silky_soccer
Fireman Sam
haha, didn't see the 'classic' in his post. My bad.
Isco
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
haha, didn't see the 'classic' in his post. My bad.
silky_soccer
Fireman Sam
He's a second striker.
GiantKiller
New member
Malagas' attacking midfielder Isco, has won the prestigious Golden Boy prize awarded by Tuttosport.
Isco amassed 137 votes and finished ahead of AC Milans' Stephan El Shaarawy and Atletico Madrids' Thibaut Courtois, who is on loan from Chelsea. Both gathered 125 and 116 votes respectively.
Congrats Isco!
Isco amassed 137 votes and finished ahead of AC Milans' Stephan El Shaarawy and Atletico Madrids' Thibaut Courtois, who is on loan from Chelsea. Both gathered 125 and 116 votes respectively.
Congrats Isco!
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Ursegor
World Champion
I think Thiago is a superior talent. His last season is very underrated I feel. According to OPTA, statistically Thiago ranked as the 9th best player in La Liga (behind Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Cazorla, Fabregas, Iniesta, Alonso and Benzema, which doesn't sound too far fetched of a list). Pep trusted him to start in a possibly title deciding Clasico and according to OPTA again he was MOTM in that game (Tello fluffed a couple of nice throughballs). See here:
Not taking anything away from Isco. Just saying this because people want us to sign Isco or Götze or other midfielders for some weird reasons. Seems like people have just forgotten how great Thiago is since he's been injured for so long. His ball retention skills (he rarely goes for the glory pass if not possible), self-confidence and tactical and defensive discipline were very impressive for a then 20 year old last season. I regard him the best central midfield talent in the world. Far better than Wilshere as well. And I'm not saying this out of fanboyism either. I don't think his brother is anywhere near as talented for example, although people claim the opposite.
Not taking anything away from Isco. Just saying this because people want us to sign Isco or Götze or other midfielders for some weird reasons. Seems like people have just forgotten how great Thiago is since he's been injured for so long. His ball retention skills (he rarely goes for the glory pass if not possible), self-confidence and tactical and defensive discipline were very impressive for a then 20 year old last season. I regard him the best central midfield talent in the world. Far better than Wilshere as well. And I'm not saying this out of fanboyism either. I don't think his brother is anywhere near as talented for example, although people claim the opposite.
Plip
Cardenal de Catalunya
I very much agree with everything said, but there is one slight statement I cannot simply neglect. In terms of raw talent, Rafinha has plenty of it and the fact that he has not excelled, and / or his development has stalled, has a lot to do with how Eusebio has built the current Barça B and how that in turn affects players such as Rafinha and Sergi Roberto.
When you look at the two, when they were playing in Juvenil A / Barça B under Oscar Garcia and Lucho, the two of them shone and led the way by example. During the 2009-2010 season Rafa was one of the most consistent performers for Juvenil A, and he maintained that all the way up until he came to Eusubio's team that has no balance and no clear structure. Naturally, you cannot simply blame Eusebio for Rafa's inability to adapt, but I'd wager he still has fair bit of effect on that.
Same with Sergi Roberto. Both him and Thiago were the lynchpins of Lucho's Barça B midfield that secured their 3rd place in their first season in Liga Adelante. No doubt having players like Romeu, Soriano, Nolito, Benja, Carmona etc. helped, but it only goes to show that Lucho's team had more balance than Eusebio's team have ever had. Having a mix of older players and a few exceptionally talented youngsters helped him a lot.
Just wish Lucho would've stayed with Barça B, instead of going to Roma. There could've been a high likelihood of us singing a different tune now.
When you look at the two, when they were playing in Juvenil A / Barça B under Oscar Garcia and Lucho, the two of them shone and led the way by example. During the 2009-2010 season Rafa was one of the most consistent performers for Juvenil A, and he maintained that all the way up until he came to Eusubio's team that has no balance and no clear structure. Naturally, you cannot simply blame Eusebio for Rafa's inability to adapt, but I'd wager he still has fair bit of effect on that.
Same with Sergi Roberto. Both him and Thiago were the lynchpins of Lucho's Barça B midfield that secured their 3rd place in their first season in Liga Adelante. No doubt having players like Romeu, Soriano, Nolito, Benja, Carmona etc. helped, but it only goes to show that Lucho's team had more balance than Eusebio's team have ever had. Having a mix of older players and a few exceptionally talented youngsters helped him a lot.
Just wish Lucho would've stayed with Barça B, instead of going to Roma. There could've been a high likelihood of us singing a different tune now.
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GiantKiller
New member
Yes. People forget that he's growing at a satisfying rate despite competing with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas for first team minutes, while that's not the case at all for youngsters like Gotze, Isco etc. and fortunately, it seems as if injuries haven't slowed down his progress. However, I feel that its nice to have a player who's got comparatively lesser hype do so well at the top level, making people take notice and say 'Where'd he come from?'. Busqutes or Pedro, for example.
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