Luis Enrique surprised everyone with his tactical tweaks in Paris Saint-Germain's recent clash against Nice. He pushed left‑back Nuno Mendes further up the left wing, slotted centre‑back Lucas Beraldo into midfield, and moved left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia into a central striking role.
Those adjustments helped PSG cruise to a 4‑0 victory, with Mendes delivering a standout performance in his unfamiliar position while Nice struggled to cope with the fluidity of their opponents. "We let them play too freely," Nice manager Claude Puel lamented after the match.
When asked whether he would experiment with more "unexpected solutions" in the upcoming fixture against Toulouse, Enrique gave a clear glimpse of his philosophy and, more broadly, a sign of how top‑level football is evolving. "Absolutely," he replied. "It's my dream to have a squad of twenty players who can fill 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 coach looking at the line‑up and thinking, 'He plays everywhere!' It's a lofty ambition, but I will chase it." In the Champions League quarter‑finals, when Mendes and Kvaratskhelia returned to their natural positions, PSG 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 defenders out of shape.
The graphics showed Kvaratskhelia on his left and Desire Doué on his right, yet all three could operate across the attacking line. Their touch‑map data this season underlines the unpredictability that makes Paris so difficult to defend against. A similar approach is evident in the side they now face in the semi‑finals – Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany.
Bayern, like PSG, have embraced a Total‑Football‑inspired model where players rotate rather than stick to rigid roles. This produced a captivating first leg and promises more of the same in the return. Sporting director Max Eberl explained in February: "Harry Kane doesn’t just wait in the box; Michael Olise and Luis Diaz don’t simply hug the touchline; Joshua Kimmich flips between right‑back and defensive midfield. Football today is about creativity, reacting to the opponent, and exploiting space.
The classic 4‑2‑3‑1 or 4‑4‑2 is becoming a relic." Eberl added that modern formations often look very different on TV compared to what actually happens on the field, with defensive midfielders drifting wide, centre‑backs making central runs, and full‑backs cutting inside. He believes true specialists who can perform only one function will become rarer as the game grows more dynamic. Konrad Laimer epitomises Bayern's versatility. Signed from RB Leipzig as a midfielder, he has since excelled at both right‑ and left‑back.
His ability to switch positions within a match makes him invaluable. "Konny started as a No 10 at Red Bull Salzburg, then became a No 8 at Leipzig, and now plays as a full‑back in the way Vinny envisions," Eberl noted. 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 midfielder who can also cover full‑back duties. Arsenal rely on Declan Rice, comfortable as a defensive midfielder, a box‑to‑box No 8, or even 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 is perhaps the most illustrative example – he can slot into any midfield role or patrol the right flank, adapting seamlessly to the team’s needs.
His teammate Trent Alexander‑Arnold praised him as "the most underrated player on the planet" after a recent hat‑trick, and manager Álvaro Arbeloa echoed that "there is no flaw in him; wherever you place him, he delivers." Luis Enrique himself is a living testament to this ideal. As a player, he appeared in every outfield position except centre‑back for Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the Spanish national team. Javier Zanetti offers another iconic case.
Primarily a right‑back, Zanetti also thrived at left‑back, as a holding midfielder, and even as a central defender, covering all four roles during Inter’s Champions League triumph in 2009/10. "Versatility lets you fill the spot your team needs most," Zanetti, now Inter’s vice‑president, told Sky Sports. "It earns the trust of teammates and managers, and I think modern players should develop it." The push for adaptable players is driven by both style and practicality. A congested calendar and rising injury rates make squad depth crucial, while financially, a single player capable of covering three positions saves clubs from signing multiple specialists.
Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez summed it up in 2024: "If you have one player who can operate in three roles, you don’t need three separate signings – those players save you money." Adapting to new roles is easier for some, but Zanetti insists versatility is cultivated, not innate. "I worked hard, stayed focused, and absorbed everything my coaches taught me.
Tactical intelligence is essential, but I built it over my career. My attributes allowed managers to trust me in different positions." Not everyone views this fluidity as progress. Some critics argue that a resurgence of direct play and set‑piece reliance signals a regression rather than evolution.
Nonetheless, many clubs are investing in developing home‑grown talent capable of multiple roles. Youth‑development specialist Dan Micciche, who has worked with Everton, Arsenal, Spurs and England and now leads Al‑Ahli’s academy in Saudi Arabia, explains that exposing youngsters to varied positions yields specific developmental benefits. He cites a Spurs instance where a midfielder was deployed as a centre‑back to improve aerial ability against a physically imposing opponent.
Micciche believes versatility can be taught through carefully designed training sessions that force players into unfamiliar positions, adopting a Total‑Football mindset where the team’s shape matters more than individual spots. He likens it to a volleyball approach, where players constantly rotate and adapt during substitutions. The payoff can be enormous for both individuals and clubs, though it requires a long‑term perspective.
Many coaches shy away because it may compromise immediate results, but the longevity and adaptability it offers can extend careers. Harry Kane, for example, has increasingly dropped into midfield to create chances before arriving late in the box, while Cristiano Ronaldo reinvented himself as a pure striker in his thirties, still scoring at 41. Zanetti himself transitioned to a deeper midfield role as his pace waned, allowing him to play until 41.
Enrique’s quest for a squad of twenty multi‑positional players remains ongoing, but PSG’s and Bayern’s recent displays illustrate the tangible benefits of such flexibility. As the sport continues to evolve, the ability to shift seamlessly across the pitch may well become the defining attribute of the next generation of football stars.