defender during his time at Arsenal.
He also saw success at Barcelona, winning two league titles, as well as a champions league trophy in three years. But he was undoubtedly the star of the show during his time in London.
He would glide through defences with trademark long runs and either score himself or hand the ball to his team mates on a silver platter.
The best example of Henry at the peak of his powers came in the 2002/03 season of the EPL. Henry scored 24 goals and made 20 assists this season and became the only player in history to score 20 goals and assist 20 goals in a single season in Europe’s top five leagues.
The only other player that has done this ever since is Lionel Messi in the 2019/20 La Liga season- he scored 25 goals and made 21 assists.
Other Examples
The only other player I could think of that has played as a number 9 and exhibited playmaking attributes is Lionel Messi. Tough group to break into, clearly.
Complete forward
These players are the best of the best. A complete forward is capable of doing absolutely everything from an offensive perspective. It may be rather simplistic, but imagine a player that has all the positive characteristics from the above number 9 variants, and then some.
This is a complete forward. As such, a complete forward has:
- The scoring ability of a finisher. However, they often create their own opportunities and do not always need support.
- The strength of a centre forward, with increased passing range and technical ability.
- The heading ability of a target man.
- The positional awareness and reaction time of a poacher.
And to top it all off, they possess blistering pace.
As a result of the incredible skill that these players have, they usually have the ability to play in just about any position in the final third. There are not many true complete forwards in the history of football. These players truly are generational talents.
Good example: Ronaldo Nezario
Embed from Getty ImagesAs someone that started watching football when Ronaldo Nezario was at the peak of his powers, I admit that I have a soft spot for him. But don’t get me wrong; there is a very good reason for that.
Ronaldo was a star as soon as he entered world football. Nicknamed ‘El Fenomeno’ (The phenomenon), Ronaldo was breaking records and making the game look easy, as a teenager. During the first 4 years of his senior career, he scored 88 goals in 97 games, across 3 different clubs.
However, it was not just about the numbers. It was the fashion that he was scoring goals in that caught everyone’s attention. R9 would often dribble passed entire defences, outmuscling every defender in his way, before slotting the ball in the bottom corner.
He would constantly win headers, despite being smaller than most defenders. And it goes without saying that he possessed extreme pace and great passing ability.
Unfortunately, he suffered several injuries during his career, which shortened the time that we could witness him in his prime.
However, a true testament to his natural ability is the fact that he won the Balon d’or, suffered a 4-year injury, and came back to win the Balon d’or immediately after recovering. The world is patiently waiting for the next R9 to introduce himself or herself.
Other examples
Further examples of complete forwards include Adriano, Cristiano Ronaldo (post 2016) and Luis Suarez.
Number 9 in modern football
Most, if not all of the above forms of strikers can be seen today, as they all have a distinct part to play in the modern game. After all, the aim of the game is to score more than the opposition. As you can imagine, the type of number 9 that a player becomes is based on their own personal characteristics.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that many players exhibit characteristics that could put them in several number 9 categories. Players do not necessarily have to fit only one of the above categories. In fact, many of the players I’ve noted as ‘good examples’ may well fit comfortable in other groups.
What is an Inside forward?
Similar to the centre forward, the inside forward is a position that dates back to the humble beginnings of modern football. As shown in the first image (235 formation), this player is essentially a wide centre forward that sits slightly behind the central centre forward.
Traditionally, their main role is to support the attack. They were not the main goal scorers, but instead will look to assist the centre forward and deliver goals when called upon.
There have been several changes to the way the game is played since the inception of inside forwards. As such, these players have adapted and manifested in different forms in the modern game.
What are the different types of inside forwards?
Single inside forward/second striker
Also known as a second striker, the single inside forward is a player that plays primarily to support a more traditional number 9. They sit behind the number 9, but in front of the hole. From here, their job is to use their dribbling skills and technical ability to create chances.
A good way to describe a single inside forward is that their playstyle is somewhere between a playmaking number 9 and an advanced playmaker (attacking midfielder).
In fact Michel Platini even described this type of player as a ‘nine and a half’. This is due to the fact they are often prolific goal scorers but cover too much ground to be deemed to be a true number 9.
Additionally, in most cases, the sole inside forward will not be the most advanced attacker on the pitch.
A sole inside forward must thus be highly creative and have a wide passing range. Because they operate in a, more or less, free role, they must have high positional awareness and the ability to find pockets of space.
Sole inside forwards are most commonly seen in two striker formation. It is in this set up, that a team can get the best out of them. But more on that later.
Good Example: Dennis Bergkamp
Embed from Getty ImagesDennis Bergkamp was a great single inside forward. Known mostly for his time at Arsenal, Bergkamp was sublime player in the attacking third.
Although I believe Bergkamp to be a great example of an inside forward, he is admittedly one of the hardest players to classify positionally. He played in all areas of the attack from striker to winger to attacking midfielder. However, it was in the inside forward position that I believe he saw the most success.
While at Arsenal, Bergkamp formed several successful striking partnerships, notably with Thierry Henry, Ian Wright and Nicolas Anelka.
In these partnerships, he would drop off into the midfield frequently and advance the ball in support of the more advanced number 9. He possessed crazy ball control and pulled off moves that I have yet to see replicated to this day.
Other Examples
Additional examples of sole inside forwards include Thomas Mueller and Allessandro Del Piero
Paired inside forwards
A tactic that has made somewhat of a revival in modern football is one that utilizes two inside forwards. The idea behind this system is to use two players that technically start off in wide positions and drift infield to score goals.
On the team sheet, these players may be classified as wingers. But in reality, they are more like ‘wide strikers’.
Paired inside forwards are players that have a natural tendency to constantly switch between playing in wide and central areas in the opposition’s half. As a result, this position lends itself well to players that started their careers off as wingers.
The main difference between a winger and an inside forward is simply that of goals. Inside forwards in paired systems are usually the main attacking threats in a team. Whereas traditional wingers are tasked with supporting the attack by providing crosses from wide areas
As such, inside forwards are usually fast, agile players that have great dribbling and finishing ability.
Systems that used paired inside forwards typically play with a front 3. The central attacker may be positioned as a number 9, but their main goal is often to distract the central defenders and create space for the inside forwards to attack.
In that respect, the central attacker may be a target man, centre forward or even an attacking midfielder in systems that use a false 9.
This is not always the case, though. In some cases, the inside forward pair will be joined by a prolific goal scorer. However, this is rare.
After all, the main purpose for using paired inside forwards is to take advantage of the strengths of two prolific goal scoring wide players.
Good Example: Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah
Embed from Getty ImagesA great example of a paired inside forward partnership is that of Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah. At Liverpool, these two are nothing but trouble for opposition defences.
As they have both been converted from being wingers, they possess extreme pace, athleticism and ruthless scoring ability. In fact, they were both joint top scorers in the 2018/19 EPL season with 22 goals each.
Although they start off as wingers in the team sheet, they regularly drift infield to collect the ball in dangerous areas. They even switch positions routinely to confuse the opposition.
Roberto Firmino, who wears the number 9 shirt, functions primarily to support the two in their attacking efforts.
Other Examples
Additional examples of inside forward duos include the following:
- Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery (Robbery) at Bayern Munich.
- Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.
- Lionel Messi and Pedro at Barcelona.
What is the difference between a number 9 and an inside forward?
The main difference between the two is directness. When comparing sole inside forwards and number 9s, number 9s are the more goal scoring oriented of the two. Thus, they play in a slightly more advanced position.
However, in the case of paired inside forwards and a number 9, the directness is somewhat similar. The difference here is the number 9s play centrally, whereas paired inside forwards play in slightly wider positions.
What are two striker formations?
Not too long ago, almost all football teams would line up with two designated strikers. Often, these two striker partnerships featured a number 9 and an inside forward. Working together, these players were the main goal scoring threat, with the rest of the team supporting them.
In fact, the best two striker partnerships include two players that could interchange between the inside forward role and the number 9 seamlessly.
When each player is given a designated role, it becomes easy for the oppositions defence to anticipate their movements. When the players switch roles freely, it creates an organised chaos.
Some teams do still play with two strikers, but it is quite rare to find a top team that does so frequently.
Due to the defensive requirements of the modern game, most teams tend to line up with one designated striker. The extra man is then be slotted into the midfield to keep possession, win midfield battles and offer extra insurance against counter attacks.
With that being said, formations and popular systems tend to come and go. All it will take is one creative manager or an exceptionally talented player to tip the odds in favour of two striker formations once more.
Good Example: Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke
Embed from Getty ImagesAndy Cole and Dwight Yorke are the golden standard when it comes to striker partnerships, in my opinion. These two had unreal chemistry and played a large part in the success of Manchester United’s treble winning season- the club’s most successful season ever (1999).
In attack, Cole and Yorke would frequently switch from being the main goal scorer to being the main creative player. They would constantly play inch perfect give and go passes to one another that left teams in utter confusion.
An appropriate example of the chemistry between the two is evident in this goal, scored in the 98/99 champions league group stages against Barcelona.
Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole vs Barcelona, 1998. #Greatest90sGoals pic.twitter.com/0wGm6H8h5J
— 90s Football (@90sfootball) January 14, 2020
Other Examples
Further examples of notable two striker partnerships include the following:
- Edison Cavani and Luis Suarez for Uruguay.
- Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp for Arsenal.
- Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand for Newcastle.
Closing thoughts
Being an efficient designated goal scorer is incredibly complex and can prove to be a puzzle for even the best of players. But just like any puzzle, there are many ways to go about completing the task at hand.
Goal scorers come in all shapes and sizes. It’s up to the player and their coach to get the best out of them based on their unique characteristics.
For more detailed descriptions of player roles and positions, be sure to check out the articles below: