Month: June 2017

Götze was the next big German up and comer.  At the age of 22 he was one of the youngest German’s to start for the German national team.  He was the star of Borussia Dortmund and earned a massive move to Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich.  At the 2014 World Cup, he scored the winning goal to make Germany champions but where has he been for the last two years?

Myopathy

Mario Götze has unfortunately been diagnosed with a rare muscle disorder known as myopathy.  Myopathy is a disease of muscle in which the muscle fibers do not function properly. This results in muscular weakness.  Common symptoms include muscle weakness, cramps, stiffness, and tetany.  Because of this he cannot run as fast as he used to let alone play at the professional level.  It is very unfortunate that such a great player has to cut his career short because of such a dibilitating disease.  It is a very hard thing to come back from because the underlying cause has to do with many other physiological problems.

Recovery

It is possible for Götze to eventually come back from this but who knows if he will be able to replicate his former self.  I think that a move away to a lower league club would give him a good confidence boost when he is able to play again to remind him of the player he truly is.  I also believe that a move out to the wing will offer him some rest from always playing a central role (center mid/striker).  As a way to honor Mario Götze I have compiled some highlights of his best moments.

One of the most exciting things about professional football is seeing all of the transfers that happen each summer.  It’s cool to see some of the best players trying themselves with a different team or league. Some of these transfers are short loan spells where they are still owned by their original club or full on purchases where they are now the property of a new club.  These are my predictions for which players  think will change clubs next season.

Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid —> Manchester United

Griezmann has proved himself in the passed few seasons as one of the world’s best strikers.  There is speculation every year that he will move clubs and I think this will be the year he finally moves from La Liga.  He will go to Man United because he himself has said that he would like to play at the same club as his French Partner Paul Pogba as well.

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid —> Paris Saint Germain

Roanldo is currently the best player in the world and has just ended his contract with Real Madrid.  He has spent a decade with the club and is starting to get to an age where I downward swing could happen.  I think it would be silly for a team like Paris, who have the money to buy him, not to snatch him up before another club does.

Adel Taarabt Genoa —> Queen’s Park Rangers (loan)

A player who is still trying to find his form, Adel Taarabt must move clubs this summer in order to get back to his former self.  He hardly a plays for his current club so I think a loan spell is definitely not out of the question since he is not being used at the moment.  I think he will be loaned out to QPR a club which he flourished at in the past.

Kostas Manolas A.S. Roma —> Chelsea F.C.

Monolas has proven to be one of the Calcio A’s greatest defenders this season.  His pace, defending and mental ability on the ball have gotten a lot of clubs talking about him.  I think that after guiding Roma to the type of the table this season he will earn a transfer to Chelsea F.C., a great club who are looking for a rock solid defender.

Sergio Aguero Manchester City —> Real Madrid F.C.

This season, Man City have introduced a new young striker to their line-up, Gabriel Jesus.  He has played out of his skin this season and regularly starts over Aguero.  Aguero still has a lot left in him as a striker, so that is why I think he will go to another club.  With Cristiano Ronaldo leaving he will fit nicely in their starting XI.

Over the course of my soccer spectating life I have always loved the flair and passion of Greece.  Whether it be the Euro’s, the World Cup or even friendly matches, The Greek National Team will always put up a good fight.  At least that was the case about 10 years ago.  Lately, Greece has been having trouble even qualifying for major competitions.  During qualification for the Euro 2016 they finished bottom behind the Faroe Islands who have a population of not even 50,000.  It’s safe to say, they are not the powerhouse of a team they once were and here is why I think they have fallen out of form over the passed decade.

Financial Issues –

Unfortunately, Greece has also become famous for something else recently.  It’s not the Olympic Games, or Baklava anymore, it’s financial strife.  With Greece being in constant financial trouble, it is hard to put funding into their national soccer team.  Having a good soccer team has become the least of their problems as they could possibly be going into a financial crisis again quite soon.  In sports you almost always need money to be successful, and football is no different.

Horrible Manager –

Current Greek manager Michael Skibbe is not the man for the job to manage a national team.  He has little experience with managing big clubs with his biggest club managed being the assistant manager of the German National Team.  Greece needs someone with energy, with experience and someone with heart.  Skibbe’s style of coaching is far too relaxed for what the team needs right now.  They currently trying to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and if they don’t get someone to turn the team around they might not be able to qualify.

Old Age –

Greece used to be a pool of young fresh talent around the time they did win the Euro’s in 2004.  Now those days are gone and the fountain of youth is dry.  Greece does not have any new up and comers who have made big names for themselves.  The squad is saturated with players on their way to 40 and who used to be stars back in their younger days but are just getting to that age where they need to think about retiring.  Their squad also has an over abundance of defenders who are actually very good players in their own right.  The problem is that they can’t balance that with a good attack, which is their biggest week point.  Salpingidis, Samaras and Mitroglou have all retired and there is no one to take their place.

If Greece can get their act together they could be on their way to going to the 2018 World Cup.  If not I think it’s going to be very tough to recapture their 2004 where they became champions of Europe.  They need a new manager, new ways of funding and some new attackers.  Maybe then they will do some damage against the world best national teams.

The French national team has truly been a sight for sore eyes of the past decade.  In the 2014 World Cup they only ended up making it to the quarter finals despite being favorites, and in the 2010 World cup they did not even make it past the group stage.  They have been an absolute disgrace to what they used to be, winning the world cup in 1998′ and finishing runners up in 2006.  In those that they did not perform well they should’ve at least finished runners up.  This up coming World Cup however will be much different.  The French national team has been revitalized with new, fresh young talent in defense, midfield and forwards.  Also, Manager Didier Deschamps has instilled a new way of moving the ball around the field that has made passing and keeping possession easier for the team.

Team Chemistry

A lot of members from the team play in the same league and even same club.  Paris Saint Germain and AS Monaco combined have 8 players who play for the national team and many more play in that same league.  The other players from the squad, who play outside of France, are some of the best players in the world right now.  Antoine Griezmann is currently one of the most expensive strikers at the moment, having had 3 successful seasons with Atletico Madrid in a row.  Paul Pogba, who is the most expensive signing in history is currently the strongest and most skillful defensive midfielder the premier league has.  All of these players together also have one thing that is very important, they are all young.  This means they have many years ahead of them to get used to how they play together and find out what works.  I fact the oldest player on the squad is 30 years old while most national teams is 36-40.

Euro 2016

France exploded to life last summer finishing second in the Euro’s.  Even though they were favorites to win the tournament, they still put on an impressive showing for all of Europe.  If they play as well at the World Cup as they did at the Euro’s they will surely win the whole thing.  They even have more talent on they’re team now than they did when they played in the Euro’s last summer.  Mbappe, Kante, Thauvin and Lemar are all new faces to the team and regularly start whether it be a friendly or a qualifier match.

Starting Line-Up

This is what I believe France’s starting XI should look like come World Cup 2018:

Forwards: Griezmann, Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele

Midfield: Kante, Pogba, Payet

Defense: Sidibe, Koscielny, Varane, Digne

GK: Lloris

Formation: 4-3-3

This post is going to be dedicated to seeing where some of football’s one hit wonders who are currently still playing, have ended up after not living up to expectations.  This topic is something that is has always interested me because in professional football you can go from zero to hero in just one season.  This can happen from suffering an injury, moving clubs or just not playing well in general.  No matter the case, it truly is hard to be one of the best season after season, and only a few players are able to do it.

(View highlight reels by clicking players)

Robinho

Once said to be the heir to the behemoth that is the Brazilian National team, Robinho was one of the most skillful footballers back in 2008-2011 era and had a promising future.  He was first discovered at Santos F.C. until earning moves to Real Madrid, Man City and A.C. Milan. He was a hot and cold player who unfortunately could never really find form at any of the clubs he signed for and was mostly there to sell shirts.  After an unimpressive last season with Milan, he moved back to Brazil where he now plays for Atletico Mineiro, a team where he can show off his fancy skills which he known well for.

Adel Taarabt

Taarabt lit up the Premier League with his first club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, until the young Moroccan moved to Queen’s Park Rangers where he was the star of the team.  He could play anywhere needed for that team, even playing at striker in times of need.  After a quick loan spell with A.C. Milan, Taarabt came back to QPR different than when he left and could not find his magic touch.  He signed for S.L. Benfica shortly after coming back to QPR and immediately fell into the worst form of his career.  He was relegated to the B team after showing up unfit and is currently on loan to Genoa.  Taarabt is still young so hopefully he can find form before his career is over.

Samir Nasri

Nasri is one of those players that you either love or hate.  The reason for that is because his antics on and off the field make him a controversial character.  Whether you like him or not there is one thing that no one can deny, he was once an outstanding player.  Nasri had an amazing start to his career with Arsenal F.C. where he was the heart of the midfield along with Spanish international Cesc Fabregas.  After a couple of seasons he signed with Man City where he continued to his good form.  After two seasons however he started a downward spiral of off the pitch incidents with the manager and not getting enough playing time with the first team.  He was also banned from the national team after a training ground bust up with one of the assistant coaches.  He currently plays as a left midfielder with Sevilla in Spain where he is train to get back on his feet and become the player everyone expected him to be.