Arthur

[BBZ8800]

Speed is not the most important thing for a player playing in his position.
Xavi wasent a speedster but he made up for it bigtime with his ballcontrol and intelligence.

Football evolved since 10 years ago.

Apart from technical skills, today you need more pace and strength than in 2000' or 2010'.

The same as how defenders need to be better passers today, a goalkeeper needs to have playmaking skills like a midfielder etc.

Xavi was slow, but he was the best passer in the world and played 10-20 years ago.
A similar player who doesn't posses Xavi's technical skills, but is slow and plays in 2020 and 2025, well, there is a chance that he will have way bigger problems than Xavi in 2005'.

 

[Barcaman]

Xavi would have adapted to this era easily. Did you read his interview? Way he thinks about the game, way he took care of his body. He was one of the most intelligent players ever and if Modric or Verratti (who btw. even during Xavi's last years werent better than him) are still best MC, imagine what peak Xavi would do.

Back to Arthur.. As maestro said, it all hinges if he will have learning and mental capacity to think much faster than he is required now in Brazil.

 

[Messi983]

"I'm counting the days left until I get to meet Iniesta"

Sadly I think he'll only meet Iniesta but won't have a chance to also play with him.

 

[MagIX]

Football evolved since 10 years ago.

Apart from technical skills, today you need more pace and strength than in 2000' or 2010'.

The same as how defenders need to be better passers today, a goalkeeper needs to have playmaking skills like a midfielder etc.

Xavi was slow, but he was the best passer in the world and played 10-20 years ago.
A similar player who doesn't posses Xavi's technical skills, but is slow and plays in 2020 and 2025, well, there is a chance that he will have way bigger problems than Xavi in 2005'.

I agree.
In addition today a midfielder must be versatile, not only technical skills, he MUST also have defensive qualities. Players like Modric and Verratti are also good at defending, they fight, run back, teckles,...

We need wordhorses also. We can't target only players who are technically strong, but physically weak and without defensive qualities.
For me we need in midfield prototypes of players like Arturo Vidal, very good technically, physically strong (strong in aerial duels, strong in physical duels), a fighter, and strong defensively.

 

[BBZ8800]

Xavi would have adapted to this era easily. Did you read his interview? Way he thinks about the game, way he took care of his body. He was one of the most intelligent players ever and if Modric or Verratti (who btw. even during Xavi's last years werent better than him) are still best MC, imagine what peak Xavi would do.

Back to Arthur.. As maestro said, it all hinges if he will have learning and mental capacity to think much faster than he is required now in Brazil.

I didn't read it.

But my remarks are about guys who often quote Cruijff and his words: "technique is more important than physique" and then these guys take it literally for the year 2018'.

20 or 30 years ago:
1. each midfielder and attacker had way more space to run and do tricks before the opponents tried to tackle him
2. each midfielder and attacker had way more time to think what he will do until someone will try to mark or tackle him
3. all your opponents were slower, shorter, with less muscles and stamina than today

So, this is not about Xavi, but for 99% of other players. Things which worked in 1988, 1998 or 2008, don't work anymore (or are less lethal) than in 2018'.

For example, a short video of Real vs Barca in Cruijff's early years as a coach in 1988/89:

Look at strength, muscles and stamina of players back then.
Look at how crappy they are at pressuring the opponents.
Look how horrible are both teams in defending.
Look how much space are teams leaving everywhere on the pitch: on wings, through the middle, around the box.
Look how much time players have until someone actually tries to tackle them.

This video looks like a totally different sport than today's football.
Or, this video looks like a segunda division match from semi amateur teams in 2018'.

Of course that Cruijff's ideas about technique worked back then because you had 3-4 seconds to decide what you will do and you had a free space everywhere.
So, smart and technical players were in a huuuge advantage back then.

This is why I "don't like" posts: Cruijff said this or that about technique and we always used to play with short players.
In 10 years, new kids on internet will laugh at 2009's final and they will ask: wow, why were players slow like grannies back then? This is so strange to watch...

And I am not saying that Paulinho/Gomes is the way to go.
But if 20 years ago we had players with:
Technique 10/10
Physique 2-3/10

And if our opponents today have:
Technique 8/10
Physique 8/10

Then we'll have to raise our bar also to something like:
Technique 10/10
Physique 6/10

 

[Raketa10]

I didn't read it.

But my remarks are about guys who often quote Cruijff and his words: "technique is more important than physique" and then these guys take it literally for the year 2018'.

20 or 30 years ago:
1. each midfielder and attacker had way more space to run and do tricks before the opponents tried to tackle him
2. each midfielder and attacker had way more time to think what he will do until someone will try to mark or tackle him
3. all your opponents were slower, shorter, with less muscles and stamina than today

So, this is not about Xavi, but for 99% of other players. Things which worked in 1988, 1998 or 2008, don't work anymore (or are less lethal) than in 2018'.

For example, a short video of Real vs Barca in Cruijff's early years as a coach in 1988/89:

Look at strength, muscles and stamina of players back then.
Look at how crappy they are at pressuring the opponents.
Look how horrible are both teams in defending.
Look how much space are teams leaving everywhere on the pitch: on wings, through the middle, around the box.
Look how much time players have until someone actually tries to tackle them.

This video looks like a totally different sport than today's football.
Or, this video looks like a segunda division match from semi amateur teams in 2018'.

Of course that Cruijff's ideas about technique worked back then because you had 3-4 seconds to decide what you will do and you had a free space everywhere.
So, smart and technical players were in a huuuge advantage back then.

This is why I "don't like" posts: Cruijff said this or that about technique and we always used to play with short players.
In 10 years, new kids on internet will laugh at 2009's final and they will ask: wow, why were players slow like grannies back then? This is so strange to watch...

And I am not saying that Paulinho/Gomes is the way to go.
But if 20 years ago we had players with:
Technique 10/10
Physique 2-3/10

And if our opponents today have:
Technique 8/10
Physique 8/10

Then we'll have to raise our bar also to something like:
Technique 10/10
Physique 6/10

Greatest players would adapt to today's level. Difference from last 20 years is visible in every sport but I am sure that Pele or Cruyff in football or Jordan and Magic in basketball would adapt easily. All of them would raise their physical level, all of them would change diet and train different like all others do in modern sport and they would probably be even better than they were 20 or 30 years ago...

 

[henias]

If the greatest players were to play in today's era, you would be surprised how easy it is for them to dominate the so called "modern football".

For me technicality can easily be the best solution for midfield. We lack alot of control in midfield and without technicality, it would put alot of pressure on our defence evidently how we keep losing the ball in our own halves, and the ball can hardly reach our attack even when Messi drops deep to help in midfield. With someone like Arthur, Messi would have less midfield duties and can receive more passes and opportunities and the transition from defence to attack would be more effective. Even defending and winning the ball back isnt all about physique, positioning and anticipation matters alot as well and can retain the ball better after that. Often Paulinho may have won the ball back, but he sometimes loses the ball immediately after that which defeats the whole purpose.

In my opinion, Arthur can adapt physically, not a problem, because technicality depends more on intelligence which is more rare in today's football.

 

[MessiCam]

Oh dear

Players like De Bruyne, Kroos, Touré and Pogba, technically gifted players with big physiques, are not a dime a dozen. They're extremely rare.

And regarding the speed of players, it depends on the type of football you want to play. If you're going to set your team up for counters then it's preferable that you have fast players, in midfield too. If you're going to set your team up for possession and passing football then the speed of the players is not that important. Show me one player that can outrun a ball being moved around.
[MENTION=16942]BBZ8800[/MENTION] has this stubborn idea that our midfield was overrun due to its size against PSG and Juventus last year when in fact we were dealing with a unique set of issues.

 

[BarçaBarça]

I don't get why people don't see that technical gifted players can be extremely useful in counter-attack as well.
Providing the perfect pass for speedy players with the right amount of technical skill and vision can be quite deadly.

Arthur looks a bit slow from what I'd seen on youtube, but the real examination of him must wait until he plays in La Liga - you can look very slow or very fast playing in different leagues, because the skillset of the defenders and the tempo of the game varies so much across leagues.

 

[SeloBarca]

I didn't read it.

But my remarks are about guys who often quote Cruijff and his words: "technique is more important than physique" and then these guys take it literally for the year 2018'.

20 or 30 years ago:
1. each midfielder and attacker had way more space to run and do tricks before the opponents tried to tackle him
2. each midfielder and attacker had way more time to think what he will do until someone will try to mark or tackle him
3. all your opponents were slower, shorter, with less muscles and stamina than today

So, this is not about Xavi, but for 99% of other players. Things which worked in 1988, 1998 or 2008, don't work anymore (or are less lethal) than in 2018'.

For example, a short video of Real vs Barca in Cruijff's early years as a coach in 1988/89:

Look at strength, muscles and stamina of players back then.
Look at how crappy they are at pressuring the opponents.
Look how horrible are both teams in defending.
Look how much space are teams leaving everywhere on the pitch: on wings, through the middle, around the box.
Look how much time players have until someone actually tries to tackle them.

This video looks like a totally different sport than today's football.
Or, this video looks like a segunda division match from semi amateur teams in 2018'.

Of course that Cruijff's ideas about technique worked back then because you had 3-4 seconds to decide what you will do and you had a free space everywhere.
So, smart and technical players were in a huuuge advantage back then.

This is why I "don't like" posts: Cruijff said this or that about technique and we always used to play with short players.
In 10 years, new kids on internet will laugh at 2009's final and they will ask: wow, why were players slow like grannies back then? This is so strange to watch...

And I am not saying that Paulinho/Gomes is the way to go.
But if 20 years ago we had players with:
Technique 10/10
Physique 2-3/10

And if our opponents today have:
Technique 8/10
Physique 8/10

Then we'll have to raise our bar also to something like:
Technique 10/10
Physique 6/10

What you are describing here is the game evolving, not the players.

Xavi would easily be the best midfielder even in todays standard.

 

[xXKonan]

[tw]976919832712110082[/tw]

[tw]976922634469367808[/tw]

[tw]976922897037000704[/tw]

 

[FCBfan22]

[tw]976967607541616640[/tw]

Arthur's wife is Portugese? Easy EU passaport there.

 

[Nothanks]

it takes a while to get a passport apparently, coutinho still hasn't gotten his yet and im sure the club has been trying to push it through.

 

[xXKonan]

He was interviewed by Globo, MD, Sport, Cadena Ser etc this week.

-He idolizes Iniesta so much and wants to play with him.

-He says he had some offers but chose Barcelona as he believes it fits his play style and calls it a dream to play for us.

-Neymar gave Arthur a lot of positive Feedback in regards to Barcelona and he even congratulated him on his move.

-He began taking spanish classes and even asked Coutinho and Paulinho on how Barcelona is and how it worked like he did with Neymar.

-He also mentions that it's up to Gremio and Barca to work on a deal to bring him in earlier than 2019.

- He mentions Robert played the biggest role in signing him for Barca.

Just some of the stuff that I've seen so far from these interviews. There's going to be more from MD's interview tomorrow. The only thing that sucks is that there's a big chance he won't be able to play with Iniesta as he's seriously contemplating a move to China.

 

[Trafalgar]

[tw]976967607541616640[/tw]

Arthur's wife is Portugese? Easy EU passaport there.

So no need to loan Mina, but he needs to start the procedures now