World Football

Is Puma Financing Neymar’s Transfer Away From PSG?

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Is it possible that Neymar signed with Puma because Puma will be underwriting or subsidizing his transfer away from Paris Saint-Germain?

While Puma is an excellent and storied brand, which is synonymous with both Pelé and Diego Maradona, it is rare for someone to leave Nike. Nike could have easily matched any offers from other shoe and sporting goods company. Nike catapulted onto the world football and soccer stage in the mid-1990’s when they sponsored Brazil and Romário at the 1994 World Cup. Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are sponsored by Nike. The inclusion of Neymar into the tradition of Pelé and Maradona is fascinating and nostalgic, but it still was surprising that Neymar would leave Nike. Cristiano Ronaldo has been a Nike player his entire career, and he never switched brands despite his three club transfers.

Football fans should consider the possibility that Neymar’s switch to Puma was necessary to allow him to be sold by PSG and bought by a different club. Such a move isn’t unprecedented. When the American international left AS Roma for Toronto FC, he magically switched from Nike to Puma, but without much fanfare or media coverage if memory serves.

While a return to Barcelona has been the rumored destination for Neymar, it would be fascinating to see the Brazilian perhaps sign with a top Serie A club, Bundesliga club, or even a Premier League club. Could it be possible that we see Neymar play for Juventus or Inter Milan. It’s difficult to imagine Neymar going to play for AC Milan, not because the club isn’t big enough or storied enough, but because the team lacks the level of players that Neymar deserves. Rafael Leão is a Portuguese striker on the rise, but Milan really lack the class for Neymar. Inter Milan certainly need a boost at the defensive midfielder position before a player like Neymar would go there, but perhaps this is in the works.

All of this discussion of Neymar transferring to another club is pure speculation, but Neymar signing with Puma made little sense to all of us outsiders. Surely, there must be a reason why Neymar would leave Nike, the top dog in global sports and footwear, and sign with Puma who are not nearly as famous. Maybe Rihanna influenced Neymar’s switch. Who knows? We’ll find out soon enough.

2020 Champions League Final Preview and Prediction

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The parrots and sheep will predict Bayern Munich to win the 2020 Champions League Final, but the smart money is on Paris Saint-Germain to win. 

Not only do PSG have Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, two of the top four players in the whole world, they also have Ángel Di María who himself is easily a top ten player in the world. 

All three of these players have excellent chemistry, and all three are too fast and too skillful and creative in 1v1 situations for any defender or defenders to contain. You may stop them a few times, but they are all capable of torching multiple defenders in a row on multiple occasions throughout any game against any opponent. 

In addition to PSG’s attack, which is the best in the world, PSG also boast a central defense led by Thiago Silva, arguably the world’s premier defender. Normally, PSG start Thiago Silva and Marquinhos together in the center of the defense, but it appears that Marquinhos will once again play as a defensive midfielder where he is also imperious, skillful, lightning fast, and an excellent ball-winner. 

For all the hype and praise surrounding Bayern Munich, PSG is the team with the better players. The French side should’ve won the Champions League every year that Neymar and Mbappé have been playing together.

Bayern Munich seem to be the favorite of most of the journalists and pundits, which is quite odd considering PSG’s attack. Why would you bet against Neymar and Mbappé…and Di María for that matter. The only explanation is that these journalists and pundits hold some sort of animosity towards Neymar. It’s never really been clear why there is so much animosity toward Neymar. The only incident that sticks out is when he rolled excessively after being fouled in the 2018 World Cup. This incident appears to have really incensed lots of people, and it really is quite fascinating that this one incident caused so much hatred. 

Neymar is the most fouled player in world football, and anyone who watches his games can see how often and how hard he is fouled. Fouls on Neymar are frequently vicious stomps and cleats to the ankles, calves, and feet. Anyone who calls Neymar a diver clearly doesn’t watch him play very much.

As good as Bayern are, they can’t match the firepower and defensive class of PSG. Robert Lewandowski is a deadly and clinical striker who is likely the best Number 9 in the world, but as good as Serge Gnabry and Ivan Perišić are, they are several levels below Neymar, Mbappé, and Di Maria. Bayern have been successful even though they have left Coutinho on the bench for Thomas Müller for much of the season. Bayern normally start Perisic over Kingsley Coman, but the Frenchman Coman is a very skillful and electrifying player who is likely more dangerous and more difficult to defend than Perisic. Having Coman starting would cause more defensive headaches for PSG.

One could argue that starting Coman and Coutinho as the wings to the side of Müller would give Bayern a stronger and more dangerous attack, but arguments such as these frequently elicit comments about how Bayern shouldn’t alter their lineup. Such an argument also rocks the boat in a world where groupthink rules.

Bayern have been operating on the idea that Thomas Müller and Coutinho can’t play together because they would get in each other’s way, but Coutinho excels on the left wing where he often plays for Brazil, in addition to playing as a right wing if Neymar is playing.

Nevertheless, Bayern have four excellent wing options. If this writer were facing off against a loaded PSG side, he’d pick Coman and Coutinho over Perisic and Gnabry. It is controversial, but they are outstanding attacking players who are a nightmare for defenders. Many people argue that altering a consistently successful team for a final is a risky and bad idea. But, Bayern’s defense are going to be in trouble for most of the game. Can they stop PSG’s attacking trio? Bayern might need to raise their firepower.

Alphonso Davies as a left back is one of Bayern’s biggest weapons, and having Davies and Coutinho on the left side would certainly cause PSG’s right back Thilo Kehrer plenty of headaches. He and Presnel Kimpembe are the weak links in PSG’s squad if you can even call them weak links. The former plays for Germany and the latter plays for France.

The French side’s other weak spot is their back-up keeper for Keylor Navas, but this should be offset by the scoring threat of Neymar, Mbappé, and Di María. It wouldn’t be crazy to suggest that they are the best attacking trio since Brazil 2002 World Cup trip of Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Ronaldo or Barcelona’s attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Luís Suárez, and Neymar.

Bayern vs. PSG presents an entertaining midfield battle. Bayern have Thiago and Goretzska, but PSG have Marquinhos and Paredes (and possibly Verratti. Not to mention Gueye. The midfield battle hasn’t been the media’s focus in the build-up to this game, but PSG’s midfield with both Marquinhos or Gueye with Verratti is arguably better than Bayern’s. Once again, if one really thinks about the two teams, it isn’t clear why many have Bayern as their pick.

Bayern are an outstanding side whether it’s Neuer in goal or Thiago Alcantara and Goretzska in the midfield or Davies at left back or Müller and Lewandowski in the attack, but PSG has three attacking grandmasters whose skill and threat outweighs any collective team skill or cohesion that Bayern have.

Despite Bayern being the favorite of most, look for Neymar, Mbappé, and Di María to have too much class and speed for Bayern Munich.

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain

Why Manchester United Is the Most Overrated and Bandwagon Football Club in the World

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Although Cristiano Ronaldo, George Best, Eric Cantona, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all played for Manchester United, the English club remains the most overrated and bandwagon football club in the whole world.

If you were seven years old and looking to buy some football gear, then you’d buy Manchester United’s jersey, if the store was sold out of all the Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, and Bayern Munich jerseys.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich play one-to-two touch football, but Manchester United play three-to-four touch football.

Recently, three of the Top 10 footballers in the whole world were deemed flops and rejects at Manchester United. Their names are Alexis Sanchez, Ángel Di Maria, and Paul Pogba. 

What’s the common denominator here? 

Manchester United. 

Clearly, Manchester United doesn’t have the critical mass of one-to-two touch footballers to compete against elite clubs in the Champions League or the Premier League for that matter because all three of the aforementioned players are world-class players that any club or manager would sign in a heartbeat. It simply can’t be that all three of these players are to blame.

Di Maria, Pogba, and Sánchez are all world-class players who found themselves playing for teammates at Manchester United who couldn’t play the ball back to them first-time like those players’ countrymen and ex-club teammates could. Sánchez used to have to work the mines as a child in Chile, and he became a world-class player, then he got to United, only to have clueless fans call him a flop after starring for Chile, Udinese, Barcelona, and Arsenal.

Before anyone gets too angry, it’s worth noting that Manchester United have several young elite players who are English and who play world-class football. Their names are Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and possibly Mason Greenwood. This writer would go as far as saying that Rashford is more technically-gifted and creative than any English footballer ever. 

Manchester United should be better than they are. Despite their fans claims of their club being synonymous with beautiful football under Sir Alex Ferguson, they have never displayed the same quality of beautiful football as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, or Bayern Munich. Manchester United literally sold or loaned three of their best players to Inter Milan, which is a club they believed wasn’t a competitor of theirs, despite the fact that Inter Milan are consistently a Champions League club. In fact, Inter Milan are so storied and big that Brazilian Ronaldo played for them. 

Any time Ronaldo played for your club, you know your club is elite. Brazilian Ronaldo wouldn’t have come within 100 miles of agreeing to sign for United, and in fact several years ago, Ronaldo said that he had zero respect for Ferguson after the former United boss called him “Fat Ronaldo.” Just the fact that Ferguson would call Ronaldo “Fat Ronaldo” shows you the lack of respect for non-Premier League football prevalent in the United Kingdom. 

This incident is a perfect microcosm of the gap between an appreciation of elite football and the type of football promoted and praised in the United Kingdom. Such a disparaging remark about a player like Ronaldo is a great example of how a real, refined appreciation of top-level football is missing in the United Kingdom. 

Consider the fact that, when Alexis Sanchez signed with Arsenal from Barcelona, the English press ran articles entitled, “Who is Alexis Sanchez?” The premise of the article essentially being that Sánchez hadn’t played in the Premier League yet, so he was unproven in their minds. This mentality has been on full display with United’s fanbase who described Sanchez, Pogba, and Di Maria as flops. All three of these players can’t be flops, especially since Di Maria and Sánchez are two of the best forwards in the world and Pogba is the most complete and technically-skilled midfielder in the world.

Another world-class Chilean footballer highlights the gap between truly top football clubs and Manchester United. Arturo Vidal is still one of the top midfielders in the world, and his club resume demonstrates how super elite players frequently avoid the Premier League and Manchester United all together. The Chilean Number 8 began his career with the Santiago, Chile giants Colo-Colo before going on to play for Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona. Vidal played in the Bundesliga, Serie A, and La Liga, but he hasn’t played in the Premier League. One could argue that players of Vidal’s level only play for clubs like Manchester United for insane amounts of money when they have no other options, which is to say that Manchester United are good, but not as good as they think.

Recently, the young striker prodigy, Erling Haaland, told Manchester United, “thanks but no thanks,” as he elected to sign for Borussia Dortmund, which is in a better league, the Bundesliga. Don’t forget that Germany have won four World Cups, and they produce better football than the United Kingdom.

If you are looking for empirical evidence of how United isn’t the biggest club in the world, look no further than Champions League trophies. Real Madrid have 10 Champions League trophies, and Manchested United have three Champions League trophies. That’s a huge discrepancy. How can Manchester United be the biggest club in the world if they have seven fewer Champions League trophies than Real Madrid?

United’s best player ever was arguably Cristiano Ronaldo who only happened to play for United because Ryan Giggs and other players supposedly convinced the club to sign him after a game against Ronaldo. United’s scouts didn’t get Ronaldo before that game, and again it was the players who convinced the club to sign Ronaldo after the game.

The very best players in the world come largely from South America, and you never hear of Brazilian and Argentinean players dreaming of playing for United. They always want to play for one of the Spanish or Italian giants. In fact, the only reason that any South American footballers play in the Premier League is the obscene amount of money thrown their way. Gabriel Jesus only agreed to play for Manchester City in the Premier League because of coach Pep Guardiola.

How can United by the biggest club in the world, if the best players don’t grow up dreaming of playing for it?

Let no one say anymore that Manchester United is the biggest club in the world, and don’t forget that Pelé, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, and Lionel Messi never even played in the Premier League.

One could argue that the Premier League is where the most technically-gifted and flashy players lose their soul. It certainly stole Mesut Özil’s soul. Before he was amazing and free at Real Madrid, and then he went to Arsenal where they killed his spirit and pushed him to pose for photos with that hate-monger Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who makes Donald Trump look like a Disney character. Özil was one of the masters of the much-maligned Jabulani ball at the 2010 World Cup. Özil is a world-class footballer who now plays with lifeless, cardboard cutouts at Arsenal, who are even worse than Manchester United.

Even Liverpool lucked their way into a Champions League trophy last season thanks to all of the top teams being out of the tournament, and this season Liverpool were absolutely rocked and outclassed by Atletico Madrid who taunted Liverpool to their face. Now isn’t the time to criticize Pep Guardiola as a coach given the circumstances, and my heart goes out to him at this devastating time.

The point of this article isn’t how the different Premier League teams stack up against each other. The point is that Manchester United are nothing compared to the actual top clubs who play in the better European leagues with more technical players who perform better in the Champions League and in World Cups. Manchester United fans don’t just say that their club is the best in the Premier League. They claim that it’s the biggest in the whole world.

Manchester United are definitely a top club, but it’s inaccurate to say that they are the biggest club in the world. Everyone knows that Real Madrid and Barcelona are the best clubs in the world, and thinking that Manchester United are bigger than Bayern Munich and Juventus is just pure ignorance.

Saying that Manchester United are the biggest club in the world is like saying LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan at basketball because when did LeBron even pass Kobe Bryant?

The two most successful clubs in world football are Real Madrid and AC Milan. Milan have seven Champions League titles to Real Madrid’s 10. When did Manchester United leap frog Real Madrid and AC Milan?

How AC Milan Should Line Up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

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AC Milan have talented players at every position, so it’s anyone’s guess why they have been playing so poorly this season. Nevertheless, the blame should fall mostly on their coach Stefano Pioli due to his poor utilization of his talent and his misguided lineups. Pioli routinely fails to start Paquetá, Giacomo Bonaventura, and Rafael Leão together, and the word for this is incompetence.

Assuming Milan are smart enough to not sell Paquetá to Paris Saint-Germain, this is how Milan should lineup with Zlatan Ibrahimovic now on the squad for the second time, and it’s really the Front Six that is the most interesting discussion.

Milan already have a world-class striker in Rafael Leão, and they would be wise to start him alongside Ibrahimovic up top. Two striker lineups are rare nowadays, but they didn’t use to be. Since Bonaventura is an excellent playmaker and trequartista, it makes since to start him behind Ibrahimovic and Leão as the team’s trequartista or Number 10.

Ibrahimovic always appreciates having teammates who can play his level of quick combination jogo bonito, and Leão certainly has the creativity, technical ability, and playing style to partner with Ibrahimovic. Frankly, Ibrahimovic is lucky to have Leão whom this writer believes one day will be the best Number 9 in the world. Both strikers play like honorary Brazilians, and it should be exciting to watch them play together, assuming that Pioli actually does it. 

Milan are also fortunate enough to have Paquetá who is an outstanding midfielder who qualifies as a fantastista, and he can play as a Number 8 or as a Number 10. Having Paquetá and Bonaventura together on the side should provide plenty of possession, creativity, and service to the forwards. Paquetá’s best position to maximize all of Milan’s talent is in the midfield behind Bonaventura and alongside Frank Kessie, who, while technical, isn’t as creative and skillful as Paquetá and Bonaventura. This leaves Bennacer to anchor the midfield as a regista, which is the position that he plays best in.

Milan’s problem so far has been the player selection of the coach Pioli, and Pioli appears to be a very poor judge of talent so far. Frankly, it’s incredible that coaches like this are allowed to continue to bench their best players without any repercussions from Milan’s higher-ups.


Quality and Depth Make Chelsea Premier League Title Contenders

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Amidst the media focus and hype around Liverpool and Manchester City, it’s escaped many people’s notice that Chelsea may just play the highest quality football in the Premier League and that they have a deep roster. 

While Manchester City have a poor defense and Liverpool basically have no elite substitutes for their midfielders or forwards, Chelsea have a strong defense and excellent substitutes in their midfield and attack. 

Chelsea can win the Premier League. It’s only December. Every year pundits and journalists declare the title race over too soon, but there’s a lot of football yet to be played.

Last season anyone and everyone mocked Maurizio Sarri for starting Jorginho as a regista with N’Golo Kante as a Number 8, then Kante came out and said he liked playing as a Number 8 because he could surge forward more and attack. Jorginho was always a world-class playmaker and central midfielder, and he plays with a huge work-rate like Kante. Mateo Kovacic and Willian were also ridiculed and heckled by fans despite both of these players also being world-class midfielders and playmakers. All of this is an example of how Premier League fans like some others are merciless critics who often just parrot the sentiments of the crowd making them sheep in addition to parrots.

More important than all of this is that Chelsea play one-to-two touch football with special players who can best their defensive markers and score out of nothing. One can make a strong argument that Chelsea play the best football in the Premier League, and they aren’t weak anywhere from the goal to the attack. Chelsea play a proactive and possession brand of football where they also have the players to burst forward into space and the pass-masters to feed the ball to their attacking players. In short, Chelsea can beat their opponents in a variety of ways from the run of play.

In addition to the midfielders who were discussed above, Chelsea’s attack has something that all clubs try desperately to find: an elite Number 9. It’s not too early to call Tammy Abraham a world-class center forward. He has everything you could want in a center forward: skill, speed, two-footed technical ability, quality heading, height, and strength. Abraham is a skill player. His goals and attacking play are based on his technical ability with the ball rather than merely being a poacher. He is a penalty box predator, but he’s also a player who dribbles into the penalty box and shakes the net.

The American Christian Pulisic has been disproving many of his doubters who said that he needed time to adjust to the Premier League. It’s simply just not a credible position to contend that someone who exceled for several years in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund needed any adjustment to England. As with most football opinions, this opinion was something that was just parroted by anyone and everyone who never bothered to give it much thought. Pulisic’s combination of skill and electric speed has not only resulted in six goals, but it’s also resulted in his teammates being more open when defenders swarmed to Pulisic when he made his trademark marauding dribbling runs.

Chelsea have the luxury of having Mason Mount who is a playmaker with excellent 1v1 dribbling abilities like Pulisic. The American looks faster, but Mount still has excellent pace and two-footed dribbling, passing, and shooting ability. The two players compliment each other rather than being mutually exclusive, and as the saying goes, “The more the merrier.”

Perhaps slipping under the radar with Chelsea is that their defenders are outstanding. Not only are they technical with good defending, but Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori are very hard to beat for pace. This writer contends that those two center backs could play for any club in the world, and Chelsea’s fullbacks are dangerous going forward. Right Back Reece James plays like Maicon in his prime, and the only thing missing is the outside of the foot flamethrowers that Maicon used to bomb on goal from outside of the box. James basically just started playing for Chelsea, so we’ll see how much he looks to shoot. On the left Chelsea have Emerson Palmieri who is a Brazilian who plays for Italy, and so Chelsea very much have a complete team who play more along the lines of Real Madrid or Barcelona than they do like Manchester United, Liverpool, or Manchester City.

Many observers have declared the title race over, but it’s only December. Over half of the season remains. Chelsea could make it interesting with a roster that is second to none in the Premier League.


England Are Now a Technical, Dynamic, and Creative National Team

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It’s hard to remember a more skillful and athletic team than England’s current national team squad. The previous generation with David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, and the like were called the golden generation, but were they?

The current English squad is far more technical, creative, athletic, and direct than the so-called “Golden Generation.” Marcus Rashford for one possess way more technical ability and speed than anyone who played for England in the past. In his current form, Rashford is playing with far more verve and flair than anything England showed in the past.

The quality in the English side goes way beyond just Rashford, and many of the players are brand new. Despite the fact that England have a world-class Number 9 in Harry Kane, The Three Lions now also have Tammy Abraham of Chelsea who plays the same brand of football as Rashford. Better yet, Abraham scores lots of goals, and he scores them using his skill, speed, size, and movement off the ball. He’s an excellent finisher, which is vital to any squad that wants to win the Euros or the World Cup.

England have a new playmaker in Mason Mount who’s creative, skillful, and quick, but who also boasts excellent 1v1 dribbling skills and an excellent shot. There’s also Harry Winks who Tottenham boast has special playmaker qualities, and Dele Ali is also a playmaker. Nevertheless, Mount plays with shades of Kaká in that he’s a playmaker who also has the 1v1 ability and speed to glide past defenders off the dribble.

Raheem Sterling has become a more complete player in his use of both feet, and his game has progressed beyond just using his pace to get past defenders. Plus, don’t forget Callum Hudson-Odoi who excels on the right or left wing. All of this goes to show just how deep and skilled England are now. This is a new phenomenon for The Three Lions.

Alex Oxley-Chamberlain was once thought of something of an attacking midfielder or playmaker because of his individual skill, but it now seems that he thrives as a Number 8 or box-to-box midfielder who can help the team as a center midfielder while also getting forward into the attack. Having a creative and technical Number 8 is a huge asset to any team, and it gives England something of a second playmaker along with Mount, who may have some competition from Dele Alli.

The Three Lions also have Jordan Henderson and Ross Dier to ensure that the team have talented defensive midfielders to sit in front of an improved England defense led by Fikayo Tomori, who has been a revelation for Chelsea along with their other young talents. Tomori is a fast defender who both tackles well and is calm and composed on the ball. He partners Harry Maguire of Manchester United who is perhaps more highly-rated, but Tomori might just be better. England also have Tyrone Mings as a back-up center back, and he has a case to be a starter with Tomori. In the fullback positions, there’s plenty of competition. The Three Lions are particularly deep at right back where they have the option of starting Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Reece James, Kyle Walker, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. On the left, Danny Rose is just another example of England’s talented players.

Looking at all these players, it’s clear that England are more talented than they used to be, and it’s also clear that the style of play is way more technical than it used to be. This improved collective skill level combined with world-class special players make England a team more capable of winning major tournaments, and it also makes them more fun to watch.

Rafael Leão, The Lion of Portugal, With Shades of Ronaldo

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There’s a new elite talent at the first striker position in world football. His name is Rafael Leão.

He plays with shades of Ronaldo. Not Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo. From Brazil.

You might not have seen him play yet, but you really should watch him next game. The Portuguese Number 9 plays for AC Milan, and he should also be playing for Portugal their next game. Previously, he played for Portugal’s U-21 team.

It’s important to revisit how good Ronaldo was to give perspective to the comparison with Rafael Leão. With no disrespect to Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian Ronaldo was the best footballer of all time, bar none. The Brazilian was quite simply too good, too fast, and too unstoppable. Even in retirement, it’s a shame to see Ronaldo overweight because the 180-pound Ronaldo was quite the sight to behold. All of his contemporaries and successors bowed down to his skill, speed, and directness. Perhaps no moment showcased his skill and appeal more than his left-footed chip over the Santos goalkeeper from outside of the box after leaving his defender for dead with a right-footed Cruyff executed at a full sprint behind his left leg. Ronaldo was easily 20 pounds overweight when he executed this cobertura as it’s called in Portuguese.

Granted, it’s too early to say that Rafael Leão is as good as Ronaldo, but Leão plays with the same flair, speed, and power. Ronaldo himself was a grandmaster of technique and tricks, but Leão certainly executes his tricks with smoothness and bravado, plus the Portuguese striker uses both feet interchangeably. Ronaldo comparisons are dangerous, but this comparison is merely to say that Leão plays like Ronaldo. One of Ronaldo’s greatest qualities was the speed and directness with which he attacked the opposition, and Leão plays that way as well.

The skill, speed, and directness of Rafael Leão’s play draws the viewer’s attention to him instantly. It’s early days, but this writer would go as far as saying that Leão looks to be one of the most promising strikers since Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Rafael Leão is truly good, and praising him too much feels like it could jinx his rise to fame and glory. It’s not clear why he isn’t already starting for Portugal as their center forward with Cristiano Ronaldo out left.

Technique

The Portuguese Number 9 has textbook technical ability with both feet, and his dribbling, passing, and shooting are smooth and effortless. One immediately notices that Leão is completely comfortable using his weaker left foot. The stepover is one of the first tricks that players learn, but most professionals are hesitant to even use it in games against professional opponents. Fewer still are the players who can execute a stepover smoothly and effectively at match pace while on the run. Leão’s stepovers are graceful and low to the ground like a good stepover should be. Most players telegraph the arrival of the stepover by lifting their foot too high off the ground when executing the trick. Leão’s stepovers are smooth like Robinho’s. So far, the Portuguese forward appears to have a full arsenal of even the most audacious of tricks, including the truly rare elástico, and his overall technique in everything else is perfect.

Speed

There’s no way around it. Rafael Leão is shockingly fast. It doesn’t matter who the defender is, Leão is faster. Maybe Rafael Varane might be the same speed, but that’s the only defender that comes to mind. Many fast players aren’t direct enough with their speed. Sure, you’ll see it if they’re chasing down a through ball, but they won’t unleash the speed on you without an invitation. Leão will sprint at defenders the second he receives the ball, and the directness with which he attacks inevitably opens up more space for him to dribble into or it gets the defender on his heels, which allows him to go past the defender on the right or left.

Finishing

Rafael Leão’s first goal for AC Milan showcased his finishing ability in that it was a left-footed finish to the far post when the ball was actually under his feet when he scored it. He didn’t have the right to score that goal. Even an elite professional forward wouldn’t have scored that goal. It’s not clear how he generated the power and placement to score that goal. It’s also not clear how he kept the shot on the ground. So far, this observer hasn’t seen enough of Leão’s finishing to give much detail about it. The full extent of his finishing abilities are yet to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s likely world-class. It just remains to be seen how good it is from outside the box and how good his dead-ball striking is. The fact that Milan’s new coach Pioli has recently had Leão on the bench has prevented observers from giving a more thorough analysis of his play.

Mentality

Rafael Leão doesn’t lose his temper on referees or opponents from what we can tell. When he doesn’t agree with a call, he just kind of looks at the referee and makes a few gestures without losing it on the referee or yelling at them. He makes a short plea, and then he continues to play. This bodes well for him. He also appears unfazed by big games or elite opponents.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that this may seem like a hyperbolic claim, Rafael Leão looks to be a world-class striker who plays with more flair and directness than even top strikers. They’re outstanding, but the skill, speed, and directness of Rafael Leão looks different. He plays with ousadia, which means daring or boldness in Portuguese. Time will tell how good he gets.

 

Marcus Rashford, The Most Talented English Footballer in Decades

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Marcus Rashford didn’t play like the stereotypical English footballer even from the very beginning. English football has traditionally been stereotyped as based on crosses and long balls: In short, the antithesis of Brazilian or South American football. Rashford on the other hand had a full quiver of dribbling tricks that a world-class Brazilian attacker would use.

Recently, Rashford scored a deep freekick with Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark knuckleball technique where the ball is struck with the shoelaces with little follow-through and with the toe of the boot pointed down. This technique causes the ball to balloon up in the air over the wall and quickly dip down. It’s a technique that basically no one else in world football uses. The freekick wasn’t just shockingly good for the ball flight and technique, but the distance was easily from over 30 meters out.

Even before his recent stretch of games with outstanding golazos, the English forward stood out early on due to his smooth execution of tricks that Brazilian Ronaldo utilized and sometimes even invented. Rashford is a frequent practitioner of the elástico, which is a trick that’s rarer to spot than a Giant Panda in the wild. The Manchester United striker still showcases this trick seemingly every game, and it’s surprising to see every time.

The elástico and the freekick were just two examples of Rashford’s trademark un-English style of play, and it has to be said that there are more and more English footballers playing a more technical, creative, and advanced style of play. Say what you want, but this style of play was essentially never seen from English footballers. Mason Greenwood, another young Manchester United forward, as well as Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham also play a similar style of football.

Rashford’s freekick seems to have caused a surge in confidence for the forward, because in his recent Europe League match, he was seen being very active off the ball dropping almost to the defense to help with possession and to jump start the attack. Brazilian Ronaldo was famous for roaming all over the field, rather than standing around like Romario, and it must be said that Rashford is a complete player. Also in his recent Europa League match, he threaded multiple perfectly-weighted through balls past the opposition defense to feed Anthony Martial.

The Manchester United and England forward is a direct and aggressive attacking playing in addition to being creative and flashy. He utilizes his electric pace to sprint directly at opposing defenders and bum rush the penalty area. We’ll likely see a more emboldened Rashford with each game.

It’s safe to say that Marcus Rashford is now officially a world-class player.

Given Rashford’s skill-set, speed, style of play, and youth, Manchester United fans might want to fully appreciate him now and be prepared to say goodbye. If Gareth Bale played for Real Madrid for so many years, then Rashford looks poised to play for either that club or one of a similar level like Barcelona or Juventus.

 

Christian Pulisic Faces Tough Competition for Playing Time at Chelsea

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There can be no doubt that Christian Pulisic’s $73 million move to Chelsea was the biggest move ever for an American footballer, and by all appearances it appears as though the 20-year-old is the most impressive American footballer yet. Nevertheless, Pulisic faces intense competition for playing time despite starting Chelsea’s last two matches.

Although he was unfairly, heavily criticized by Chelsea fans, Willian is an absolutely world-class Brazilian footballer who Pulisic will be competing with for playing time. As Pulisic plays as a wing for Chelsea, he also will competing with Pedro and Mason Mount for minutes.

While Pedro and Willian are already both world-class players, Mount also looks to be an elite player who plays with great technique, creativity, directness, and speed. Mount like Willian or Pulisic or Pedro for that matter plays well centrally as a playmaker, and this allows Chelsea’s manager Frank Lampard to have quite a bit of flexibility with his attacking lineup.

In short, having four excellent attacking midfielders/wingers/forwards is a great problem for Lampard to have, but from an American fan’s perspective it also means Pulisic might not be starting every match and going 90 minutes.

On paper it would appear that Pedro and Willian are far superior to both Mount and Pulisic, and there is a possibility that Lampard could deploy Ngolo Kante and Jorginho as the central or defensive midfielders with Pedro, Kovacic, and Willian lining up in front of them as a line of three.

Kovacic is another world-class player for Chelsea as Kante and Jorginho are, and his ability to be deployed as a true attacking midfielder or playmaker behind Olivier Giroud should not be underestimated. Kovacic didn’t always get as much playing time as he deserved at Real Madrid, but he’s an elegant, graceful, and creative playmaker who deserves his starting spot for Chelsea. This reality makes the competition between Mount and Pulisic even stiffer.

Nevertheless, Pulisic has proven himself to be an electric and aggressive attacker with great creativity and directness, and the presence of stiff competition at Chelsea will not impede his progression as a player or his rise to fame. Let’s not forget that Pulisic already played for Borussia Dortmund, one of the top clubs in the world. The Premier League would appear to be more en vogue than the Bundesliga right now rightly or wrongly, and this will only increase Pulisic’s game and quest to demonstrate that the United States has finally produced a world-class player.

 

Myth: The Premier League Is the Best Football League in the World

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Perhaps world football’s biggest myth is that the Premier League is the best football league in the world. In fact, this myth only exists in the British Isles and former British Colonies, including the United States.

In reality, more people around the world associate top football with La Liga’s two giant clubs: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. People also consider Italy and Germany as top destinations for club football. Teams like Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich attract top players from South America and around the world.

The myth that the Premier League is the world’s top league is a marketing scam that the Premier League tries to sell in the British Isles and the United States. If you want quick proof that the Premier League has never historically been the world’s top league, just consider that Pelé, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Lionel Messi never played there. Surprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo did play in the Premier League for Manchester United, but the reason that he played there was because he impressed all of their players when he played against them as a teenager. This was something of a coup for the Premier League. To be fair, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp amongst others shinned in the Premier League.

If you need more convincing that the Premier League isn’t the world’s top football league, consider how elite South American players from Brazil and Argentina essentially never played in the Premier League until they were offered too much money to say no to from oil sheikhs and oligarchs. Another interesting tidbit to consider is that Italy and Germany are two of the most successful countries in the World Cup, and yet their players also don’t go play in England. France due to it’s proximity to England does have its top players go play in the Premier League, and this is perhaps the strongest counterargument to the Premier League not being the world’s top club football league.

So the question is this: If most of the top South American, German, and Italian players don’t play in the Premier League, then how is it the top team in the world?

Style and quality of football are another areas where the Premier League is behind La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and even Ligue 1. English club football features lots of long balls, an abundance of crosses and headers, out of control running and passing, and dirty tackles. Recently, when Chelsea played Manchester United in the FA Cup, the British announcer and commentator didn’t even know that David Luiz’s striking technique for free kicks was called the folha seca nor could they recognize it as a striking technique that plenty of elite footballers have used. It’s obviously not a big deal to not know the Brazilian Portuguese term for the side-footed freekick, but they seemed to not know that David Luiz wasn’t the only player who has even done it. This advanced bit of skill simply baffled the commentators, who have also been equally confused when Marcus Rashford executes dribbling tricks like elásticos. Someone might have to check to make sure Rashford really is English because his dribbling and overall skill-set are truly world-class.

Recently, a depleted Paris Saint-Germain showed how elite one-to-two touch football played by technical players is far superior to a Manchester United side who have been whipping Premier League fans into a frenzy. What happened when PSG played Manchester United is that elite players from Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, and France really showed the Premier League players how to play, and unfortunately for Manchester United, Paul Pogba wasn’t enough to beat PSG.

To be fair, the Premier League is full of excellent and exciting footballers from around the globe, including South America, but are the Premier League games really more exciting than games in other leagues? Next time you are on the fence about what club game to watch, consider that La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 have most of world football’s top players, and just maybe those players’ teams really know how to play.