THE EVOLUTION OF FOOTBALL POSITIONS: STRIKER
Football is ever evolving. Whether it is a change in preferred formation or style of play or roles of players; managers are always tinkering. Always trying to find a way to create advantages for their team and in turn, cause problems for the opposition. A "ball playing defender" was unheard of in the past. A defenders job was simple. Stop the opposition from scoring, and when you recover possession, kick the ball as far and high as possible to the vicinity of your striker. What that meant was, your striker had to be built a certain way in order to win ariel duels as well as hold off defenders and bring others into play. All these are still expected of a striker now but, they are no longer "must-have" traits.
Football has changed from getting the ball from your half to the opposition goal as quickly and direct as possible, into various systems and philosophies which preach one thing. Dominate possession. Whether it is Gengen press or tiki-taka, the idea is the same. Keep the ball more than your opposition. That means every member of the team was to contribute to winning the ball back and sustaining offensive pressure on the opposition. As this idea started to take shape, managers began to look for different profile of players in various positions. This piece pays attention to the striker.
The modern day striker is the first line of defence. In that regard, he or she is expected to pressure the defenders or goalkeeper when they have the ball or shut out central passing options, forcing the opposition to play the ball wide, thus shrinking the field and making it easier for the team to press the ball effectively. Strikers are no longer expected to stand around during defensive situations. Their positioning and effort in those cases play a big part in how effectively and quickly a team can recover the ball.
In possession, modern day strikers have a variety of roles. During the build up phase some strikers are expected to stay far up and try to dictate the defensive line of the opposition. Keeping the center backs honest and creating space underneath for the midfield players to build up and progress play into the next phase. In some systems, the striker is a lot more involved in possession. They are tasked with moving around and overloading either midfield or wide areas not just in a bid to sustain possession but to lure defenders out and create space in behind for midfield runners or wingers.
In the attacking phase, your strikers are still expected to score. Which means constantly making runs in behind, knowing when to gamble to the far or near post, reading rebounds properly, timing your jumps and being physical with the defenders. Just like old times. Point is, while the modern day striker is a more refined all round player, the ultimate goal is a goal (pun intended)
In conclusion, right now, strikers are more involved in every phase of the game. They are expected to do a job for you defensively, they are expected to be involved in possession which helps open up opportunities for others and they still bear the ultimate burden of winning football games, by scoring goals. And maybe years from now, football will evolve to the point where everyone is expected to control and pass the ball only with their head. Meaning the opposition teams can't tackle you and maybe then, a 6'8 striker with the heading power of a thousand men will become the standard. But for now, this is where we are with strikers.