Art Deco. The rebirth of the playmaker

It was a promising young manager who predicted it, a bespectacled, unassuming, slightly built man in exile from Bernard Tapies corrupt rule over French football.



After witnessing Dunga and his surprisingly conservative Brazilian team mates scooping the World Cup via penalties in USA 94, he gave a lecture on the demise of a footballing enigma, The Playmaker. That young man was Arsene Wenger and if anyone was an expert on playmakers, it was him.



During his time at Monaco Wenger built his teams around a playmaker, an offensive leader allowed to roam free and dictate the game with vision, flair and swagger. First it was a misunderstood Englishman by the name of Hoddle, later the brilliant Belgian, Enzo Scifo. Neither was athletic, nor pacey, but they had flair and creativity and every move was channelled through them, they were Wenger’s “Generalissimo’s”.



After enduring the scandals that blighted his tenure as Monaco boss, Wenger was unceremoniously sacked. Exhausted and frustrated, Wenger sought personal and professional solace in Japan and sat back as the rest of the world watched his predictions become a reality. The playmaker role no longer existed. Wenger saw a new footballing age was dawning, an age of power and economy over flair and indulgence. Teams attacked and defended in unison and thus there was no room for passengers like monsieur’s Hoddle and Scifo.



You only have to think back to Wenger’s Arsenal teams in particular for prudent examples, built around attacking flair as standard, freedom of movement between players as a rule. But with this brand of total football everybody had their role within the team unit. The Bergkamps and the Henrys of Wenger’s Arsenal often dictated attacking moves but always by dropping deep or by drifting wide, primarily consigned to the attacking third; neither had free roles within the team unit. Wenger doesn’t carry passengers anymore.



All that being said, Wenger is not averse to indulging himself in flair players.

For instance, Wenger buys playmakers but moves them out wide, they punctuate rather than dictate the offensive side of Arsenal’s game; for example players such as Pires, Ljungberg, Rosicky and the departed Alexander Hleb. All of them occupied the playmaker role with their former clubs but were moved out wide to accommodate them within Wenger’s team unit.

The Vieira’s and Petit’s, the Gilberto’s were the players who anchored and funnelled, attacked and defended when need be, they laid the foundations for the teams successes.

Even the magnificent Fabregas, a player who could easily occupy the out and out playmaker role,

(as seen in the latter stages of Spain’s triumphant Euro 2008 Campaign) is placed within a responsible role in the centre of midfield. At Arsenal he is expected to do the proverbial dirty work when the need arises. On the ball he makes Arsenal tick; off the ball he is a vital cog in the defensive unit.



The subsequent subduing of the playmaker within the English game in particular has been all too evident; but it was as a result of some inspirational performances during Euro 2008 that we witnessed a rebirth of indulgence, the rebirth of the playmaker.



Take a bow Andrei Arshavin and reserve your warmest applause for the new saviour of the ‘Roman Revolution’, the ever ‘Art-ful’ Deco.



It was when the rumours began that Wenger was mulling over an offer for Russian star turn Andrei Arshavin that we knew a shift had occurred during the tournament, just like it had during that fateful heat soaked tournament that was held in the good old USA over a decade ago.

You see, Arshavin has no place as an auxiliary wide man. Wenger actually contemplated bringing in a new Generalisimo, and if Zenit hadn’t priced him out of a move to the most prudent team in the Premiership, he would currently be residing in the Red half of north London instead of cautiously flirting with their fierce rivals at White Hart Lane.



Arshavin, single handed, dismantling of the Dutch was exhilarating he glided around the pitch, picking up on the weaknesses of the Dutch and exploiting them. Ooijer and his lack of pace was targeted with various scathing passes to the overlapping Zhirkov for instance. His Goal was merely the icing on the proverbial cake. In Arshavin, Russia had a star turn and by allowing him to become their sole playmaker his quality made a workmanlike outfit an exciting one.



Undeniably Wenger has an exciting team, Arshavin would have added to it. For their counterparts from the west of London, adding flair and creativity was a more of a necessity.



Which brings us swiftly onto to the newly crowned king of Stamford Bridge.



In buying Deco, who blew away all premature thoughts of his personal demise, with some scintillating performances of his own during Euro 2008, Chelsea bought a ready-made solution to their dour image. They bought a player who could, if given the freedom, change the mentality of their team. Against Portsmouth Deco was given that freedom and as a result, Chelsea played the football Abramovic craves. Chelsea bought themselves a Playmaker.



Deco terrorised Portsmouth; picking the ball up deep from the backline, he sprayed passes around, dictating the direction of every move. His performance was topped off with an audacious shot that eluded a despairing and over worked David James. But this was by no means a one man show. By allowing Deco the freedom to roam the pitch it seemed to encourage players to express themselves. Ashley Cole mirrored his Arsenal form with some surging runs and the newly acquired Bosingwa played with an exuberance that always seemed out of reach for his predecessor Ferreira. Deco drew the opposition out of their defensive positions and thus allowed Chelsea freedom all over the pitch. This frightened Pompy. They simply weren’t expecting It. Campbell and Distin would rather have dealt with the powerful, direct Chelsea than the one they faced on this demoralising start to their campaign.



Deco performance may have signified the start of something special for Chelsea, for the Premiership and, most importantly, for the fans. A new day is dawning for the playmaker, the thirst for flair and indulgence has become a fashionable thirst to quench once more.