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I can across this article on In Bed With Maradona, a blog I really like. In December 2011, the writers put together a list of highly promising and/or hyped up players under the age of 23 from all around the world. Now they've put up their status updates here here. It's a staggered release so not all the summaries are out yet. Some of them are a bit harsh, some of them are obviously going to super excited (like Erik Lamela and Eden Hazard), and some of them are probably going to be pretty depressing (e.g., Sebastien Coates and Bojan). This got me thinking about how few leagues I can truly follow and what kind of exciting youth talent I don't get to see as a consequence of it. You all seem to follow multiple levels of club and international footall, so I was curious whether there were any youth players who you think are definitely going to make a major impact in the game. I'm also curious what you all think about the various findings of the IBWM writers. So who has you psyched about the future? Who is way too overhyped? As a starting point, maybe the IBWM list will help.
Abel Hernández Adam Maher Alan Dzagoev Alex Sandro Alexander Merkel Alexandre Laczaette André Carrillo André Schürrle Ante Vukusic Bernd Leno Bojan Krkić Chris Wood Christian Eriksen Clément Grenier Danny Welbeck David Alaba David De Gea David 'Junior' Hoilett Diego Rubio Douglas Costa Dudu Eden Hazard Emmanuel Mayuka Erick Torres Padilla Erik Lamela Gastón Ramirez Georginio Wijnaldum Granit Xhaka Gueïda Fofana Iker Muniain İlkay Gündoğan Inigo Martinez Isaac Cuenca Isco Jack Rodwell Jack Wilshere James Forrest James Rodríguez Jano Ananidze Jeffrey Bruma Joel Campbell Joel Obi John Guidetti Jordan Ayew Juan Iturbe Julian Draxler Kevin De Bruyne Kevin Strootman Kolbeinn Sigþórsson Kyriakos Papadopoulos Lacina Traoré Lazar Marković Leroy Fer Lewis Holtby Lorenzo Insigne Luc Castaignos Lucas Moura Lucas Ocampos Luuk de Jong Mamadou Sakho Manolo Gabbiadini Manuel Lanzini Mario Balotelli Mario Götze Mateo Kovačić M'Baye Niang Michele Camporese Miralem Pjanić Moritz Leitner Neymar Ola John Oriol Romeu Oscar Pablo Sarabia Pajtim Kasami Phil Jones Phillippe Coutinho Rafael Raphaël Varane Ricardo Rodriguez Richmond Boakye Rodrigo Moreno Romelu Lukaku Ryad Boudebouz Sebastian Coates Ŝime Vrsaljko Son Heung-Min Sotiris Ninis Stefan Savic Stephan El Shaarawy Takashi Usami Thiago Thibaout Courtois Toni Kroos Valon Berisha Wojciech Szczesny Xherdan Shaqiri Yann M’Vila Younes Belhanda Personally, out of those on that list, I've been really impressed with El Saarawy, Coutinho, and Lamela. Have some bad Youtubes of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lDIP4kzAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjrHoLXFzHs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQQZ6jDJCL4 I'm sure Raheem Sterling will appear on next year's version of this list, too. The kid's good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_AojzNeEg0 I'm still not sure whether Neymar will do well in Europe, but he definitely has something special. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N8d6sZyXoY Eric Cantonese fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Nov 30, 2012 |
# ? Nov 29, 2012 23:48 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 10:58 |
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I'd add Ciro Immobile to the list but the team he's on right now has been so poo poo that he's been going overlooked. He and Insigne destroyed Serie B last year and they're both doing well this year. I actually think Immobile is the better of the two and that Insigne is well helped by playing for Napoli rather than Genoa. Mattia Perin is another one who is plagued by being on an awful team; he's a really reactive and wiry goalkeeper who is plagued by the horrible defense he has to sit behind. From what I've seen of him he really is quite good and I think he's one to look at for the future. Marco Verratti was part of that killer Pescara side along with Immobile and Insigne, though I haven't seen much of him since he moved to PSG. From what I hear he's doing quite well.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:22 |
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Sammy Ameobi isn't listed so the list can't be trusted imo
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:23 |
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The Belgian U17 apparently has some real good players: Charly Musonda Jr, recently headed to Chelsea from Anderlecht so he'll probably turn poo poo Andres Pereira, currently between reserves and the U21s of United Zakaria Bakkali, currently at PSV's youth academy. Older players that might make it to the top are people like Dennis Praet (who's fulfilled the hype at Anderlecht), Maxime Lestienne (who's finally maturing at Club Brugge) and Benito Raman (although he's apparently got a bit of an attitude lately at Gent) e: also Michy Batshuayi is p good
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:32 |
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Some more bad Youtubes for those of you guys who want moving images: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pWcLAxYMfA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE36EjoRieo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnP54DneZM4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDoY6JdfQGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE7PbbWNudA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWqoNWFIF2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SivHBQoqPig Verratti looks really good. Eric Cantonese fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Nov 30, 2012 |
# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:41 |
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I don't know why they would not put Gerard Deulofeu on that list.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:47 |
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I am going to go out on a limb here because this guy might be barely solid compared to the world class ability that some of the people on that list already possess. However Tom Carroll (aged 20) has looked pretty impressive to me this season in the few Europa league fixtures he has played in so far this season for spurs. If he comes good we could have a good core of young players to inject in the team with Carroll, caulker, naughton, and walker.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:48 |
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Lladre posted:I don't know why they would not put Gerard Deulofeu on that list. Its a really lazy list quite possibly compiled after playing football manager
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:48 |
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Scott Bakula posted:Its a really lazy list quite possibly compiled after playing football manager I'm sure there's some selection bias going on, but I don't think it's that bad. I think the writers saved themselves some time by choosing players who have had pretty decent amounts of senior team action. What I've gathered from a quick Google search is that Deulofeu has only been on Barca's senior team once.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:51 |
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It should at least be under 21 only. That would cut probably half the players off the list
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:52 |
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Tom Carrol was excellent in the games I watched. I don't get to watch a lot of premiere league though. As for Gerrard he's been playing in Barca B this year, even got a few minutes on the pitch with Barca proper. And I would argue that Barcelona B is as good as any low to mid table (insert league) team.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:57 |
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Mr Pepper posted:I am going to go out on a limb here because this guy might be barely solid compared to the world class ability that some of the people on that list already possess. He came on as a sub in a game I watched idk like last week or something, against Chelsea maybe? and looked nice and tidy
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 00:58 |
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Obsessing over youth players is quite a depressing exercise IMO. At 18 people think that a player's potential is limitless, then by 22 they realise that it isn't and stop giving a poo poo, moving on to the next young thing and continuing the cycle. People were excited about Jermaine Pennant once.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 01:42 |
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Monday Bandele posted:Obsessing over youth players is quite a depressing exercise IMO. At 18 people think that a player's potential is limitless, then by 22 they realise that it isn't and stop giving a poo poo, moving on to the next young thing and continuing the cycle. People were excited about Jermaine Pennant once. To be fair to Pennant he did score a hat trick on debut against Southampton. You are entirely right though. The internet obviously doesn't help matters (you see this in other sports as well, especially baseball) where you can follow every move and people can freak out over every performance (whether positive or negative).
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 01:45 |
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Akileese posted:To be fair to Pennant he did score a hat trick on debut against Southampton. You are entirely right though. The internet obviously doesn't help matters (you see this in other sports as well, especially baseball) where you can follow every move and people can freak out over every performance (whether positive or negative). What the gently caress has happened to Pennant? He seemed like a victim of mismanagement, then Pulis got him playing well again and now I can't remember the last time I saw him play.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 01:50 |
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A young player I'd watch out for is Ravel Morrison. No seriously, if you see him coming, duck behind the nearest car and pray that he doesn't see you. I think that all of the hype about Paul Pogba from his time at Man United is completely justified, I get a bit giddy when he comes on for Juve. Such a combination of size, passing skill, good decision making, nose for goal...love that guy. A couple of young Brazilian defenders in Serie A that are still a bit raw but have really impressed me are Marquinhos at Roma and Juan Jesus for Inter. I expect them both to be fixtures of the Brazilian national team within a couple of years, and I think they'd be a great pair working together, Juan Jesus with the brawn and Marquinhos as the guy to move forward bringing the ball out to the midfield. GravityDaemon I'm a bit surprised you didn't mention De Sciglio. He's been superb for Milan after being suddenly thrust into a starting role. Last week he did one of the best individual defending jobs on Asamoah that I've seen this year. He might not be a world-beater type, but he's looking like a good bet to have a long international career with Italy. While Belhanda gets all of the credit for the attacking mid play at Montpellier (and gets onto lists like the one posted here), I think that Remy Cabella is basically just as good and just as important to their success, and seems to be a bit more disciplined than Belhanda. I don't think Cabella will be a world class player or anything, but it's just interesting to me that Behlanda gets such universal praise while Cabella flies under the radar when they're both very good, the same age, and play similar roles on the same squad. I have seen rumors that the Manchester clubs are both after Saint Etienne 18 year old CB Kurt Zouma in the upcoming window. I've been disappointed that I haven't seen him play the couple of times I've seen ASSE play so far this season, but he's a physical beast and he's capable of some jaw dropping stuff in defense and attacking in the air on set pieces. A lesser known player in Ligue 1 that I think will go on to bigger things is 19 year old Lille LB Lucas Digne. He looks very comfortable defending and going forward when I've seen him, and since quality LBs are always at such a premium, he'll probably be moving onto a bigger club and/or league before too long.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:07 |
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Ninpo posted:What the gently caress has happened to Pennant? He seemed like a victim of mismanagement, then Pulis got him playing well again and now I can't remember the last time I saw him play. At Liverpool, at least, Pennant wasn't able to deal well with Benitez's expectations regarding discipline and tactics. I don't think that's mismanagement as much as a major attitude problem on Pennant's part. Heavy drinking and partying during the regular season is also not the way to win favor.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:13 |
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Ninpo posted:What the gently caress has happened to Pennant? He seemed like a victim of mismanagement, then Pulis got him playing well again and now I can't remember the last time I saw him play. Fell out with Pulis last December, got frozen out and now he's on loan at Wolves. I still think skill-wise Pennant could be playing at a higher level than Stoke, it's his attitude that's the problem and always has been.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:13 |
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Speaking of people on that list I'm loving psyched to see just how good Rafael gets, he's been immense this season.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:16 |
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Meat Wagon posted:Fell out with Pulis last December, got frozen out and now he's on loan at Wolves. I still think skill-wise Pennant could be playing at a higher level than Stoke, it's his attitude that's the problem and always has been. If he actually had a level head on his shoulders I highly doubt he ever would of left Arsenal.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:19 |
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Akileese posted:If he actually had a level head on his shoulders I highly doubt he ever would of left Arsenal. Walcott is better.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:19 |
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Sam Byram should be an England regular, and if he played for some cunty premiership club he would be
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:24 |
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TelekineticBear! posted:Sam Byram should be an England regular, and if he played for some cunty premiership club he would be Give him another couple of seasons of regular first-team football and he could well be a future England fullback imo. Also in the last season or so Tom Lees has gone from gangly shuffling adolescent to frothing colossus of footballing death and has started playing more regularly for England Under-21s, even if he is randomly getting played in the centre of midfield. There's a video somewhere of him racing to knock the poo poo out of someone during that big fight in Serbia and he got charged by the police for it. Go on Tommo
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 02:43 |
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They surely can't all go on to have glorious world-beating careers in the game, but I'm really excited by how many young players we have getting a lot of first team action at Liverpool right now. Sterling is obviously the most prominent example, but Suso, Allen, Shelvey, Wisdom, Kelly before his injury and even Borini (based more on his time at Roma than his time with us yet) are all looking good and getting game time. Add to that the younger and/or still unproven guys like Robinson, Flanagan, Morgan and Yesil and we've got a really good crop of youngsters coming through. Plus of course the 'have potential but who the hell knows what is going on' guys like Wilson and Coates. Even if none of these players turn out to be all-time greats, I still expect many of them will turn out at least decent, and right now it's exciting and adds a really fun dimension to watching the team as a fan.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 03:00 |
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GD and trem already mentioned most of the Serie A dudes I thought of, I specially rate Pogba and Perin. Another promising player being kinda overlooked for playing on a poo poo team is Pescara's Juan Quintero, the youngest of the awesome Colombians in Serie A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhTeno-qaRk And of course from that list the one I want the most to deliver on his promising future is Joel Campbell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3saNjxuL_U
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 03:21 |
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vyelkin posted:They surely can't all go on to have glorious world-beating careers in the game, but I'm really excited by how many young players we have getting a lot of first team action at Liverpool right now. Sterling is obviously the most prominent example, but Suso, Allen, Shelvey, Wisdom, Kelly before his injury and even Borini (based more on his time at Roma than his time with us yet) are all looking good and getting game time. Add to that the younger and/or still unproven guys like Robinson, Flanagan, Morgan and Yesil and we've got a really good crop of youngsters coming through. Plus of course the 'have potential but who the hell knows what is going on' guys like Wilson and Coates. Totally agree, it seems like our academy/scouts are finally producing great talents again. In a few years we might have a great crop in the same calibre as Carra/Gerrard/Owen etc.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 03:25 |
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Portuguese League James Rodríguez - FC Porto (21 years, Colombia) A starter for Porto and the Colombian national team (where he was named the best player in the U-20 World Cup in 2011), James Rodríguez is probably the best young player in the Portuguese League and one of the best overall, and is the reason why Porto fans have mostly forgotten Hulk already, especially since he too plays as a RW drifting into the middle. Had 7 goals in 13 matches this season, and the media says Man United is interested, he won't be sold for less than €30m. Rui Patrício - Sporting CP (24 years, Portugal) Sporting and Portugal's starting GK, and has been for a while, Patrício has ironed out his biggest flaw (lack of concentration) to become probably the best GK in the Portuguese League and Portugal's GK for the next 10 years. Shined last year in the EL, is Sporting's only saving grace this year. Tottenham were said to be interested and was one of the alternatives to De Gea before the deal, will definately be leaving sooner or later for a fee around €20m. Rodrigo - SL Benfica (21 years, Spain) Returning from a loan at Bolton, Rodrigo scored 13 goals in 28 matches at Benfica without really being a starter, and is the star striker of the U-21 and U-23 Spanish national team. One of the biggest questions for Benfica this season is how to acommodate both Cardozo (an incredibly prolific goalscorer) and Rodrigo in the same team. His value isn't certain at this time, but is already attracting attention from Real Madrid (who he played for before coming to Benfica). These guys are the ones with the biggest potential but maybe they're already well known enough so I might post some more obscure ones later. Mean Bean Machine fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Nov 30, 2012 |
# ? Nov 30, 2012 03:57 |
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Manchester United have this young Italian lad who everyone seems interested in, goes by Federico Macheda, oh... Oh, and I guess not anymore but everyone should have watched out for Andrew Hall, you know, because of murders. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19519386
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 04:08 |
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trem_two posted:GravityDaemon I'm a bit surprised you didn't mention De Sciglio. He's been superb for Milan after being suddenly thrust into a starting role. Last week he did one of the best individual defending jobs on Asamoah that I've seen this year. He might not be a world-beater type, but he's looking like a good bet to have a long international career with Italy. I probably should have mentioned De Sciglio, but I didn't mostly because Immobile, Perin and Verratti are a season away from becoming absurdly good. De Sciglio is very talented, I agree, but he's still got a few frailties in his game. He's got the pace and the skill, but sometimes he makes decisions that make me think that he lacks a bit of patience. Obviously Im spoiled because some of the world's best fullbacks have played at Milan, but I think he's got some areas to improve in. He's a fantastic talent, for sure, certainly better than any fullback we've fielded since Maldini. Drogadon, you mentioned the Colombians in Serie A; I think Luis Muriel is worth a mention. He's been injured for a bit this season, but he almost singlehandedly kept Lecce up last season and I have no doubt that Udinese with him and Di Natale up front would be way higher than they are now if he was available. Sorry about the poo poo video, but he's really quite good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4tnkp2e-L4 I also forgot about Pogba; he's also got a lot of potential. I would love to see him starting every week at a team that really needs him; right now I imagine a lot of his drive comes from having to prove himself at a fantastic Juve side.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 04:46 |
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Lladre posted:I don't know why they would not put Gerard Deulofeu on that list.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 05:08 |
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the sex ghost posted:Give him another couple of seasons of regular first-team football and he could well be a future England fullback imo. Also in the last season or so Tom Lees has gone from gangly shuffling adolescent to frothing colossus of footballing death and has started playing more regularly for England Under-21s, even if he is randomly getting played in the centre of midfield. There's a video somewhere of him racing to knock the poo poo out of someone during that big fight in Serbia and he got charged by the police for it. Go on Tommo I need to see this. Also OP. Freddy Adu is just hitting his late teens and is poised to take the soccer world by storm I reckon once he hits his growth spurt.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 09:23 |
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Arsenals Thomas Eisfeld is the real deal and will get his chance in the league later this season. He's only been on the bench of couple of times so far. He joined from Borussia Dortmund last january, and has made some great performances for the reserves and in friendlies. He was great against Reading in that match with seven hundred goals too and played a big part when Arsenal came back from 4-1 down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIClSXaxr5A Obviously not a big lad, but he's got great vision and he's a real playmaker. He reminds me of Rosicky in his prime.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 11:10 |
trem_two posted:A young player I'd watch out for is Ravel Morrison. No seriously, if you see him coming, duck behind the nearest car and pray that he doesn't see you. He's a Brazilian playmaker trapped in an angry Mancunian's teenage body. If he sorts his attitude out he'll become a world-class player and someone the English national team desperately needs, but if SAF couldn't sort his attitude out then no-one will. Also are people still doubting Neymars ability to hack it in Europe? Is it the "cold Monday night in Stoke" excuse?
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 15:55 |
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Matija Nastasic should be on that list, i've been banging on about him a lot, but for a 19 year old he looks absolutely superb. Strong, good in the air, comfortable with the ball at his feet, I don't think it is any coincidence that City have only conceded 1 goal in the 7 games that he has played alongside Kompany, I think he could go on to be a real top quality defender. Edit: Obviously not a youth player, but i'd argue that he's more of a youth player than a lot of people on that list. TheGoatFeeder fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Nov 30, 2012 |
# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:17 |
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Hatem Ben Arfa posted:Also are people still doubting Neymars ability to hack it in Europe? Is it the "cold Monday night in Stoke" excuse? For me, part of my suspicions are based on the fact that he stuck around Santos in the first place instead of making the jump already. Then again, admittedly, that could all be due to whatever convoluted contract ownership situation the guy is in right now. Also, the arrogant way he has been conducting himself at Brazil (like getting the manager fired) makes me wonder how he'll mentally react when he's dealing with other superstars and playing regularly against more physically challenging defenders who will be out to get him and don't have a cultural mindset preventing them from getting vicious. (Is that a "cold night at Stoke" argument?) It's definitely not a skill thing and a lot of my "gripes" with him aren't exactly his fault. I just wonder about his attitude and whether he can deal with being at a club where he's not the king. If he ends up having a career like, say, Riquelme, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Eric Cantonese fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Nov 30, 2012 |
# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:25 |
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TheGoatFeeder posted:Matija Nastasic should be on that list Keep in mind that the list was put together back in December 2011. I don't know if Nastasic was on people's radar then. I still think City didn't handle the Savic situation well, but Nastasic is a better player and has adjusted better, so I guess everyone wins in the end.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:29 |
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TyChan posted:Keep in mind that the list was put together back in December 2011. I don't know if Nastasic was on people's radar then. I actually think it was a great move for Savic, gets him out of the lime light hopefully meaning he won't be as scrutinised as he was here allowing him to develop into a decent defender. When he first started playing for us he was OK, but towards the end his confidence was just destroyed and I am not sure he would ever have got it back under the pressure he was under at City. Nastasic so far seems to be dealing with it a lot better, he did make a couple of mistakes in his first couple of games, but thankfully they haven't held him back as of yet.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:32 |
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TyChan posted:Keep in mind that the list was put together back in December 2011. I don't know if Nastasic was on people's radar then. That was right after he started to play for Fiorentina and before he had consistent game time for them. Basically right before people started to notice him; that's probably why he's not on there because I agree that he should be.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:32 |
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TyChan posted:For me, part of my suspicions are based on the fact that he stuck around Santos in the first place instead of making the jump already. Then again, admittedly, that could all be due to whatever convoluted contract ownership situation the guy is in right now. He's 20 years old, staying home and at Santos is not a knock against him. More than most countries I think if you're starting, playing well/scoring goals on Brazil's national team you're probably a pretty good talent that can go just about anywhere, league-wise. I would not make this same argument for someone playing on the USMNT for example. I really think the biggest reason he hasn't left Brazil yet is because he's owned by like 50 different people/companies and it's going to cost like 40mil+ and that really limits the amount of teams that will even bother.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:37 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 10:58 |
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Gigi Galli posted:
I forgot about him because I haven't seen him much this season but yes, he was fantastic last season and he has a great future too.
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# ? Nov 30, 2012 16:47 |