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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Why Buying Bale and Selling Ozil was a Bad Idea

Recently, Real Madrid splashed a lot of cash for Tottenham Midfielder Gareth Bale. To be exact, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez spent 100 million Euros for Bale. And he also sold Mesut Ozil to Arsenal. Perez has been criticized a lot of times for his lack of understanding of the game. And this move by Perez questions his sanity. By buying a player for double his worth and selling Real Madrid's second best player, Perez has created a lot of problems for his club. 



  1. Youth Talent Will Diminish (Again): In recent years, Real Madrid's Castilla graduates have not been able to break into the first team. But with the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, people thought that Real Madrid's youth academy products would be given a chance. But now, it seems like all hope is lost for the younger players at Real Madrid, especially Jese Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata, With the arrival of Bale, Jese will have to fight for his place. Even though he shows a lot of promise, without playing time, his talent will be wasted. The attack will be always dominated by Ronaldo, Isco and Bale, leaving Di Maria and Jese with very less playing time. Ancelotti will think twice before benching €100m Bale. And there is no question of benching Ronaldo, Real Madrid's best player. This leaves no space for the promising winger Jese Rodriguez.  
  2. Ozil's Departure Will Affect Real Madrid's Creativity: Ozil is considered to be one of the best playmakers in world football today. He had 35 assists last season. And that is not a small number. Bale is not well known for setting up others. Even Isco likes to score goals. But Ozil was more concerned about passing to others and setting up his teammates, especially Ronaldo (which explains Ronaldo's anger over Ozil leaving). The number of goals Ronaldo scores will decrease. And Real Madrid will be left with two wingers constantly taking long range shots from 30 yards out.
  3. Bale May Succumb to Pressure: Due to his enormous price tag, Bale will be under constant criticism. Every mistake he makes will be criticized. If he does not impress in his debut, he will be instantly put under pressure. This will make Bale nervous and unsettled, which will affect his form. And if he flops, Perez just threw 100 million euros into the drain.  
  4. Bale-Ronaldo Partnership could fail: Real Madrid fans have been waiting to see Bale and Ronaldo together on the pitch. If their partnership succeeded, it would be eye-candy, not to mention lethal. They would torment defenders and pose various attacking threats. But if the partnership failed, it would be a waste of money. It would most likely fail as both Ronaldo and Bale like to take shots from outside the box. And they don't pass or cross as much as other wingers do. If it was Ozil instead of Bale, there would have been a lot of passing going on. 

I am not saying that Bale is a bad player. He is very talented. But Real Madrid does not need another winger right now. I feel that Florentino Perez bought Bale as a reply to Barcelona signing Neymar. Perez must really be going senile after all.


Friday, August 30, 2013

3 Reasons Why Franck Ribery Deserves the Ballon D'or 2013

   


The Ballon D'or awards, the award given to the best footballer of the year, have been recently dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Messi winning it the last four times. People say that either Messi or Ronaldo deserve to win the Ballon D'or 2013.

 But a certain French footballer named Franck Ribery is more worthy of that recognition this year. Here is why I think so...

  1. Silverware: It is common knowledge that the Ballon D'or is awarded to a player who has the best performance in that particular year. It is not just the number of goals or assists that matters, but team glory. A best player is a player who takes his team to glory i.e. silverware. All those goals scored by Messi, Ronaldo, etc are of no use if they don't bring their team silverware. But then, people may argue that goals do matter. So I say, look at Zinedine Zidane in 1998. He did not score so many goals. But he carried his team to victory in the World Cup, scoring two magnificent goals in the finals againts Brazil. And he won the Ballon D'or. Oh yes, goals do matter. But not tap-ins and goals against small teams. But great goals against great teams is what matters more. The same goes for assists. And Ribery has performed very well this season, scoring important goals, giving important assists. Even in the UEFA Champions League final, it was Ribery who was behind both goals, first giving a great pass to Robben to cross to Mandzukic, and then setting up Robben with a simple flick. It was Ribery who was behind Bayern Munich's succes this year as they won the BundesLiga, the DFL-Supercup and the UEFA Champions League. And for that, he was awarded the BundesLiga Player of the Year Award 2013. 
  2. Ability: Ribery's ability cannot be doubted. He is a very skilled player who can shoot, pass, cross, head,etc very well. He is very fast, athletic, and intelligent. Anyone who has watched his games will agree with me. He is a good dribbler and can do fancy tricks as well. There is no doubt that he is as skilled as Messi And Ronaldo.

  3. Individual Awards: Ribery has already been recognized by a lot of people. He has been awarded the BundesLiga Player of the Year Award, UEFA Champions League Best XI, UEFA Best Player in Europe Award,etc. This proves that Ribery is already the best player in the world this year. The only thing left is for FIFA to hand him the Ballon D'or 2013 as Ribery is the only one worthy of that award.