nah that was a quality post by BBZ
Not a fan of Arthur, but he's probably still a better player than Ilaix. People prefer his potential.
Edit: Ilaix's potential.
He will get the shame treatment that Mina, Semedo and Dembele have received. Valverde does not develop players. Guys like Alena and Arnaiz could have been used more often but Valverde is scared of his own shadow.
Are you still living in 60s of the last century when Brasil was an ultimate world's force?
I mean, Paulinho is a starter for Brasil currently, lol.
So, yeah, Rakitic would play in a current Brasil if they have Paulinho as a starter.
Btw, as someone from Croatia, Rakitic was for years my favorite NT player because he was able to play awesome aged 20, 22, 23, 24 and similar.
He rarely played bad in those early years and he was consistent, unlike for example Modric, who was always extremely hot and cold in an NT team.
I posted a friendly match from 2008 in my last post.
Fine, try this, Euro 2008, Croatia:Germany.
Rakitic was a 20 year old kid back then.
In that match, I remember thinking: wow, this kid will be awesome.
he played very calmly and awesome against mighty Germany.
Again, he was a 20 year old kid.
My point in general is: Rakitic played as a starter at Euros and world cups aged 20.
And he was one of the best players for Croatia back then.
And YET, after 10 years in big clubs, he is STILL considered as an average player for Barca.
But then, people expect Alena, who played only in a 2nd division, and Arthur from a Brasilian league, both with zero experience, to outclass Rakitic.
Btw, I don't think that Rakitic is THAT good for Barca's level.
But I am finding majority of this romantic estimations as beyond crazy.
So, Rakitic:
1. looked awesome aged 20
2. played at Euros and Wcs from the age 20
3. 10 years experience in Europe
= still not good for Barca
Alena/Arthur:
1. 5 and 0 matches in a 1st division
2. zero NT matches for now
3. zero WC/Euros experience for now
= people expect them to be starters in a year or two.
But hey, they have "technical" potential, that is all what matters, right?
I mean, seriously, guys, wtf?
I know that we are sad, desperate and that we all want new kids to appear out of nowhere, but these ideas are really crazy.
And the craziest one out of all: Arthur will bench Raki after 10 matches in Europe.
While in reality, what will happen?
= we will still play with Busi and Raki even in 2020. They will suck, but new kids will suck 10 times more, as always.
Real also won CLs in 60's. They are "irrelevant" in a current era.
But we shit on those titles, just sayin...
I thought he's been injured or somethin but he's actually just been an unused sub the last few weeks. Juve are having a catastrophic season with midfield being their weakest link and Arthur cant even get off the bench...
My original comment literally had nothing to do with Puig, so I'm not sure how it's triggered you into starting some apparently multi-part essay on Puig
What Is the Puig Effect?
The Puig Effect refers to a situation in which a large mass of people believes that a sports man should play more than the manager plays them, resulting in the belief that the manager has a vendetta against said player. Looking at the origin of the Puig effect, some famous examples, as well as some potential explanations for this strange confluence of perceptions can help to shed light on this unique phenomenon.
Origins of the Puig Effect
The term "Puig Effect" began when it was first coined in 2020 by Barcaforum when they published posts about Ronald Koeman and Riqui Puig detailing the observance of the phenomenon. Barcaforum were talking with other posters about how Koeman is overplaying Pedri and refusing to play Riqui Puig despite how will he performed when starting matches and in 5 minute cameos.
As Barcaforun began to talk to eachother about their memories, they learned that they was not alone. Others remembered seeing match coverage Riqui Puig being ignored.
Barcaforum was shocked that such a large mass of people could remember the same identical event in such detail. Encouraged by this, Barcaforum began to discuss what they called the Puig Effect and other incidents like it.
Notable Examples
The story of Riqui Puig is not the only example of this type of group memory. As the concept of the Puig Effect grew, other group memories began to emerge.
The farmer and the Puig
People had a memory of Riqui Puig playing fantastic against Atletico Madrid in 2019/2020. After this game Riqui Puig was benched by Quique Setien and completely isolated from the Champions League knockout games, including a 8-2 loss versus Bayern Munich
It is what it is, Malcom is what is not
If you watched Malcom versus Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey 2018/2019, you probably remember a magical performance. You may be shocked to learn, then, that Malcom was permanently benched after this game. Malcom was eventually sold to Zenit St Petersburg where he is enjoying the Russian weather.
Bow to thy King Arthur
There is some controversy over why Arthur never started versus Liverpool in the 2018/2019 Champions League. Some people claim that Arthur was the second coming of Xavi and not playing him was the reason Barcelona were knocked out. Arthur was eventually permanently benched.
Please continue.
Not every coach is as fair and rational as Valverde. There are also those like Koeman or post 2012 Mourinho who are almost more known for their agendas against certain players than anything else.