Meliforme:


If dribbling is all you see in Ejuke's game, then maybe you don't know the player that i am talking about, or you don't watch him.

Talking about technique, Aribo doesn't come close. Do you know that Iheanacho, Iwobi, should i add Nwalkali, and even Victor Osimhen have more technique in their game than your Aribo.

It is obvious some of us on this thread doesn't know what technique in football is.

komekn:


Dan James has poor technical ability and vision, everything is speed. He cannot learn those things now it's too late maybe possible but very hard.

I once watched the new set of players who were U12 doing certain technical drills that they had been taught under a new regime of technical proficiency and skills.

The U23 who had not had that schooling were invited to that training session. You know what the U12 were better.

This is why you don't see kick and rush footballer s in the top football be academies in England. Football had moved on and so has English football.

One question long term and short term. Has Nigerian football moved on in terms of investment training facilities, coaching etc to create s new set of complete footballers for the future ❓❓❓

TheGoodJoe:


I will like to clear something. The players today are equally as gifted or maybe even more than the guys in the past. In recent years we have seen masters of footworks in the likes of Thiago Alcantara and Isco. We have seen def speed and skills in the likes of Mbappe, and Salah.

We have seen some of the craziest technique of touch in likes of Foden and Mahrez. I doubt Bergkamp is better on the ball than Mahrez.

The thing was that defending in the past was lazy. The work rate was poor. So the likes of Okocha, Laudrup, Ronaldinho, Denilson, Bergkamp and co could play with the ball and everybody watches.

Today, if those guys like Zidane were playing, they will not have such luxury. Teams press with full force. They give little time to think. You have to work with a formula to guide your thinking. Playing out of pattern means losing the ball. Every trick should have a purpose, any mistake, you put your team under pressure.

You might praise the guys of the past for their artistry but the truth is that, they will choke in the current system.

oloriooko:
Excuse me has Leicester sold Iheanacho already?
Even in Cup games he's no where to be found

komekn:


Not every body understandd that you can have great dribbling skills but poor first touch and even poorer decision making.

Odunayaw:
The same today that Messi, Neymar, Hazard still dribbled in?

TheGoodJoe:


I thought I heard he had covid?

oloriooko:
since he featured for 9ja?

TheGoodJoe:


I believe the birds today fly better than the past but the defending is too good for you to notice it. How many wingers of the past are better than Hazard in taking on players. Watch the swarm of players around Hazard then. Today, it is even fiercer.

I disagree with players not being good at dribbling. There are loads today. Watch Joao Felix, watch Veratti. Watch Salah. These guys are crazy. However, it is wrong to dribble in tight spaces. You are losing the ball. Counter attacks are insane today. You just don't take thiat risk. It is suicidal.

Bring Ronaldinho today and he can not try it. Have you seen tricks from Vinicius? They are brilliant but you must limit it and abide by tactics to succeed.

Mujtahida:

What you wrote as per the highlighted portions is why I hate modern football. In fact, I spend my leisure time watching YouTube videos of old football matches or footballers of a bye-gone era. Like today, I watched Zidane's clips.

The beautiful game has become machine game - stats, stats and God damn stats. It's painful to watch particularly for some of us who watched football at a time when expressiveness was allowed and fused into the framework of productive outcomes.

Today in the the sick name of END PRODUCT beauty has been sucked out of football with an uncompromising viciousness that saddens me, flair swallowed by the aridity of numbers. In the temple of jogo Bonito, an alien god who spits out only stats and money has been erected and is now worshipped by devotees like you. In fact it is like the god of soccer has left the temple for demons of soccer.

As if when football was beautiful, teams did not win.

Zidane was elegant to watch. His haul of laurels tells us that a player can be a sweet, delightful maestro and be highly effective. He won everything of note there is to win in football - league titles, champions league, world cup.


Ronaldinho was a volcanic splurge of beauty and mesmeric speed. He was a winner. He was a unplayable and single handedly decided games.

Denis Bergkamp was a god of the first touch. His goal against Argentina in France 98 as was his goal against Newcastle in the EPL are the works of unrivaled genius. He won many trophies with Arsenal. And so were Maradona, Baggio, Kluivert, Van Basten, Zola and many other great players who played great football and also stood on podiums to receive accolades, recognitions, trophies and titles. They delivered END PRODUCTS and consistently too.

So this artless, cold, soulless football we play today, all in the name of winning is a travesty of the beautiful game. Football is meant to entertain - flicks, spins, roulette, silky moves, mazy runs, golazos, leg overs all go into the mix of winning or END PRODUCT as you tastelessly put it. One should not be sacrificed for the other.

I detest modern football with a passion. For me just as Socrates of Brazil said beauty comes first- victory is secondary. And yes, victory and beauty can be coupled together.

The truth is that it is because we do not have high thinkers that is why football has become so drab. All art is about the triumph of that which is beautiful. And football is an art. Europeans have turned it into a debilitating scientific exercise. I sometimes wish Europe is not the dominating center of world football. Even the Brazilians have been sucked into this vortex of wack football. Thank God for YouTube. I use it to remind myself of an era that is gone. Perhaps one day a generation of coaches will arise who will say no to machine football. But I doubt it.

komekn:


IMO no football brain and or intelligence.

Can I say ABOKI without causing offence.

Mujtahida:

You keep pointing at players. Go read komekn's contribution and see the part I boldened.

---

Dribbling showboating without end product is essentially rubbish in today's highly tactical and disciplined strategic planned football environment.

I remember when Mahrez, Raheem, etc did all that dribbling and showboating, they don't do that anymore , it's all about END PRODUCT

---

That is what I critique. I never said that they are no dribblers today. I never even compared today's players with players of the past (although you are trying to drag me into that and I will not get into it because it's a blackhole). I am attacking a mindset which is prevalent today that dribbling, flicks and flamboyance should be cut out of the game. A fine point which if you do not read me carefully, you won't get.

charlesemeka85:
I see no reason why you have been aggressive towards an innocent post which I made and also which is my own opinion on a certain topic

U need to loosen up man or shift your frustration to somewhere else

TheGoodJoe:


Some people take time to test Negative. It took Dybala over a month to recover.

kingphilip:

Are you saying this for the people who's suggesting he comes in or you are saying it because of why you want him to come in?

TheGoodJoe:


That is the point. I am saying these guys today are equally gifted or maybe better because they are dealing with harder tactical conditions.

Napoleon55:

Just thank u for this write up.

Komekn and his likes are just blinded by stats

Odunayaw:
No one is talking about gift. We're talking of it's expression.
Tackling isn't tougher now than it was in the days of Maradona.

What you guys call "modern football" is as mechanical as table soccer. Remove flair from football and it is no different from cricket and hockey

TheGoodJoe:


I understand. Remember I also corrected him, highlighting how lots of City players today rely on technical brilliance to for the team work to excel.

Mujtahida:

Read this comment from one of Zizou's YouTube videos.

oloriooko:
Excuse me has Leicester sold Iheanacho already?
Even in Cup games he's no where to be found

TheGoodJoe:


I thought I heard he had covid?

Odunayaw:
The guy was very right about "American sport"

E weak me

Meliforme:


If dribbling is all you see in Ejuke's game, then maybe you don't know the player that i am talking about, or you don't watch him.

Talking about technique, Aribo doesn't come close. Do you know that Iheanacho, Iwobi, should i add Nwalkali, and even Victor Osimhen have more technique in their game than your Aribo.

It is obvious some of us on this thread doesn't know what technique in football is.

Mujtahida:

Just bland athleticism. As if it's formula 1.

Mujtahida:

What you wrote as per the highlighted portions is why I hate modern football. In fact, I spend my leisure time watching YouTube videos of old football matches or footballers of a bye-gone era. Like today, I watched Zidane's clips.

The beautiful game has become machine game - stats, stats and God damn stats. It's painful to watch particularly for some of us who watched football at a time when expressiveness was allowed and fused into the framework of productive outcomes.

Today in the the sick name of END PRODUCT beauty has been sucked out of football with an uncompromising viciousness that saddens me, flair swallowed by the aridity of numbers. In the temple of jogo Bonito, an alien god who spits out only stats and money has been erected and is now worshipped by devotees like you. In fact it is like the god of soccer has left the temple for demons of soccer.

As if when football was beautiful, teams did not win.

Zidane was elegant to watch. His haul of laurels tells us that a player can be a sweet, delightful maestro and be highly effective. He won everything of note there is to win in football - league titles, champions league, world cup.


Ronaldinho was a volcanic splurge of beauty and mesmeric speed. He was a winner. He was a unplayable and single handedly decided games.

Denis Bergkamp was a god of the first touch. His goal against Argentina in France 98 as was his goal against Newcastle in the EPL are the works of unrivaled genius. He won many trophies with Arsenal. And so were Maradona, Baggio, Kluivert, Van Basten, Zola and many other great players who played great football and also stood on podiums to receive accolades, recognitions, trophies and titles. They delivered END PRODUCTS and consistently too.

So this artless, cold, soulless football we play today, all in the name of winning is a travesty of the beautiful game. Football is meant to entertain - flicks, spins, roulette, silky moves, mazy runs, golazos, leg overs all go into the mix of winning or END PRODUCT as you tastelessly put it. One should not be sacrificed for the other.

I detest modern football with a passion. For me just as Socrates of Brazil said beauty comes first- victory is secondary. And yes, victory and beauty can be coupled together.

The truth is that it is because we do not have high thinkers that is why football has become so drab. All art is about the triumph of that which is beautiful. And football is an art. Europeans have turned it into a debilitating scientific exercise. I sometimes wish Europe is not the dominating center of world football. Even the Brazilians have been sucked into this vortex of wack football. Thank God for YouTube. I use it to remind myself of an era that is gone. Perhaps one day a generation of coaches will arise who will say no to machine football. But I doubt it.

Subzero047:
Daka is more closer to Osimhen than he is to Vardy

kellycute:
This is beautiful. My love for the game has reduced tremendously. Nowadays, I watch Osimhen only because of his passion. Modern football suck!!!!