Luis Enrique surprised everyone with a series of tactical tweaks in PSG's clash against Nice last month. He pushed left‑back Nuno Mendes up to the left wing, shifted centre‑back Lucas Beraldo into a midfield role, and placed left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as a striker. Those adjustments helped the Parisians secure a 4-0 victory, with Mendes delivering a standout performance in his new position while Nice struggled to cope with the fluidity of their opponent. "We let them play too freely," Nice coach Claude Puel admitted.
When asked whether he would employ more "unexpected solutions" in the upcoming game against Toulouse, Enrique gave a clear answer that also revealed his broader philosophy about modern football. "Absolutely," he said. "My dream is to have twenty players who can operate everywhere.
Nuno Mendes as a full‑back, Nuno Mendes as a winger, Nuno Mendes as a No 9, Nuno Mendes as a midfielder – everyone except the goalkeeper. Imagine the opposition manager seeing that line‑up and thinking, 'He plays everywhere!' It will be hard to achieve, but I will try." In the following Champions League quarter‑finals, PSG reverted to a more traditional shape as Mendes and Kvaratskhelia returned to their natural positions. Yet the matches were still defined by the same positional interchange.
Defenders dropped into midfield, midfielders swapped flanks, and the front three rotated constantly. Ousmane Dembélé, nominally the No 9 in the second leg, drifted across the line, creating space for himself and pulling Liverpool defenders out of shape.
The graphical line‑up showed Kvaratskhelia on his left and Desire Doué on his right, but all three could occupy any spot in the attack, a flexibility reflected in their touch‑map data for the season. Bayern Munich, PSG's semi‑final opponents, employ a similar philosophy inspired by Total Football. Their sporting director Max Eberl explained in February that players such as Harry Kane no longer sit idle in the box, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz do not simply hug the touchline, and Joshua Kimmich alternates between right‑back and defensive midfield.
"Today's game is about creativity, about reading the opponent and exploiting spaces," Eberl said. "The classic rigid 4‑2‑3‑1 or 4‑4‑2 is disappearing. On TV you might see a formation at kickoff, but within minutes the defensive midfielder may drift wide, centre‑backs may make central runs, and full‑backs may cut inside.
True specialists who can do only one thing will become rarer as the sport becomes more dynamic." Bayern's most versatile asset is Konrad Laimer. Signed from RB Leipzig as a midfielder, he has since excelled at both right‑back and left‑back. His ability to switch roles from one match to the next, and even within a single game, makes him indispensable.
Eberl praised him: "He started as a No 10 at Red Bull Salzburg, became a No 8 at Leipzig, joined us as a midfielder and now plays as a full‑back in the way Vinny envisions." Versatility is not limited to Bayern. At Liverpool, Dominik Szoboszlai can feature anywhere in midfield, at right‑back, or even up front. Manchester City, after losing Bernardo Silva, have added Nico O'Reilly, a player comfortable as both midfielder and full‑back.
Arsenal boast Declan Rice, who can operate as a defensive midfielder, a box‑to‑box midfielder, or even fill in at centre‑back, while Kai Havertz has been deployed as a left‑back by Germany's Julian Nagelsmann. Real Madrid's Federico Valverde epitomises the modern utility player, capable of covering every midfield slot and the right flank with equal ease. His teammate Trent Alexander‑Arnold called him "the most underrated player on the planet" after a recent hat‑trick, and manager Álvaro Arbeloa added, "There is no flaw in him.
It doesn't matter where you put him." Luis Enrique himself is a living example of this ideal. During his playing days he filled every outfield position except centre‑back for Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Javier Zanetti is another legend who, despite being primarily a right‑back, performed admirably at left‑back, as a holding midfielder and even in central defence during Inter's 2009‑10 Champions League triumph. Both Enrique and Zanetti argue that versatility builds trust within a squad. Zanetti, now Inter's vice‑president, told Sky Sports, "When you can play wherever the team needs you, you earn the confidence of teammates and the manager.
Players today should develop that flexibility." The push for multi‑positional players is driven by both style and practicality. A congested calendar and rising injury rates make it valuable to have individuals who can cover multiple roles, saving clubs money on transfers.
Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez summed it up in 2024: "If one player can cover three positions, you don't need three separate signings. Those players save you money." Developing such adaptability is not purely innate. Zanetti emphasised hard work and coaching: "I focused on absorbing every instruction from my coaches. Tactical intelligence is essential, but I built it over my career.
Managers saw my attributes and trusted me to adapt." Not everyone believes the trend is positive. Some critics claim that the emphasis on fluidity signals a regression to a more direct, set‑piece‑heavy style. Nevertheless, many academies are deliberately nurturing versatile talent.
Dan Micciche, a youth‑development specialist now at Al‑Ahli, explained that exposing youngsters to different positions enhances their understanding of the game and prepares them for varied tactical scenarios. He cited an instance at Tottenham where a midfielder was deployed as a centre‑back to improve his aerial ability against a physically imposing opponent. Micciche added that versatility can be taught through carefully designed training sessions that force players into unfamiliar roles, mirroring the "volleyball‑style" approach where athletes constantly rotate positions during play. While such methods may risk short‑term results, they promise long‑term benefits for both the individual and the club.
The career arcs of several stars illustrate the payoff. Harry Kane has increasingly dropped into midfield to orchestrate play, arriving late in the box to finish chances. Cristiano Ronaldo, now 41, reinvented himself from a wide attacker to a pure striker, extending his goal‑scoring longevity. Zanetti, who played until age 41, shifted from a pace‑driven winger to a deeper midfield role as his speed waned, prolonging his elite career.
Enrique's vision of "20 players who can play everywhere" may still be a dream, but PSG and Bayern Munich are already reaping the rewards of such flexibility. As the sport continues to evolve, the ability to adapt, to occupy multiple positions, and to understand the game from various perspectives will likely become a defining characteristic of the next generation of footballers.