Meanings
plural false number 9s
- ball gamesAn unconventional lone striker or centre-forward who drops deep into midfield.
not in his favoured midfield role, either but as a false No 9: the sort of role Guardiola only hands to his chosen, crystalline few: Mario Götze at Bayern Munich (less successfully), Lionel Messi at Barcelona (a little more so).
2020 August 7, Jonathan Liew, “Phil Foden stars to offer Manchester City glimpse of multiple futures”, in The GuardianSynonyms: false 9
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn unconventional lone striker or centre-forward who drops deep into midfield.
Origin
From the traditional use of the number 9 for centre-forwards, and the difference from a traditional centre-forward, who would stay near the line of defenders until an opportunity arose to move past them toward goal.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French faux 9
- faux 9Translations
Spanish falso 9
- falso 9Translations
Cite this entry
false number 9. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20number%209
“false number 9.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20number%209. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “false number 9,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20number%209.
Source: false number 9 on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.