⚽️The Footy Thread: German Super Cup, International Champions Cup, Copa Libertadores

[AZwildcats]

Boateng looked really slow yesterday, and makes some really careless decisions with the ball. If I'm Low, I start Rudiger back there from now on. Also De Ligt really didn't look very good either, I'd like to see a Van Dijk and De Vrij partnership

 

[mastamind89]

 

[PRIME]

I don’t think Alexis was terrible at “Wengerball”. I think by the time he got to Arsenal, he thought he was supposed to be the man so he hugged the ball a lot or took a lot of bad shots.

He also held onto the ball a bit too long before he passed in the final third which led to poor passing like in that gif.

He’s made some dough & scored some goals since leaving Barca but his career has really gone wayward with the exception of the Chile NT.

Didn’t Messi go in on Alexis back in the day saying something like “why do you shoot so much, you’re terrible, give me the damn ball”?

Dude hangs on to the ball way too much but he definitely was brought in as one of “the guys” along wit Ozil so I can see why he thought he should have controlled the ball more

 

[rolaholic]

I wouldn't day Alexis struggled under 'Wenger ball' either when he was a top 3 player in the league during his first 2-3 seasons in North London while playing scintillating footy at times.

Creative/flair players losing possession a lot isn't anything new either,it comes with the territory when you're consistently trying to make stuff happen on the pitch.

Check any list of most lost possession in any given season and it'll be filled with some of the best playmakers in the game. Alexis's problem rn is that he isn't producing like he's supposed to to balance out the lost possession.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

@ Wenger doing better with a war chest.... smalller clubs did a better job finding great talent for less money than what Wenger was paying for the mediocre players he was buying. He’s washed... has been for 10-15 yrs. He made terrible buys that set that club back for years & kept them from being competitive.

De Ligt is the Dutch jon stones. He plays terribly for Oranje. I’m actually not that high on him. He did look great against Bayern in the CL though. He’s capable of good play for Ajax. Maybe he’s inconsistent bcs he’s young. I’d much rather have Upamecano or Thilo Kehrer now at P$G. They are 100 times the player De Ligt is & much more consistent.

Ya’ll dummies capped for Boateng to. Never understood why people thought so highly for him. Dudes a bum through & through... Throw hummels in the trash pile to dude is straight hot garbage.

Hats off to Lucho ending the Madrid & Barca dominance on La Roja. He’s doing exactly what needs to be done since those players are washed now. Spain has plenty of young talent that should be playing that fan also carry the NT to glory. It’s too bad the club hierarchy & players like Messi ran him off at Barca.You should never let the patients run the asylum even the goat.

 

[Armada]

Boateng was a world class defender he started his decline after those long term injuries he had. Can’t really blame him for that

 

[Kimchi Papi]

World class.

 

[Armada]

Come on man I know he’s not good now but that don’t mean we gotta act like he wasn’t one of the best centerbacks in the game at one point in time

 

[Kimchi Papi]

He like oompa loompa benefited from having great players & great leadership around him that masked their inefficiencies. Sure both were capable of good to great play for stretches of time but world class? Hell the **** no. You got to be out your got damn mind... you guys cape for the dumbest most imbicile players...

 

[flyeed]

Considering both ends of the field, which does matter at the top level especially when we’ve seen how important playing out of the back is, Boateng was a top level CB at one point imo

 

[yankeesking92]

Seeing that Messi move on Boateng in the CL at the time still is one of the top moments I've ever seen live. It was made that much better because he was in form and was considered WC.

 

[AZwildcats]

World class.

He was fam, just like Pique was for a period of time. Their declines have been hard to watch

 

[Kimchi Papi]

They were good to great for stretches of time but never world class. Both of those CBs greatly benefited from having legendary players like Puyol & Lahm playing in the back line & true world class players like jordi alba & David Alaba.

Both of those legendary players constantly had to tell those dummies where to be & what to look for. Not to mention the world class to legendary midfields that played in front of them. Never ever were they world class.

Edit -World Class players aren’t that status for a period of time. They’re world class from beginning to end. If they were only considered that for a stretch of time, they weren’t world class.

Take for example the players I mentioned. Puyols & Lahm... World Class from beginning to end (even when they physically diminished). Neither Boateng or oompa loompa are remotely close to that level even on their best day. Not only do they not belong in the same paragraph, but they don’t deserve to be in the same text book.

 

[jape]

You are both not wrong. Pique and boateng have been inconsistent but not a lot of guys have reached the level they have. they have the trophies to back the claim.

They have literally won everything you can imagine. You have to be world class to do that imo

Spoiler

 

[jape]

 

[PRIME]

Sports is fashion

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Seeing those pics of Pep & Wenger reminds of the Amazon series when City played Arsenal in the cup semis... If I remember correctly, Pep called Wenger an ***hole to his face & then said you complain all the time....

As for footballers & fashion, I always appreciated this vid with Xabi talking about him being a watch aficionado.

 

[rolaholic]

Old man Wenger pulling off those menswear fits even better than Pep

 

[Armada]

 

[LA Diggler]

Get it done Hov.

 

[Coupé It]

Strikers don’t get that many opportunities to score in Serie A, outside the top 5 clubs, every other team puts the tactical bus clamps whenever they play the best teams....

Lukaku is buggin, the way he misses opportunities in the EPL, he’d average 1 goal every 8 games in Italy.... no way...

He’s gotta be looking for salary upgrade

 

[jape]

lukaku feeling himself
He’s not a top striker. The way he plays only works in the epl

 

[jape]

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Nike not interested in renewing their kit sponsorship of Monaco after it ends this campaign. The club will return to Kappa. Shame because Nike did consistently well with their Monaco kits over the years.


Edit - Vermaelen out for 6 weeks... What short sightedness from the club to think they could depend on him given his injury history & not have any depth. This means only oompa loompa & Lenglet are the only CBs available right now.

Rumors are swirling that the club is shopping for a CB & a left back as well as a striker... My picks would be Dayot Upamecano & Jose Gaya... Abi apparently likes Lyon's Ferland Mendy but for me he's like Lenglet at LB... He fouls too much at the worst possible times. He can be a great LB for stretches of time but also a terrible LB for stretches of time.

 

[mastamind89]