Adnan Januzaj | 2013/14 Performances

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Good for him .Could have had his head turned by playing for England but chose against it.
 
Career-wise by far the best option. England would've been a bit weird and Kosovo/Albania would've been romantic but stifling. He grew up in Belgium and they're an exciting, young footballing prostect. Best choice all round for me.
 
Wow, will be a joy to see what he can achieve at the World Cup, the experience alone of going will do him wonders. Going from the u18s, u21s, first team and now quite likely the World Cup in the space of 18 months is incredible.
 
Would be odd to announce it now if he wasn't going to be involved in the WC squad. Just the experience of going is good enough.

Their squad isn't that big to be fair and seems they lack forwards, so at least another attacking option could help.
 
Will be a good experience for him to go to the WC
 
Haha! I knew he'd pick Belgium! Given the choice of any nation on the planet, I struggle to think of one that I'd rather come into as a young talented player. Great current squad, wave upon wave of talented youngsters ready to break into that set up in the coming years, and still new enough amongst the top national sides that anyone with the talent has a chance to break in (as opposed to the almost unassailable squads of the likes of Spain, Germany etc).

And the future teammates he can look forward to having are mouth-watering. Hardly a top European team doesn't have a Belgian or two in their youth sides.
 
Brightonian said:
Haha! I knew he'd pick Belgium! Given the choice of any nation on the planet, I struggle to think of one that I'd rather come into as a young talented player. Great current squad, wave upon wave of talented youngsters ready to break into that set up in the coming years, and still new enough amongst the top national sides that anyone with the talent has a chance to break in (as opposed to the almost unassailable squads of the likes of Spain, Germany etc).

And the future teammates he can look forward to having are mouth-watering. Hardly a top European team doesn't have a Belgian or two in their youth sides.
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Is that what should be driving his decision though? This isn't club football, surely it's about representing the country you feel most attached too rather than who has the best team. It may well be that Adnan does consider himself Belgian or doesn't associate himself with any nation in particular but I don't get people saying it's a sensible decision just because they have a good, albeit overrated, squad.
 
United22 said:
Hazard-Lukaku-Januzaj for their attack. Boy oh boy will the Belgians have something to jizz about over the next decade when we have Andros fecking Townsend on our wing
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To be fair, Sterling and Oxlade Chamberlain have potential to be very good on the wings
 
Hopefully he will play the rest of the games now this season...
 
RORY65 said:
Is that what should be driving his decision though? This isn't club football, surely it's about representing the country you feel most attached too rather than who has the best team. It may well be that Adnan does consider himself Belgian or doesn't associate himself with any nation in particular but I don't get people saying it's a sensible decision just because they have a good, albeit overrated, squad.
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The options were what? A newly founded Kosovo team, Turkey, Belgium, Albania and Serbia?

Right now Belgium are ranked as the 12th best team in the world with genuine star quality such as Courtois, Kompany and Hazard, potential such as Lukaku and De Bruyne (and now himself).

It seems quite sensible given his options.
 
Just heard the news, made my week hearing that. Was born and raised in Belgium so I'm delighted.
 
ISSYNAZAR said:
The options were what? A newly founded Kosovo team, Turkey, Belgium, Albania and Serbia?

Right now Belgium are ranked as the 12th best team in the world with genuine star quality such as Courtois, Kompany and Hazard, potential such as Lukaku and De Bruyne (and now himself).

It seems quite sensible given his options.
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But that isn't the point of international football surely? He's chosen Belgium so presumably he's wanted to play for them but it's got nothing to do with being sensible. I'm Irish but my mum is English, the England football team is a lot better but I wouldn't pick them because they're not who I support. I appreciate that in Januzaj's situation it's a bit different given the large number of countries he could choose from but I'd like to think he's selected the country he feels most associated to rather than just the best team. That's club football not international football.
 
Seems like the best choice but I still don't know why he waited so long. He should have been willing to play a part in qualification.
 
RORY65 said:
Is that what should be driving his decision though? This isn't club football, surely it's about representing the country you feel most attached too rather than who has the best team. It may well be that Adnan does consider himself Belgian or doesn't associate himself with any nation in particular but I don't get people saying it's a sensible decision just because they have a good, albeit overrated, squad.
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I think a player should always feel attached to their national team, but if you're an international sort who's got an equal pull to a number of countries, I don't see that there's anything wrong with picking the one that you'd most like to play with for the rest of your career.

Also, I don't think they're overrated by most people. In my experience, some rate them as what they are - not one of the big boys but certainly the fastest-advancing of the mid-level European teams, with a frightening amount of talent coming through. Others underrate them a little because no coach has quite managed to put the pieces together and get them playing as well as they could. I don't see them having it in them to upset any of the very top teams just yet, but their real promise is in the generation who are yet to advance into the team. When the likes of Januzaj, Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard and Bakkali join Lukaku, Courtois, Hazard etc in the first team, they'll really be a force to be reckoned with.
 
RORY65 said:
But that isn't the point of international football surely? He's chosen Belgium so presumably he's wanted to play for them but it's got nothing to do with being sensible. I'm Irish but my mum is English, the England football team is a lot better but I wouldn't pick them because they're not who I support. I appreciate that in Januzaj's situation it's a bit different given the large number of countries he could choose from but I'd like to think he's selected the country he feels most associated to rather than just the best team. That's club football not international football.
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Depends on his situation I suppose.

Some players actively select nations because it gives them the best chance to play - Kevin Prince Boateng as an example. So with that in mind, with a player having so many options I wouldn't rule out a modern footballer weighing up his options as to what could be best for his career - potentially playing at a decent level internationally as well as at club level, as opposed to choosing the country that's in his heart.

A decision personal to him and not one he needs to reveal so really we're just speculating as to what has motivated this decision. All the noises suggested Kosovo, Albania and Turkey were favoured ahead of Belgium since he came to prominence this season - though I personally always expected him to choose Belgium.
 
Hopefully he goes to the world cup, always good to have more United players to cheer on. Who's his biggest competition for a squad place?
 
Ubik said:
Hopefully he goes to the world cup, always good to have more United players to cheer on. Who's his biggest competition for a squad place?
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Is it 23 they can take to the WC? No Benteke. Hazard should be fine. Mirallas is injured? Vermaelen is injured. Defour is injured. So who knows how many regular squad members will be out.

Chadli and Mertens you could argue are dispensible in regards to their quality - but if they played a role in getting Belgium to the WC they deserve to go. I would assume his biggest competition in getting into the squad (looking at their recent squads) come from Thorgan Hazard and Bakkali who have been given a chance.
 
ISSYNAZAR said:
Is it 23 they can take to the WC?

Chadli and Mertens you could argue are dispensible in regards to their quality - but if they played a role in getting Belgium to the WC they deserve to go. I would assume his biggest competition in getting into the squad (looking at their recent squads) come from Thorgan Hazard and Bakkali who have been given a chance.
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De Bruyne could be in with a shout too, though I don't know how he's done at Wolfsburg.
 
ISSYNAZAR said:
He's firmly in the squad isn't he? When he was getting flogged by Chelsea a few noted how he was regularly playing for Belgium - and playing quite well.
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To be honest, I didn't really know if he normally is a concrete squad pick. Reading up on him, he seems to have played in a fair chunk of the qualifiers, so he probably is.
 
ISSYNAZAR said:
He's firmly in the squad isn't he? When he was getting flogged by Chelsea a few noted how he was regularly playing for Belgium - and playing quite well.
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He was their best player during qualifying.

Don't know where Januzaj fits in exactly. Hazard and De Bruyne are their two best attacking players or at least have been over the past year. He's not displacing either of them. They're both really young too.
 
Smart choice. They've got a talented team and seem to be producing a stream of young talents these days. He'll fit right in and he'll have a much more profitable international career with them anyway.

He could make his mark on the World Cup if he's lucky.
 
Orc said:
He was their best player during qualifying.

Don't know where Januzaj fits in exactly. Hazard and De Bruyne are their two best attacking players or at least have been over the past year. He's not displacing either of them. They're both really young too.
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If he goes he certainly won't start. The experience won't be bad though, even a minute as a sub!

With their lack of forwards and lower quality wide players after De Bruyne and Hazard he might get a call up. He doesn't deserve to go in the sense that he's not contributed but with injuries and stuff he might just go.

It just seems weird to announce that before the WC unless they were planning on including him. Definitely something which could've waited as he wasn't really going anywhere.
 
Great news. Politics/family ties aside Belgium was the obvious choice for footballing reasons. They are a growing force in the international game and with age on his side Januzaj could be part of something very special over the next 15 years. I can only assume given the timing of this announcement that he will be included in their World Cup squad too. Maybe he could have done with the break but I believe the positives of such an experience outweigh the negatives. The more United players at the World Cup the better in my eyes.
 
ISSYNAZAR said:
Is it 23 they can take to the WC? No Benteke. Hazard should be fine. Mirallas is injured? Vermaelen is injured. Defour is injured. So who knows how many regular squad members will be out.

Chadli and Mertens you could argue are dispensible in regards to their quality - but if they played a role in getting Belgium to the WC they deserve to go. I would assume his biggest competition in getting into the squad (looking at their recent squads) come from Thorgan Hazard and Bakkali who have been given a chance.
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Mertens has been very good recently; both club and national team level. Hazard will no doubt start every match and De Bruyne is Belgium's most influential player. Januzaj would probably be fourth choice at the minute. Not a slight though, those players are very good and if he can finish the season with a bang, who says he wont start?
 
King_Eric said:
Don't think he will go to the world cup. Wouldn't really be fair to the players that played the whole campaign. Also, the attacking midfield isn't exactly a position we're lacking quality.

The only reason why I can see Wilmots taking him to Brazil is to really make his decision binding by letting him play an official game. But I doubt that.

He'll probably be in (one of) the upcoming friendlies though.
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I don't think he'd have declared right now without some kind of assurances of making the WC squad.
 
From what I've noticed with De Bruyne, he's been utilized in several positions for Belgium so Januzaj does have a chance if the manager sees fit. De Bruyne can/has played on the wing as well as in the middle.

......................Lukaku.......................
Hazard............De Bruyne..............Januzaj

Looks really nice on paper.
 
I'm pretty sure the timing of his decision is not a coincidence. The same thing happened with Tottenham's Nabil Bentaleb, who recently chose to represent Algeria instead of France because he's dead certain to be a regular starter at the World Cup. I'm not saying that Januzaj will be starting for Belgium soon but the timing of his decision suggests that it's linked with the World Cup.

Anyway, I'm happy for him. I'm sure he's thought it through and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the Belgium setup. The potential of the Red Devils is simply mouth watering.
 
Mockney said:
Career-wise by far the best option. England would've been a bit weird and Kosovo/Albania would've been romantic but stifling. He grew up in Belgium and they're an exciting, young footballing prostect. Best choice all round for me.
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100% this. Also, the Kosovo/Albania possibility seemed like a strong suggestion of his dad and not so much him, and given he developped in Belgium, I think it's a logical choice. Very happy for the lad, hope he gets to go to the WC.
 
No new thread? Thought we were moving away from megathreads. Only found out about this through the BBC website.
 
The most sensible choice for him especially since he learned his trade there. Too bad we didn't discover and sign him earlier, or he would've been a realistic option for England. I think he'd be great on the left.
 
Looking forward to see him play with Belgium very soon and hopefully in the World Cup (someday) as well.
 
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