Spanish midfielders

Bastian

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Mejbri
I'd like United to buy three please.

MOTM in the first half of the European Championship Final subbed at HT and Zubimendi steps in to seamlessly replace him. And it's only really Pedri (Gavi obviously out injured) in their national team educated at La Masia. Olmo joined them at 19.

The intelligence is just on another level.
 
Merino would actually be a decent Casmerio replacement for you imo. Physical DM. Played for Newcastle briefly but he was only 20 then I think.
 
we should've got Olmo instead of Mount, would cost roughly the same. Rodri was obviously a gem and if we got him before City we'd be challenging for the league next year.
 
Zubimendi, Olmo, Merino - please sign any of them!
 
Rodri, the player of the tournament, goes off, and another midfielder just slots straight in to play the metronome role. They also lost Pedri earlier in the tournament but it was no problem.

Ridiculous talent.
 
Bastian said:
I'd like United to buy three please.

MOTM in the first half of the European Championship Final subbed at HT and Zubimendi steps in to seamlessly replace him. And it's only really Pedri (Gavi obviously out injured) in their national team educated at La Masia. Olmo joined them at 19.

The intelligence is just on another level.
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I wouldnt say seamlessly. Cole's goal comes from the area Rodri and therefore Zubimendi patrols. Only he doesnt. Rodri probably does.

He can do some of the passing - Rodri made 33 in 46 minutes, Zubimendi made 26 in 45 mins plus injury time.

but not so much the defending and thats probably what allowed England back into the match
 
Sadly we mostly do all action midfielders or AMs. Even when we signed a Spanish midfielder he was the least Spanish of them all.
 
Ekeke said:
I wouldnt say seamlessly. Cole's goal comes from the area Rodri and therefore Zubimendi patrols. Only he doesnt. Rodri probably does.

He can do some of the passing - Rodri made 33 in 46 minutes, Zubimendi made 26 in 45 mins plus injury time.

but not so much the defending and thats probably what allowed England back into the match
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Nope. Goal was on Cucurella. Rodri in there and maybe he blocks the shot because his feet are larger, but play would have developed exactly the same, and he would've been in the same position
 
giorno said:
Nope. Goal was on Cucurella. Rodri in there and maybe he blocks the shot because his feet are larger, but play would have developed exactly the same, and he would've been in the same position
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I do think Rodri blocks Palmers shot, but that's only because Rodri seemingly has a knack of being able to block things.

Don't think the goal is on Zubimendi in any way though.
 
giorno said:
Nope. Goal was on Cucurella. Rodri in there and maybe he blocks the shot because his feet are larger, but play would have developed exactly the same, and he would've been in the same position
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Yup. Cucurella stepping way out of position for that interception/tackle/whatever the feck he was going for sold out the whole defensive structure.
 
Just seen it again, it's just a bad team transition. The defenders involved all do what they're supposed to - you could maybe nitpick LY covering his zone instead of tracking Palmer - the issue is not enough players manage to track back. Zubimendi picks up Bellingham's run, then has to step out to challenge Palmer's shot, and he does both. Maybe Rodri would have done it better, but it would be Rodri being exceptional rather than Zubimendi being bad
 
Think you've mixed up Olmo and Pedri.

I really liked Fabian when he was at Betis and Napoli. He's not had a great time in Paris and I'd absolutely take him. Zubimendi is also very good and apparently has a release clause of ~£50m. Barcelona have been linked with him for years though.
 
didz said:
Think you've mixed up Olmo and Pedri.

I really liked Fabian when he was at Betis and Napoli. He's not had a great time in Paris and I'd absolutely take him. Zubimendi is also very good and apparently has a release clause of ~£50m. Barcelona have been linked with him for years though.
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No, Pedri joined at 18, Gavi I think was there throughout his education (from 11). Point being, it does not require a La Masia education for Spain to produce world class super intelligent and technical midfielders.
 
Thier bodies are so flexible.
Must be in the genes of all that flamenco dancing.
 
Bastian said:
No, Pedri joined at 18, Gavi I think was there throughout his education (from 11). Point being, it does not require a La Masia education for Spain to produce world class super intelligent and technical midfielders.
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I think you should reread your OP.
 
Spain in general is the talent pool to tap into. We should send all our scouts there
 
Acrobat7 said:
He looked special and I wanted my club to sign him last summer, but his last season was pretty underwhelming. Hopefully he finds his "old" form again.
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He's unlucky to be around at the same time as Rodri.
Infra-red said:
I believe Arsenal tried earlier in the window - Arteta has been a fan for a few years, but the player does not want to leave Spain. I think it was reported that they are now going for Merino instead.
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Would be a shame, deserve to play on a brighter stage.
 
didz said:
Think you've mixed up Olmo and Pedri.

I really liked Fabian when he was at Betis and Napoli. He's not had a great time in Paris and I'd absolutely take him. Zubimendi is also very good and apparently has a release clause of ~£50m. Barcelona have been linked with him for years though.
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Wanted him last year instead of Mount.
 
If I was a manager I'd build a side with a German keeper, Italian defenders, Spanish midfielders and French strikers.

I wouldn't even scout them.
 
Full football/cultural training and development. You can buy the type of players you want for your club, but an international manager has to work with what he’s got. So it’s easy to see how the Spanish national team is so seamless and comfortable, every player is developed with the fundamentals absolutely drilled in to them, so on the international stage they’re all on the same wavelength. They’re typically not having to put square pegs in round holes like most other nations.
 
It’s bad that my first thought was we don’t deserve a Spanish midfielder
 
Spanish midfielders are press resistant, good in passing and possession, and most importantly they are also good at pressing opponents when they lose the ball.

In fact, it's not just the midfielders, the Spanish defenders and strikers too. They were unplayable in Euro 24. They were just too good.
 
Part of the reason why their midfield works, even without Rodri is due to players like Olmo. He's not playing CM but he's dropping in to be another body pressing and making it harder to progress. But the real standout in their midfield with Rodri coming off was Fabian Ruiz.

Ruiz had got forward and scored goals earlier in the tournament, but when Rodri came off someone needed to take over as the passing metronome and it was him

He only started 14 league games for PSG, but he's been the best overall CM/DM in the Euros and one of the top players overall. When Rodri came off, Ruiz had 27 passes to Rodri's 33. In the 45 mins after he came off he played 34. 4 tackles overall in the match so helped with ball winning throughout, and Zubimendi made 3 in his 45 mins as well.
 
didz said:
No, he wasn't. And Olmo was 3 years gone by the time he was 19, having joined La Masia aged 9.
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My bad, Olmo is a La Masia product. I was still making a point that it doesn't require a La Masia education for Spain to produce such gifted midfielders. And we should be scouring the market for available options.
 
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