Luis Enrique surprised everyone with a series of tactical tweaks during Paris Saint‑Germain's clash with Nice last month. He pushed left‑back Nuno Mendes up to the left wing, slotted centre‑back Lucas Beraldo into midfield, and moved left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia into a central striking role. The gamble paid off handsomely, as PSG ran out 4‑0 winners, with Mendes delivering a standout performance in his unfamiliar position while Nice struggled to cope with the fluidity of their opponents. Nice coach Claude Puel lamented after the match, "We let them play too freely." When asked whether he would employ more "unexpected solutions" in the upcoming fixture against Toulouse, Enrique gave a glimpse into his broader tactical philosophy and the way elite football is evolving.
"Absolutely, it's my dream," he replied. "I would love to have a squad of twenty players who can operate everywhere. Nuno Mendes as a full‑back, as a winger, as a No 9, even as a midfielder – everyone except the goalkeeper. Imagine the opposition manager seeing that line‑up and thinking, 'He plays everywhere!' It's a lofty ambition, but I will try to achieve it." In the Champions League quarter‑finals, when PSG reverted to a more traditional shape with Mendes and Kvaratskhelia back in their natural positions, the team still displayed the same level of 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, appeared all over the pitch, creating space for himself and dragging Liverpool defenders out of position. The graphical line‑up showed Kvaratskhelia on his left and Desire Doué on his right, but all three attackers are capable of operating across the entire front line, a versatility reflected in their Champions League touch maps. The same fluid approach can be observed in the side PSG now faces in the semi‑finals – Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany.
Bayern, like Enrique's side, borrow heavily from the principles of Total Football, allowing players to drift into different zones rather than staying locked into a single role. Sporting director Max Eberl explained in February, "Harry Kane doesn't just wait in the box.
Michael Olise and Luis Díaz don't simply hug the touchline. Joshua Kimmich alternates between right‑back and defensive midfield." Eberl continued, "Modern football is about creativity – how you want to play, how you react to the opponent, where the gaps are. The old rigid 4‑2‑3‑1 or 4‑4‑2 formations are becoming relics. On TV you might see a classic shape at kickoff, but in reality the defensive midfielder drifts wide, centre‑backs make central runs, full‑backs cut inside – the whole structure is dynamic.
True specialists who can only do one thing will become rarer as the game grows more variable." Bayern's embodiment of this flexibility is perhaps best illustrated by Konrad Laimer. Signed from RB Leipzig as a midfielder, Laimer has since excelled as both a right‑back and a left‑back, adapting his game to the needs of the moment.
Eberl praised him, saying, "He started as a No 10 at Salzburg, became a No 8 at Leipzig, and now plays as a full‑back in the way Vinny envisions the role. His versatility makes him invaluable." Similar patterns appear across Europe. Liverpool boast Dominik Szoboszlai, who can feature in any midfield position, at right‑back, or even higher up the pitch. Manchester City, after losing Bernardo Silva, have added Nico O'Reilly, a player comfortable as a midfielder and a full‑back.
Arsenal rely on Declan Rice, who can slot in as a defensive midfielder, a box‑to‑box midfielder, or even as a centre‑back in emergencies, while Kai Havertz has been deployed as a left‑back by Germany's Julian Nagelsmann. Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde epitomises the modern jack‑of‑all‑trades, capable of occupying any midfield slot or patrolling the right flank, and his teammate Trent Alexander‑Arnold hailed him as "the most underrated player on the planet" after a recent hat‑trick.
Their manager, Álvaro Arbeloa, summed it up: "There is no flaw in him; it doesn't matter where you put him." Luis Enrique himself is a fitting champion of this philosophy, having played every outfield position except centre‑back during his career at Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and with the Spanish national team. Javier Zanetti provides another iconic example. The Inter and Argentina legend primarily featured as a right‑back, but he also excelled at left‑back, as a holding midfielder, and even as a central defender, covering all four roles in Inter's 2009‑10 Champions League triumph under José Mourinho.
Zanetti, now Inter's vice‑president, told Sky Sports, "Versatility lets you play wherever the team needs you most. It earns the trust of teammates and managers, and I think modern players should possess it." The push for versatile players is not only stylistic; it also has practical and financial motivations. As the calendar becomes more congested and injuries more frequent, having multi‑position players offers squad depth without inflating the wage bill. Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez remarked 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 emphasized hard work and tactical education, saying, "I focused intensely, absorbed everything the coach taught me, and built tactical intelligence over my career. My attributes allowed managers to trust me in different roles." Not everyone agrees that this fluidity signals the future of football. Some critics argue that the recent emphasis on direct play and set‑pieces suggests a regression rather than progression. Nevertheless, many clubs are investing in youth development programs that nurture positional flexibility.
Dan Micciche, an academy director with experience at Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham and England, now working for Al‑Ahli in Saudi Arabia, explained that exposing youngsters to various roles prepares them for diverse tactical scenarios. He cited an instance at Spurs where a midfielder was deployed as a centre‑back to improve aerial ability against a direct opponent.
Micciche believes versatility can be taught through carefully designed training sessions that force players into different spaces, adopting a Total‑Football‑style approach where the team plays a shape rather than fixed positions. He likens it to a "volleyball‑style" system where players rotate throughout a match, especially during substitutions. The benefits are clear: players enjoy longer careers, clubs gain roster flexibility, and managers acquire more tactical options.
Harry Kane, for example, has increasingly dropped into midfield to influence play before arriving late in the box, while Cristiano Ronaldo reinvented himself as a pure striker in his thirties, still scoring at 41. Zanetti, too, transitioned from a wide‑right role to a deeper midfield position as his pace waned, extending his playing days into his early forties. Enrique’s quest for "twenty players who can play everywhere" may still be a work in progress, but PSG and Bayern Munich already demonstrate the strategic advantage of such adaptability.
As the game continues to evolve, versatility is likely to become a cornerstone of success, shaping the next generation of footballers and the tactics they employ.