Ibrahim Afellay

Raed

Raed

Dr. Raed St. Claire
karthik said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssEXViTn7js
Minute 2:31

:party00231:

Great touch.

Afellay is settling in.

I just hope he continues putting in good performances with us.

Hopefully there will be good mutual respect between both the club and the player and a long relationship just like many other Dutch players
Click to expand...

Haha, he is not nervous but he is from a very different school. You could see that looking for a pass is not second nature, he is thinking about it long and hard. He will get it soon enough though, it is just that he wants to be able to pass the ball without thinking too much then he will start dribbling a lot more not being afraid to lose it. Its hilarious how the entire team passed him the ball :lol:
 
FCBarca

FCBarca

Mike the Knife
What I saw, from the moment he got on the pitch was a player who knew he had to step up his play and not show the nervy performances he had been doing earlier

So, he pressed a little more than usual but better that than being too passive, IMO...He looked sharp and aggressive...Frankly, he looked a little bit more like the player I expected to see play for Barca...Gives me hope that we are going to see sooo much more from the kid

When he finally lets loose and understands when to put it into a higher gear, I expect even bigger things from him...Look forward to him actually taking a crack at goal...When you've got the weapons around you that Afellay does, I can imagine him being a bit hesitant to take a shot himself
 
M

Mocro

New member
FCBarca said:
What I saw, from the moment he got on the pitch was a player who knew he had to step up his play and not show the nervy performances he had been doing earlier

So, he pressed a little more than usual but better that than being too passive, IMO...He looked sharp and aggressive...Frankly, he looked a little bit more like the player I expected to see play for Barca...Gives me hope that we are going to see sooo much more from the kid

When he finally lets loose and understands when to put it into a higher gear, I expect even bigger things from him...Look forward to him actually taking a crack at goal...When you've got the weapons around you that Afellay does, I can imagine him being a bit hesitant to take a shot himself
Click to expand...

+1

You have to ooze confidence and selfawareness as a Barcaplayer. Its not like Xavi, Iniësta and Messi never make mistakes, but they don't sweat it all. They KNOW that they ll overcompensate the mistakes in the minutes to come. We are so lucky to live in an era where we can watch this level of play on a weekly basis. I envy the people that have a seasonticket at Camp Nou.
 
xsever

xsever

New member
Pep's exact words about Afellay and Thiago:

The day after it was revealed that Thiago will be joining the first team next season, Guardiola explained why he will be training with the reserves. “We wanted to have a very close look closely at how capable he is of playing for us, and we now know he is. But there are more of us now that Afellay is here, and Thiago is too young to be sitting on the bench. I want him to play games … He is a very special player, unique in many ways … Whenever he has played for us he has given us something different”.
Click to expand...
 
desoe

desoe

New member
He is a very special player, unique in many ways … Whenever he has played for us he has given us something different
Click to expand...

At least this sounds encouraging, coming from the mouth of Pep. It's good to know that Thiago's qualities are appreciated and the right people see the "special" thing in him. He's not average like GDS, so it's an important task for the future to keep him here and turn him into what all of us are expecting to see.

And as it is an Afellay thread, I hope to see him starting tomorrow. Seeing what a player can do for 10 minutes is one thing, but seeing him starting a game is a completely different story.
 
FCBarca

FCBarca

Mike the Knife
Mocro said:
+1

You have to ooze confidence and self awareness as a Barca player. Its not like Xavi, Iniesta and Messi never make mistakes, but they don't sweat it all. They KNOW that they ll overcompensate the mistakes in the minutes to come.
Click to expand...

Definitely and I believe, although you might have better insight on that, that Ibrahim has it in him to show that confidence once he gets more comfortable in the team
 
M

Mocro

New member
FCBarca said:
Definitely and I believe, although you might have better insight on that, that Ibrahim has it in him to show that confidence once he gets more comfortable in the team
Click to expand...

He definately isnt the type of player that will have a lot of talk without performing first. He starts timid and when he backs it up with his performance and earns the respect of his teammates and coach, you'll see him grow and take more risks. Its the same way he started at the Dutch squad and PSV. I assume it ll be faster now as he is more experienced and no longer a talent.
 
Co0ter

Co0ter

Senior Member
por supuesto said:
And play Cesc as a winger? :O
Click to expand...

Lolz, Cesc as a winger....now that'd be a sight. I love the kid but he's slooooooow. If it weren't for his superb dribbling and vision he'd get nowhere with the ball. Cesc moves the ball really well and could potentially be a good replacement for Xavi, maybe the best. However Cesc is very different than Xavi. He has great vision and passing skills but he is also a lot more attacking minded; he'd have to learn how to sit back a bit more than he does at Arsenal. I think Cesc, under Pep, could pick up the position beautifully but honestly- Arsenal ain't letting him go for anything short of 50 million. PERIOD. He's their captain, Wenger loves him, other clubs want him and he's their crown jewel. I don't see Cesc coming here for even 35-40 million unless he demands a trasnfer and threatens not to perform- which he will never do to Arsenal.

I see Afellay, matured a lot for his age like Cesc, and I see a potential future. Sure he'd still only what 24?! Xavi wasn't the superstar or player he is now at 24 either; however I see the potential to be. Afellay, like Mascherano, are too good to be squad players. We promised Thiago a first team promotion next year and if Afellay performs well I don't see much room for Cesc. If anything we'll get a tall hard worker/destroyer type to replace Keita.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Home of Barca Fans

Top