100% the guy is a monster of a player and city are very lucky to have him.
Kevin De Bruyne
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) are here to talk about United's dreadful home defeat at the hands of Big Ange's Tottenham Hotspur. Should this have been the end of Ten Hag? How long does he actually have left? And does Nik finally want ETH out?!
100% the guy is a monster of a player and city are very lucky to have him.
That is tactical suicide, given how KDB roams about the pitch.
It was a very good strike but you've rarely (I'm assuming) seen a 'purer' shot?!
KDB himself has scored much better strikes and Vini's goal in the same game was superb and 'better' imo. Bruno and Rashford have had quite a few in recent years and that's not even to mention the amount of insane strikes in the PL alone in just the past 1-5 years.
edit: I should clarify, my examples are also about the execution of the shot.
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De Bruyne is a class act... we need a player like that, streets ahead of Bruno
It doesn't make sense because he has a free role with the majority of it weighted to the right, also when he can have 30 passes in a game but still score a vital goal from outside the box, there is not much you can do, Madrid defended him pretty well i think bar that moment of true quality.
Sadly, he's a total pro on and off the pitch. And we haven't been competing with City. Makes it hard to dislike him.
Id like to see him in a new home alone movie where he is a dad being left home alone with burglars around and he has to use his football tricks to keep them away. Similar to the old Pepsi commercials.
pute straight line shot
Your post doesn't invalid what I said btw if you read it carefully
Di Stefano.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player better at whipping crosses into the box at pace between the goalkeeper and last defender, and doing so from almost any angle on the pitch, even when he’s narrow and 20 yards in from the touchline.
You're obviously too young to have seen David Beckham play
Of course it doesn't as its your opinion, as is mine. I'll still query how 'good' or 'pure' you had found KDB's strike was because it's not that rare if you're a regular football watcher but it's all subjective.
I just wanted to post Bruno's goal as an excuse anyways.
It's all "subjective indeed. I said nothing about your opinion though
Vinicius goal was a run of the mill fantastic strike. KDBs was absolutely sublime. 20 odd yards out and the ball only rose about a foot off the ground. That's very rarely seen in football. Brunos was your typical great goal strike, KDBs is on another level completely.
First off, let me say that I'm very aware this all very subjective and a bit silly, so I'm not that bothered about proving to be 'right' or 'wrong' but for discussion's sake, I would have it the other way round. It's my personal preference but there is a bit of 'objective' thinking behind it as well. Laid off shots are imo a tad easier to execute because there are two controlled elements (compared to taking a pass and setting yourself to score whilst on the move) 1) a pass from another player and 2) the shooter being in a set position. I would point to our very own Herrera scoring a 'better' or harder goal imo. It's closer but at a difficult angle that is executed to perfection with outside swerve to hit the inside of the far post. KDB was further out but in a central position.
It's probably not as aesthetically pleasing due to the power but imo Herrera's is 'more' (even if only by a little bit) technically stunning due to the control and precision. Anyways, my overall point was that KBD's strike was more 'run of the mill', he's scored better before and of the two goals in that game, Vini was more impressive from a technical and in-game play action. My Bruno example is to show imo a 'better' strike (comes from a longer distance and on the half volley) but also that it's more common as the technique is the same with head over the ball and hitting it dead centre/flat. Of course the opposition are different so if you're factoring that in and how much or not the ball leaves the ground then sure, I'd give you that.
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Its been obvious for years how good this guy has been. I think in recent years there was a desperation for a part of the caf to diminish his standing in order to make him seem only slightly ahead of Bruno.
It will be interesting to see how his career develops. At 31 Modric was seen as a great but clearly behind Xavi and Iniesta. Now at 37 there's a case to be made for Modric being better than both.
It will be interesting to see how his career develops. At 31 Modric was seen as a great but clearly behind Xavi and Iniesta. Now at 37 there's a case to be made for Modric being better than both.
There is not a case for Modric being better than Xavi. He is arguably the most dominant centre midfielder of all time. I've seen plenty of midfields dominate Real with Modric in it.
Hernandez simply would not allow it.
Xavi pretty much got dominated a bunch of times in midfield before Guardiola became the coach of Barcelona, there is a reason why Rijkkard's Barca was never as dominant as Guardiola's Barca.
Xavi played for Barca since 1998 btw, and it wasn't until Guardiola arrived in 2008 that he became very dominant midfielder, and was considered one of the most dominant of his generation.
Let's not rewrite history, Xavi, as great as he was, before Guardiola arrived at Barca, nobody though as him as one of the best midfielders ever...same goes for Iniesta.
And he was about to be sold to Bayern, but Guardiola convinced Barca's board not to sell him.
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Xavi won player of the tournament at the Euros in 2008 but no it was all Pep who came to Barca after.I'd take KDB over Bruno in a heartbeat. We're like the liverpool of old now. Claiming Gerrard is better than Scholes.
And then there are section of fanbase (usually the one who dislikes Bruno) who posts as if KdB was always this good while conveniently ignoring his poor seasons.
Problem with Bruno is when he is bad, he is BAD. He will then blame everything and everyone for his failings. It’s actually sickening.
On the rare occasion KDB is bad, he will be an anonymous 6/10 but you won’t see him passing it to no one.
KDB doesn’t have many if any poor seasons at City, he has inconsistent ones where he wasn’t good for the entirety of the season and still ends up being heralded, but I don’t think he’s has any poor ones.
What does make me laugh though is people who act like he is more careful with the ball than Bruno is, he is a much much better player of course but I think playing under Guardiola has had people ignore the fact that he can be very high reward high risk with his passing, wouldn’t exactly call it high risk actually on second thought because it’s invariably always in the right areas but you get the gist.
Yep, Barca never dominated the midfield as much as they did under Pep once he left.
Who had Xavi as one of the most dominant midfielders ever before 2008?
Yeah he doesn't have many (or any poor seasons). My point is people take his best season and conclude he is always this good.
There was a season, he missed entity season and City didn't miss a beat, then following season or the one next he was nowhere his best.
Also I agree with possession part, he is very high risk player. People somehow think he is very careful with possession. It doesn't matter as they win most games and also average 65-70% possession most game that no one gives a feck about those misplaced passes
That may be true, but doesn’t discount my point. Peak Xavi, Pep or not was a clearly more dominant midfielder than Modric, and that includes his Spain appearances. Levels.
First, one player has never been enough to control a game. Neither Xavi or Modric control a game or get dominated on their own. It takes a whole team to do it.
Second, game control/possession isn't the only metric to rate midfielders. Xavi has spent almost his whole career in possession based teams, not Modric. This is just a philosophy.
More factual and individually relevant criteria may include:
Better all-around midfielder: Modric. Can do what Xavi does (technical abilities), while the reverse isn't true (physical abilities).
Longevity at the highest level: Modric, by a mile.
Playing style: Modric is more aesthetically pleasing, more dynamic/spectacular.
Individual awards: Modric by far (Ballon D'Or, WC Golden Ball, UEFA player of the year, FIFA The Best).
So I agree, levels.
Jorginho won best player in Uefa and many Chelsea fans will argue he isn't even first team quality
All time great entering his prime vs good player existing his
Jorginho winning that award was a sham, but he did so on team achievements.
Xavi's POTT win in the Euros was well deserved.
A pretty weak case.
Their passing accuracy being close disproves this.
People think KDB is out there slicing through teams constantly while barely misplacing passes like Xavi.
Classic example of stats lacking context. It was not what I was referring to.
On multiple occasions Bruno has passed the ball out of play, under little pressure and then blamed his team mate for not being there to collect the ball. Don’t even deny that fact. Guys a absolute cnut like that, never owns up to his mistakes.
There’s a distinct difference between that and attempting to make plays between a teams defence. It’s not very often you’ll see De Bruyne give the ball away cheaply.
No one considered Xavi and all time great then and no one how his career would turn out after that tournament.
Klose also scored a lot during world cups, but no one in their right mind considers him an all time great striker.
Yes but you not knowing doesn’t change anything
It actually does a lot, because your initial post seemed to be implying that Pep had little to no impact in how Xavi's career panned out from 2008.
You literally will. It's why his passing accuracy is so low at times and was awful in the latest WC.
It just gets ignored convientily like you're doing so now.
Even when having bad games he can still lay a ball or two for others to score. He's a ball spamming machine.
Today though, him and Haaland looked like first time playing together.
Today though, him and Haaland looked like first time playing together.