Trained with their first team apparently.
Martin Ødegaard
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
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I've since watched him play and he's very, very impressive for his age but is he then next big thing since Messi and Ronaldo?
Why aren't we in for this lad?
How can you be sure we're not in for him?
No idea where he will end up but I hve a feeling this will be a post people laugh at in 5 or 6 years time.
We are in for him, sky sports have said he's already visited Carrington.
If Liverpool don't sign him, it would be a major feck up on there part! He's a Liverpool fan so they should be in poll position.
He was on trial with us and Bayern before the whole world was aware about him.
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Isn't Van Gaal supposed to be a genius with young players? Surely that might count in our favour?
No, we sold our identity this summer
You're right. No way he'll play players like Wilson, McNair and Blackett.
He seems to be running circles around them already, he should pick a different club.
How short is Brendan Rodgers?
About 2 top quality strikers, 2 top quality wingers, 2 top quality midfielders, 2 top quality centre backs and a top quality goalkeeper.
This will either be a big turning point for Pool or a feck up of his career.
If he does become the world class player, is supposed to be destined to become, they will have a one of the best players (maybe best) in the world for virtually nothing. He will become a massive draw for fans & players.
Or...
He realises how stagnated Liverpool are and decide to move on before wasting to many of his years. He wont be able to join united and the Liverpool fans will hugely begrudge him if he joins another English team than rather staying with them.
If he does become the world class player, is supposed to be destined to become, they will have a one of the best players (maybe best) in the world for virtually nothing. He will become a massive draw for fans & players.
Or...
He realises how stagnated Liverpool are and decide to move on before wasting to many of his years. He wont be able to join united and the Liverpool fans will hugely begrudge him if he joins another English team than rather staying with them.
Strong chance. Like the classic RAWK post comparing Ronaldo to... someone.
From newbs:
So it appears I am not allowed to post in the main Odegaard thread and thought it could be a good idea to give a little introduction to Odegaard as one of my first posts. And yes, I am really going to put my (non-existing) reputation on the line here
Martin Odegaard, The Mozart of Football
First of all, this kid is worth the hype. Watching him gives me goosebumps. Last time I remember getting goosebumps was when a little scrawny Portuguese kid made his first twists and turns on a sunny afternoon at Old Trafford in August 2003. He is that good - or let me rephrase that - he is that smart. The kid is a footballing genius, and he is 15 years old.
We have yet to see him against top, top opposition but I have seen him alongside some decent players. Though Norway doesn't have the highest ranked team at the moment it is an up-and-coming young team (the U21s won Bronze in the last euro championship beating teams like England, France etc.) and his team mates, in and around his position, currently play for likes of Blackburn, Norwich, Hertha Berlin, Cardiff and Celtic. In every game he has played (Emirates, Bulgaria, Estonia and Portugals U21) he has not only been good in most of them, he's been the best one out there. At times it almost looks like a man playing a children's game (pun intended).
According to an acquaintance of mine who played with him at Stromsgodset he and his dad (who was his coach at the time) always focused on finding the right pass and only to dribble if absolutely necessary. Therefore, 90% of the youtube compilations out there simply don't do him justice. Most of them are skewed towards his little dribbles and tricks, not his vision and uncanny ability to make the right decisions - even if that means making a 5 yard pass backwards. That's where this kid stands out. Go have a look at Hachim Mastour, Sterling, Rooney, Walcott, Richards, Bale or any of these other young talents and you'll find that most of them stand out because of some extreme physical gift - most often a mix of speed/dribbling. You'll see them get the ball, put on the afterburners, twist, dribble and generally "go crazy" but not really producing the most effective result. You'll see them and think "he's young and talented, the understanding will come later". Sometimes it does (Ronaldo) but sometimes it doesn't (Nani).
Don't get me wrong here though, Odegaard is both fast and has a great technique, but so do thousands of other 15 year old kids and he's not close to a Messi or a Ronaldo, he's still fast, just not that fast. Think of him more in the mold of a Silva, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas. Personally I liken his body and ball control to that of Silva, his movement on the pitch (the way he cuts diagonally inwards) to Messi/Ronaldo, while his vision and through-balls are more reminiscent of Fabregas. If he had the muscle/strength today I believe he would be able to compete with a 21/22-year old Fabregas (yes, I said it).
Strengths
- Vision/spatial awareness
Bar none. His footballing understanding is at a level that is simply unheard of, even for an adult football player. I've played, watched and made a living of understanding football, yet, he sees opportunities and movements I simply don't see ... before the replay. I can't remember any other player that does this in the same way.
- Mentality
A very down-to-earth kid with a supportive and professional family/environment. His interviews are - like his ability - way beyond his years. Quite reminiscent of the way Lampard conducts interviews.
Weakness
-Finishing
Fair but still needs improvement.
-Height
It absolutely pains me to say this but unfortunately I believe he will grow to be too tall. He's currently 7 cm taller than I was at his age (I am from the same geographical and socioeconomical background and stopped at 183). I would not be surprised if he surpasses 190, at which point his swift and nimble movements will become severely restricted. Maybe he will be able to adjust, maybe not.
...and there you go, one more addition to the hype that is Odegaard.
Tbf, it doesnt get much better than Glen Johnson and FlanalahmAs if they have 2 quality fullbacks tho....
Will it be just as much fuzz with the next club he visit? This kids life must be crazy atm.
Yeah that's what crossed my mind when writing it. I think it was Anthony Le Tallec?
United fan Aaron Ramsey signed for Arsenal over us, Arsenal fan Chris Smalling signed for us over them, Chelsea fan Luke Shaw signed for us over them, etc. The list goes on. It doesn't really count for much who they're a fan of. Ole Solskjaer and John O'Shea were boyhood Liverpool fans, as well, if I remember right.
They compared him to Jermaine Pennant too, I believe.
They definitely need to plant some trees at their training ground. Talk about architecture...what a shithole! "Join Liverpool, la. Just look at the place. This is the place where dreams never come true!"
He would be an idiot to go to Liverpool. They would destroy him like all the other hopefuls in the past. He's play every game because the rest are shite.
Paul Scholes likes this.
They definitely need to plant some trees at their training ground. Talk about architecture...what a shithole! "Join Liverpool, la. Just look at the place. This is the place where dreams never come true!"
Yea that's true I suppose!
Great post, that, but the bolded part boggles my mind. Here I've been all my life, thinking that people hit their growth spurts at different points, and that there's height variations within geographical areas and demographic categories.
If he's a fanatical Liverpool fan, which most of the sources say he is, then I don't know why anyone is holding out hope that he'd go anywhere else. Let's face it, if you were all 15 year old prodigies, you'd be signing for United without a second thought.
I've not seen any suggestion he's fanatical about it. More the case that it's known Liverpool are his English team and in the various online comment sections that's been blown up into him being some kind of die-hard fan.
As someone's already said, United-fan Ramsey went to Arsenal, Arsenal-fan Smalling went to United, Chelsea-fan Shaw went to United. These things rarely make a difference unless you're already at the club which you support.
He said himself recently that just because he supports Liverpool doesn't mean he will join them. As others have said who a player supports has very little bearing on who they join. I don't see why him being so young would increase the chances of him following his heart and joining his boyhood club. Sterling grew up supporting us and he was only 14 or 15 when he turned us down for Liverpool, our main rivals. The fact he supports Liverpool is a factor in their favour, but there are far more decisive factors that will come into play.
Not really. If I thought I wouldn't get to play or the coaching / facilities were shit I wouldn't jeopardise my career just to get a run out for Man Utd. Can always move later if you still want to.
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