Luis Enrique surprised everyone with a handful of tactical tweaks in Paris Saint‑Germain’s recent clash against Nice. He shifted left‑back Nuno Mendes onto the left wing, dropped centre‑back Lucas Beraldo into midfield, and pushed left‑winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia into a central striking role. Those adjustments helped PSG secure a comfortable 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 boss Claude Puel admitted after the match. When asked whether he would experiment with more "unexpected solutions" in the upcoming tie against Toulouse, Enrique offered a glimpse into his broader tactical philosophy and the direction elite football is taking. "Absolutely," he replied.
"It’s my dream to have a squad of twenty players who can slot into any outfield role. 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 looking at the line‑up and thinking, ‘He plays everywhere!’ It’s an ambitious goal, but I’ll keep trying." In the Champions League quarter‑finals, when PSG reverted to a more conventional set‑up with Mendes and Kvaratskhelia back in their natural spots, the team still displayed the same positional interchange. Defenders drifted 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 pulling Liverpool’s defenders out of shape. Graphics of the line‑up showed Kvaratskhelia to his left and Desire Doué to his right, yet all three attackers are capable of operating across the entire front line. Their touch‑maps this season underline the unpredictability that makes PSG a nightmare to mark. The same principle is evident in the side they will meet in the semi‑finals – Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany.
Like Enrique’s side, Bayern borrow heavily from the Total Football ethos, with players rotating into different zones rather than staying locked into a single position. The first leg was a showcase of that fluidity and the second promises to be equally dynamic.
"Harry Kane doesn’t just wait in the box," Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl explained in February. "Michael Olise and Luis Diaz are not simply wingers; Joshua Kimmich flips between right‑back and defensive midfield. Football today rewards creativity – you must read the game, react to the opponent’s shape and exploit the spaces that appear. The old rigid 4‑2‑3‑1 or 4‑4‑2 formations are becoming relics." Eberl added that on television the tactical shape at kickoff often looks completely different from what unfolds, as defensive midfielders drift wide, centre‑backs make central runs and full‑backs cut inside.
"True specialists who can only perform one function will become rarer, because the sport is evolving into something far more dynamic and variable." Bayern’s poster child for this versatility is Konrad Laimer. Signed from RB Leipzig as a midfielder, he has since thrived at right‑back and left‑back. His ability to switch roles between games – and even within a single match – makes him indispensable. "Konny fits the bill perfectly," Eberl said.
"He started as a No 10 at Red Bull Salzburg, became a No 8 at Leipzig, and now operates as a full‑back in the way Vinny envisions the position." Laimer may not be a headline star, but his flexibility mirrors that of some of the most valuable assets at other top clubs. Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai can function anywhere in midfield, at right‑back, or even as part of the attack. Manchester City, after losing Bernardo Silva, have added Nico O'Reilly, a midfielder who can also cover full‑back duties.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice is comfortable as a holding midfielder, a box‑to‑box No 8, and can fill in at centre‑back, while teammate Kai Havertz has been deployed as a left‑back by Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann. Perhaps the clearest illustration of modern versatility is Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde. He can occupy any midfield slot, patrol the right flank, or push forward as a forward, adapting seamlessly to the manager’s needs. His teammate Trent Alexander‑Arnold praised him as "the most underrated player on the planet" after Valverde’s hat‑trick against Manchester City, noting that "there is no flaw in him – wherever you place him, he delivers." Luis Enrique himself embodies this ideal.
As a player he featured in every outfield role except centre‑back during spells at Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Javier Zanetti is another legendary example. Primarily a right‑back, Zanetti also excelled at left‑back, as a holding midfielder and even as a centre‑back, covering all four positions in Inter’s 2009/10 Champions League triumph under José Mourinho. "Versatility is crucial because it lets you fill the spot the team needs most at any moment," Zanetti, now Inter’s vice‑president, told Sky Sports.
"It earns the trust of teammates and the manager, showing they believe you can cover several roles. Players today should strive for that adaptability." The push for multi‑positional talent is not only aesthetic; it has practical and financial incentives. A congested calendar and rising injury rates mean clubs value players who can cover multiple spots.
Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez summed it up in 2024: "If one player can perform in three positions, you don’t need three separate signings – it saves money." Of course, not every player adapts with equal ease. Zanetti insists versatility is not purely innate. "I worked hard," he said.
"Whenever I was asked to play a new role, I focused, absorbed the coach’s instructions and applied myself. Tactical intelligence is essential, but I built it over my career.
My attributes allowed managers to trust me in different positions." Some critics argue that the fluid, interchangeable style seen at PSG and Bayern signals a regression to a less direct, more chaotic game, pointing to the continued importance of set‑pieces and aerial duels. Nevertheless, many academies now prioritize developing players who can operate in several positions. Youth‑development specialist Dan Micciche, who has worked with Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham and England and now runs Al‑Ahli’s academy in Saudi Arabia, explains that exposing youngsters to varied roles is about long‑term outcomes and individual development plans. "We sometimes played a midfielder as a centre‑back to improve his aerial ability against tall strikers," Micciche recalled.
"Versatility can be taught through session design that forces players into different spaces, using a Total‑Football‑inspired shape rather than fixed positions." The payoff can be huge for both individuals and clubs, but it requires patience. "Most coaches avoid this because it may affect immediate results – they want to win now," Micciche warned.
Yet the longevity benefits are evident. Harry Kane has increasingly dropped into midfield to orchestrate play, while Cristiano Ronaldo, now 41, reinvented himself as a pure striker after years on the wing. Zanetti himself shifted to a deeper midfield role as his pace waned, extending his career into his early forties. Enrique’s quest for a squad of twenty utility players may still be a dream, but PSG and Bayern already demonstrate how invaluable such flexibility can be for success and sustainability in modern football.
The upcoming semi‑final clash between the two sides will be a live test of how far this tactical evolution can go.