He is one of the attackers whose profile is rare today. And for good reason. Luca Toni, former scorer for Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Juventus among others, criticizes Pep Guardiola for having sacrificed scorers of his caliber by putting in place false number 9s. He directly but affectionately addressed this reproach to him during a dinner in his company and that of Roberto Baggio, Italian legend with whom Guardiola played a season in Brescia (2001-2002). He shared this exchange in a video.
“I spent four years without finding a team!”
“They say he is one of those who changed football, but the ‘false nine’ ruined football,” the 2006 world champion said with a laugh. He also believes he personally has bears the cost. “I spent four years without finding a team!”
Asked about his very relative taste for advanced attackers, Pep Guardiola defended himself by citing the example of Erling Haaland, pure scorer and scoring machine for the Citizens. “I like Haaland, who scores 60 goals per season,” he emphasizes. “Didn’t you see the hat-trick he scored as a center forward? What happens is the center forward has to be good.”
This remark from Pep Guardiola did not discourage Luca Toni who urged Guardiola to abandon the principle of the center forward who stalls too much. “Enough with the ‘false nine’. We want great strikers!” he concluded. Having played for numerous Italian clubs and Bayern Munich (where he won three titles, including a Bundesliga), Luca Toni ended his career in 2016, at the age of 39, after a final stint at Hellas Verona.
Original article published on RMC Sport
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