Fabian ruiz was nothing especially either & miles off ππππ.
Okay I won't ruin the flick trend with that one
I wonder what some of you think about Zubimendi vs De Jong. And how important players like Merino and Fabian are for Spain's midfield.
The whole idea about lone DM was never a thing. You can't really say Pep Barca played with a lone DM when that player had Xavi next to him. And a fullback like Alves cutting in also. There's so much instant support nearby at a glance thar you're never really alone. I don't know how this idea caught roots.
Zubi easily better
Don't need to say why Just watch them.
He has that little X to his game that all top top Midfielders have and de jong has never had, which is why I will never rate him.
But he's good in that D.P, can give a good game when pedri is having a very good one, so not much to overly worry about with him, it's a wishful replacement more than a needed one right now, maybe in the medium term
Not sure what you are trying to say.
Lone pivot probably died a death a bit after Pep/Busi showed world what a top player in that position could do.
Teams began to target that area more in build up as more teams played passing football and teams adapted to offer more options.. two players dropping deeper more often.
The reality is Busi never really dominated intl or CL football much at all past 2011.
Took a lot of hammerings and him looking a bit slow though even if still had some silky moments.
That's why people are wrong in assessing a match only by the result. We were outplayed all game.Journos going on about Alonso schooling Flick is BS. All they did was sit back and look to exploit the line which they knew we would play. Nothing fancy.
They capitalized on some calamitous defending for the second goal. It wasn't some tactical masterclass by any stretch.
That's why people are wrong in assessing a match only by the result. We were outplayed all game.
Dunno about tactivla schooling, but reality is they were far better.
That's what I'm saying. Busi never actually played lone DM in reality when Xavi was playing. In fact, I don't think it's a coincidence that Xavi had his best offensive season back when Yaya played DM, and Messi played RW. That was closer to a single pivot, probably because Yaya was built like a tank.
When Messi moved false 9, Xavi became more of a DM-CM. Was mostly a fluid 3 alternating between various shapes at will. Whenever Busi would get closed down, Xavi (mainly, but not exclusively) would defuse it. It wasn't really a rigid 1 to 2 with Busi being alone in midfield and Xavi and Iniesta waiting in more advanced positions.
On Frenkie v Zubi.
Frenkie this season so far has more tackles/intercptions per 90 than Zubi and more recoveries also for example.
I like Zubi and he fits Arsenal well but he has nowhere near the job to try and do as Pedri and Frenkie have to do at Barca on both sides of ball.
But how do we fix Pedri and De Jong having to do so much leg work without adding a stronger phisical midfielder? Don't think it's possible. Arsenal have Rice. Rice is a physical player with a big athletic presence in midfield. This is felt big time during the game.
With Olmo, Casado and Fermin we have none of that.
I agree it's tough to land a top DM. It's easier to get a CM-AM but that player to work will need to be far stronger than Olmo. More like Merino. Or like Goretzka was. Or Fabian Ruiz. Someone with physical presence off the ball. Not a softer technical AM.