Football Manager
Copy & Paste Merchant
He plays LCM and LW for Lyon, never played as a 10.
Unclear to me what you think an AM is, but i'd say a player which does very little defending and a lot of attacking is probably more of an AM than anything else.
Houssem Aouar Stats, Goals, Records, Assists, Cups and more | FBref.com
Check out the latest domestic and international stats, match logs, goals, height, weight and more for Houssem Aouar playing for Olympique Lyonnais, Algeria men's national team and AS Roma in the Ligue 1, Coupe de la Ligue and Champions Leaguefbref.com
Traditionally, we had our wide midfielders tucking in to occupy the half space. Pires, Ljungberg, Rosicky, Hleb, Nasri, Arshavin....most of these players have the quality of a number 10. They are creative, good passer, can operate in tight area, and they are skillful on the ball.
So if you talk about the type of players they are, they are more like a 10, but they are being played as wide midfielders. It was because that we have these creative players, creating magic in the half spaces, we were able to create beautiful chances after beautiful chances.
Nowadays, to occupy the half space with creative players, tucking in wide midfielders is only one way to do it. To push up a creative free 8 into the same half space is another way to create the same effect.
HairSpray’s observation of Aouar playing as a LW and LCM is not incorrect. But the space he occupy is the same that a 10 would occupy. As a LW he tucks inside to the half space, as a LCM he pushes up to the half space. And not to forget why he is being played like that, he has the skill set and the playing style of a 10. So dashsnow is not wrong either.
Here are some notes comparing the differences of a modern free 8 and the traditional box to box:
The free 8 role is about having a talented attacking player occupying the half space, in a possession based team. And they are given a job to also run back, to help maintaining the team’s defensive shape, when the team is in the defensive phase. So they run a lot.
A tradition box to box are untalented defensive players (big/hard/strong/good tackler, but not good on the ball, zero football skills), doing defensive work in a defensive counter attack team. And they are given a job to also run up to help the attack, when the team is in the counter attacking phase. So they run a lot.
Both positions run up and down the pitch a lot, they both require good stamina. But the type of player required are completely different.
@HairSprayGooners @dashsnow17
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