Thiago Translantara

[Yannik]

Yea? Last time I checked Spain's midfield is Iniesta, Silva, Koke, Busquets, Isco.

Thiago is not better than any of those 5 midfielders.

Then that "last time" was certainly before mid 2016. Silva and Isco are forwards and not midfielders for Spain. Koke had significantly less game time than Thiago, and Iniesta had about as much. Busquets is uncontested on the defensive 6. Spains average starting midfeild is Thiago-Busquets-Iniesta ever since the EC.

 

[DonAK]

At the end of the day he's a poor mans cesc, the guy you all loved to hate on.

He's a better CM than Cesc.

 

[serghei]

It's useless to get into this sort of conversation again. He made a choice, and it was the wrong one.

 

[Trickykid]

Thiago is obviously world class (whatever that means) and would be one of the very best modern day midfielders if he wasn't made of glass.

I wouldn't want him back now, though. He burned his bridges long ago.

 

[serghei]

Then that "last time" was certainly before mid 2016. Silva and Isco are forwards and not midfielders for Spain. Koke had significantly less game time than Thiago, and Iniesta had about as much. Busquets is uncontested on the defensive 6. Spains average starting midfeild is Thiago-Busquets-Iniesta ever since the EC.

Spain play a very fluid system. Isco and Silva operate between the forward line and the midfield line. They are never forwards per se. I took the Italy game as reference, as it was the most important game in the Qualifiers, and we got to see what would be the chosen formation against the hardest opponent in the group.

 

[DonAK]

It's useless to get into this sort of conversation again. He made a choice, and it was the wrong one.

If Bayern end up winning back to back CLs with a treble would it still be the wrong choice?

Bayern are still going to be right up there, especially with Heynckes who is considering to stay another season.

Hindsight is beautiful, but everything in football can change so quickly. Last season people were going suicidal over Real Madrid and now they're shit.

He would have still been at Barça had Tito not let his buyout drop to play Xavi with cortisone injections chasing a record that in the end is meaningless.

 

[Hamzah]

The buyout only matters if the player wants to leave, if it was higher he'd have still tried to move.

 

[DonAK]

The irony is that playing Xavi through all that stress with his chronic tendonitis probably brought forward his decline too. Made him slower and less agile and more prone to injuries.

 

[LeeRomeno]

Too injury prone, but for cheap price, whynot

 

[serghei]

If Bayern end up winning back to back CLs with a treble would it still be the wrong choice?

Bayern are still going to be right up there, especially with Heynckes who is considering to stay another season.

Hindsight is beautiful, but everything in football can change so quickly. Last season people were going suicidal over Real Madrid and now they're shit.

He would have still been at Barça had Tito not let his buyout drop to play Xavi with cortisone injections chasing a record that in the end is meaningless.

I am against keeping players by force. If Thiago wanted to be a Barca legend he would've stayed. He didn't, he moved, the end. Nobody cares that much. He didn't set the world on fire or anything.

Blaming only Tito for this is not fair. He was young, had plenty of time, there were great chances that soon he would've become a starter. But he went with Pep and left the club to sign with the fashionable team at the time (Bayern just won the treble the season before). Stupid move. Had the chance to build a legacy at Barca like Iniesta's or Xavi's.

Some players just don't care that much for the club, treat it as any other club. Thiago was that type of player.

 

[Yannik]

Spain play a very fluid system. Isco and Silva operate between the forward line and the midfield line. They are never forwards per se. I took the Italy game as reference, as it was the most important game in the Qualifiers, and we got to see what would be the chosen formation against the hardest opponent in the group.

Isco and Silva start on the wings, sometimes Isco plays a false 9. They never start in midfield. The roles they express on the pitch do not affect Thiago's playtime on the 8.

 

[DonAK]

I am against keeping players by force. If Thiago wanted to be a Barca legend he would've stayed. He didn't, he moved, the end. Nobody cares that much. He didn't set the world on fire or anything.

Blaming only Tito for this is not fair. He was young, had plenty of time, there were great chances that soon he would've become a starter. But he went with Pep and left the club to sign with the fashionable team at the time (Bayern just won the treble the season before). Stupid move. Had the chance to build a legacy at Barca like Iniesta's or Xavi's.

Being loyal for the sake of it sounds very romantic, but for a professional footballer it isn't.

He didn't leave right away, he waited out and held talks with Zubi. Saw Xavi and Iniesta could still play for 4 more years with Cesc also being in front of him, right or wrong, so he made a decision to move where he could start right away with a manager who said he trusted him to do so.

Blind, unquestionable loyalty have made Samper lose out on a move to Arsenal or Tottenham + potentially a lot of money.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

He decided to go. Don't want him back. Coutinho's dribbling is better and his playmaking skills are not worse than Thiago's.

 

[serghei]

Being loyal for the sake of it sounds very romantic, but for a professional footballer it isn't.

Players that have the required quality make it at Barca if they work hard and wait for their chance.

 

[JamDav1982]

If Barca were 14 pts behind Real and struggling to sign anyone he wouldn't want back.

Good player though.

Prob end up at City.