The winger. The most entertaining player on the pitch, a position filled by the greatest players across Europe since the foundation of club football - Stanley Matthews, Dragan Dzajic, Roberto Rivelino, Hristo Stoichov, Luis Figo, David Beckham - the list goes on. But in the past decade we have seen a substantial change in the way teams have lined up across Europe. Teams who had once lined up with wingers used to run the channels have since adopted a more "stylish" approach, with false wingers and inside forwards the new chic. With this widespread tactic change across the continent's top clubs, have we seen the last of the traditional winger?

Let's begin last week, at this year's UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Both sides lined up in variations of the 4-2-3-1 formation, with double pivots of Ilkay Gundogan & Sven Bender for Dortmund, and Javi Martínez and Bastian Schweinsteiger for Munich. Both sides used 'unconventional' styles of wingers, with Bayern deploying Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben on the left and right wings respectively in inverted roles. This served to allow both players to cut inside onto their favoured foot, a tactic employed by almost all of Europe's top clubs. Dortmund deployed their two wingers, Kevin Großkreutz and Jakub Blaszczykowski, in inside forward roles, encouraging them to run in between the centre and full backs to alllow Pizczek and Schmelzer to overlap on the outside. Marco Reus, filling in for the injured Mario Götze in the number ten role, was left to roam across the 18 yard line. While Blaszczykowski was playing on the right side and thus not used in an inverted role, Großkreutz was used as both an inside forward and inverted winger, given his right foootedness and deployment on the left wing.

The Champions League Final displays the two best sides in Europe in a battle of tactics and ability, and the fact that neither side employed what would be called 'traditional' wingers is telling. In fact, the last Champions League Final to feature two teams employing traditional wingers was the 2008 final in Moscow between Manchester United and Chelsea. Joe Cole and Florent Malouda played on the right and left wings respectively for Chelsea, with Owen Hargreaves and Cristiano Ronaldo filling in those roles for United. Since then, five finalists have used inverted wingers, four have used inside forwards and just two, Manchester United against Barcelona in 2011 and Chelsea v Munich last year, have used traditional wingers.

Only English sides have used the traditional 4-4-2 formation with flanking wingers in recent finals, and even they have since changed their tactics to emulate the more visually appealing sides. Chelsea, too, have adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation with Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard operating as a rotating trio behind the lone striker. United, however, are more versatile. Occasionally using a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Carrick, Kagawa, Cleverley and Rooney playing behind Van Persie and Welbeck. Towards the end of the season, United also played a 4-2-3-1 formation with Giggs/Rooney and Kagawa/Welbeck playing on the wings. In fact, one would have to travel to tenth place in the Premier League table to find a club who uses a 4-4-2 formation with traditional wingers. Sam Allardyce has come under criticism this season for playing "Route One" football with West Ham this season, and will most likely be replaced by a more 'fashionable' manager once West Ham become suitably stable in the top half of the table.

If one looks at the FIFA club rankings, it is once again dominated by clubs utilizing the modern formations - 3-5-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 - and it is primarily the Italian sides' Catenaccio formations which allow wingers to operate in their traditional roles, mainly through the use of wing-backs like Emanuele Giacherrini and Christian Maggio. Each of the other teams, from Bayern Munich to Ajax Amsterdam to the newly risen Real Soiedad, has adapted to playing some variation of either 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. It seems as though the role as old as association football itself has no place in the modern game, a fact which will see the number of conventional wingers at top European clubs dwindle towards non-existence. While I, like any football fan, love waching Barcelona's flair through 4-3-3, or Bayern Munich's efficiency through 4-2-3-1, a part of me will sincerely miss the pacey winger in the top teams if, indeed, he does leave.