The late Johan Cruyff famously said, "There is no tactical system that can withstand a dribble." The Dutch legend, who built a football philosophy based on simplifying the most complex things and helped lay the foundation for the current tactical trends, believed that no matter how insightful a coach is, they cannot counter individuals with exceptional qualities on the pitch.

Modern football once focused too much on formations and shapes, to the point of overlooking the crucial importance of individuals. As football philosopher and former assistant to Pep Guardiola at Man City, coach Juanma Lillo, put it, football overused the concept of "El Dostoquismo" – meaning two touches.

Dembele celebrates after scoring in the win against Bayern in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 quarter-finals, 5/7/2025.

"If you play with fewer touches, you usually speed up the tempo, make the opponent busier, they will press later or sometimes not at all. Playing with fewer touches gives teammates more space and time to receive the ball, thus making decisions in optimal circumstances," Juanma Lillo once told The Athletic.

But Lillo also concluded, "The most wonderful things on the pitch are always displayed by players when they have more than two touches. Every time they make a move, they need that many touches. Sometimes two, three, sometimes eight touches. With each touch, the extraordinary is revealed."

If tactics are formulas and sometimes rigid, mechanical from coaches, then the breakthrough individual moments, the skillful dribbles on the pitch by the players are those of imagination, of creativity.

Now, one-on-one situations are regaining their place, dominating in all areas of the pitch in many phases of the game. It is considered a holy land for nimble feet, bursting speed, and skillful dribbling, while also being ready to press to win the ball back in open spaces or make continuous short bursts.

The eye-catching nature, the explosiveness, audacity, and inspiration from players' dribbling are being celebrated in this era of football. They are not "tamed" in a predictable football environment. Johan Cruyff's words have never been truer.

Reigning European champions, Luis Enrique's PSG, stand out as a unique team with their deployment of three pure dribbling forwards in most matches. Their classic center-forward, Gonzalo Ramos, only ranks fifth in playing time from the start of last season to the present (1784 minutes), far surpassed by Kvaratskhelia, who joined in the winter transfer window this year (2207 minutes).

The arrival of the Georgian winger is considered by Enrique and Les Parisiens' coaching staff as a key factor in completing the overall picture. "It's thanks to Sporting Director Luis Campos, President Al-Khelaifi, and the entire coaching staff. We want forwards who not only score or assist but also have the ability to dribble one-on-one," Luis Enrique once stated.

"Very few teams use pure wingers because good players of this type are increasingly rare. But we have Doue, Barcola, Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, and Mbaye – five players who can play on the wing or cut inside, providing many options for the team," Luis Enrique added.

These wingers, who don't just stick to the sidelines but also know how to infiltrate and combine in central areas as the Spanish coach mentioned, are often called "phantom wingers" in Iberian football. They are now shaping PSG's attack.

In the upcoming match against Real Madrid in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final, these individuals will certainly be a challenge for Xabi Alonso's defense, especially for newcomer Trent Alexander-Arnold, the most dribbled-past defender (1.99 times per game) in Europe's top five leagues since the start of last season.

Dembele's Freedom

Among the "phantom wingers" that Enrique has at his disposal right now, Ousmane Dembele cannot be overlooked. He is a Ballon d'Or contender after the best season of his career with 34 goals and 15 assists in 51 games.

"Dembele was a winger who had difficulty scoring. The fact that he plays as a center-forward and scores so many goals is not only surprising to me. But Luis Enrique saw it. And don't forget that Dembele himself has also made efforts and matured to achieve this success. He has adapted very well," former player Vixente Lizarazu commented in a recent interview with German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.

The forward playing in the central position in Luis Enrique's system decides the timing and range of pressing to win the ball back. In the Spanish national team before, it was Morata; in the 2023-2024 season at PSG, it was Kylian Mbappe, although he didn't achieve the consistency and intensity that Enrique demanded. And since last season, it has been Ousmane Dembele, who showed focus and even enthusiasm when preparing to press Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer in last season's Champions League final.

When asked if freedom on the pitch was the key to Dembele's resurgence, Enrique replied: "Freedom is fighting for teammates, for the team, for the club, and for the beautiful football that we aim for."

Dembele celebrates winning the Champions League on 31/5/2025.

Also among Enrique's wingers, Dembele is the one who most often plays in the central attacking role, but Barcola, Doue, and sometimes even Lee Kang-in or Kvaratskhelia also appear in this area. "Controlling the ball is our philosophy, but if we can dribble one-on-one to create an advantage, that's still the fastest way. I'm lucky to have such players," Enrique happily shared.

The versatility of the wingers, combined with the supporting decoy movements of the surrounding players – such as the full-backs or the number 8 midfielders in PSG's lineup – makes defenses that are oriented towards zonal marking now only able to retreat deep to defend or in set-piece situations. And if the opponent chooses man-to-man marking, we return to what was stated from the beginning: the one-on-one ability of quality dribblers, and PSG are completely confident in this aspect.

Enrique's use of a series of wingers is also entertaining, bringing joy to individual players, the team, and the fans. "That's also the goal I always aim for as a coach. When I come to any club or national team, I always want to bring spectacular performances to the fans. No one goes to the theater or cinema to be bored. In sports, performance and entertainment can go hand in hand. It relates to the player selection criteria and the footballing ideas we pursue," the Spanish strategist emphasized.

The statistics at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 speak for themselves. PSG have made the most dribbles (139), with Doue leading (35), Kvaratskhelia fourth (27), and Barcola tenth (19). The match with the most dribbles in the tournament so far is between PSG and Botafogo (59).

Hoang Thong

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