The Weekly Take, Issue 47: The Best Signing Nobody Is Talking About

The recent Serie A match between AC Milan and Napoli was largely devoid of excitement or action, finishing in a goalless draw. On the surface, the only incident of the match was Napoli midfielder Fabián’s late red card.

However, in the 71st minute, there was a moment which, in years to come, AC Milan fans may come to remember as the beginning of some truly special years.

New signing Krzysztof Piątek came on as a substitute. The Polish centre-forward replaced Patrick Cutrone.

As the January transfer window approaches its end, I believe that despite the lack of hype surrounding his signing, the Rossoneri made the best signing of the window by landing Piątek.

Although many have not taken notice, Piątek has been in the midst of a breakout season. Piątek signed for Genoa from Ekstraklasa club Cracovia during the previous off-season, and in the half-season he played for the Rossoblù, he scored 13 league goals in 19 games. That figure puts him fourth in Serie A. What makes this even more impressive is that Genoa have been absolutely horrendous this season – currently 15th in Serie A. Piątek has been responsible for more than half of all their league goals scored this season.

Piątek’s impressive form at club level also earned him a first cap for Poland in a friendly against Ireland. A few weeks later, in just his second game for the 

national team, Piątek scored his first goal for Poland in a 3-2 loss to Portugal.

In hindsight, Piątek should have been part of Poland’s World Cup squad. The Biało-czerwoni were abysmal during the tournament, finishing last in a group containing Colombia, Japan, and Senegal – three teams that they were expected to beat. Piątek’s presence would likely have changed this outcome, especially since superstar striker Robert Lewandowski greatly underperformed in all three games.

So, it should have come as no surprise when Milan signed Piątek for €35 million. Yet, this signing did not receive the attention it deserved.

I had been of the belief that AC Milan were one of those clubs who were one key piece away from being serious contenders, both domestically and in Europe. Now, I genuinely feel that Milan have got their man.

Even better for Milan is the fact that they will no longer be fielding the overrated and ageing Gonzalo Higuaín up front, but the 23-year-old Piątek instead. This is not only a massive upgrade for Milan’s future, but also an upgrade for the present. As of right now, Piątek is a better centre-forward than “El Pipita”.

Although Piątek is still at least two or three years away from his prime, the man from Lower Silesia has already shown what a force he can be in front of goal, even when lacking quality teammates. Now, with the likes of Ricardo Rodríguez, Lucas Paquetá, Suso, Franck Kessié, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu around him, Piątek might just be able to take his game to the next level.

Some of the greatest centre-forwards of all time have plied their trade for AC Milan. Names such as Gunnar Nordahl, Marco van Basten, Andriy Shevchenko, and Pippo Inzaghi have all shone in the famous red-and-black jersey.

Now, Milan may just have brought in the “heir to the throne”.

When the topic of who the best players in the world will be in five years’ time is brought up, names such as Marco Asensio, Bernardo Silva, Kylian Mbappé, Frenkie de Jong, Christian Pulisic, and Jadon Sancho are frequently mentioned.

If Piątek can sustain his form at Genoa through the second half of the season, he deserves to be in that conversation, for it would prove that he is no flash in the pan.

This season, Piątek might not be able to display all he is capable of for Milan. This is because they are already out of the Europa League and are so far behind in Serie A that their only realistic target for this season is qualification for next season’s Champions League.

But if AC Milan continue to surround their rising star with solid pieces during the next off-season and if Piątek continues on his current career trajectory, next season’s team could be their best since the 2012 squad that finished second in Serie A and made the Champions League quarterfinals.

The Weekly Take, Issue 46: Go South, Young Man

Chelsea’s troubled season has hit a new low.

The Blues did not put up any resistance whatsoever in a 2-0 London derby loss to Arsenal.

It was a disgraceful performance that was devoid of any heart, spirit, or verve – they were easily and systematically taken apart by the Gunners. So dismal were Chelsea that after the game, head coach Maurizio Sarri publicly questioned the team’s character and desire, and understandably so.

To put it in perspective, much-hyped players such as Jorginho, Mateo Kovačić, Pedro, and even the usually excellent N’Golo Kanté were completely dominated by the less-heralded likes of Mattéo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

But the problems at Stamford Bridge go beyond the pitch.

This club is dysfunctional to the core. Spending big money on players who went on to underperform greatly, firing coaches willy-nilly, giving up on players before they get their chance to shine – you name it, Chelsea since 2015 have done it.

Their poor results over the last three-and-a-half years speak for themselves.

One Premier League title which increasingly looks like an outlier. One FA Cup. No Champions League runs beyond the last 16. An average of 73 points per season at the time of writing, which would have seen them miss this season’s Champions League entirely (which, incidentally, they actually did). Absolutely nothing else to show for their immense spending.

I’ll go even further: there are only two reasons Roman Abramovich and his Chelsea team are not complete laughingstocks.

The first is because unlike the NBA or NFL, for example, European football has no salary cap. Abramovich’s immense wealth serves as a shield from his own incompetence as a club owner.

Abramovich just assumes that throwing major money at whatever the problem may be will solve it, regardless of the true situation.

I would even say that Chelsea are the New York Knicks of European football.

Impatient. Mismanaged. Don’t develop young prospects properly. Disastrous talent evaluation skills.

Like the Knicks, the only things Chelsea have going for them are their wealth and the large, glamorous market they play in.

The second reason may soon no longer apply to Chelsea. This reason is none other than Eden Hazard.

Ever since the Belgian superstar came to London in 2012, he has been let down by the club time and again in terms of surrounding him with the best possible supporting cast.

This team shipped out players such as Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Mo Salah, and Filipe Luís before any of them had spent much time on the Chelsea roster.

It only gets worse when one considers that in that same timespan, Chelsea’s five most expensive signings have been Kepa Arrizabalaga, Álvaro Morata, Jorginho, Tiémoué Bakayoko, and Danny Drinkwater.

Taking all of this into consideration, as well as the facts that Hazard is in his prime at 27 years old and linked with Real Madrid, it is clear: for the sake of his career, Eden Hazard needs to leave the dumpster fire that Chelsea currently is and head for the Santiago Bernabéu.

A player as great as Hazard is does not deserve to be placed in the situation he finds himself in at Chelsea. What’s more, ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real for Juventus, Real have been struggling to fill the void left behind by the Portuguese legend.

Hazard’s arrival would change that. We have seen how great he is, whether in the Premier League, Champions League, World Cup, or European Championships. If he were to leave in this current transfer window, he would fit in seamlessly alongside the likes of Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, Raphaël Varane, and compatriot and former Chelsea teammate Thibaut Courtois.

What’s more, in a few years’ time, Hazard might be expendable at Chelsea anyway. The London club have just signed the much younger but incredibly talented Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund, who plays the same position that Hazard does. It’s as though even Chelsea themselves expect Hazard to leave.

Even if he were to stay at Stamford Bridge, Eden Hazard will be remembered as an all-time great and the finest footballer to ever come out of Belgium. Hazard is also arguably already the greatest player to ever wear the royal blue of Chelsea.

But if he is to truly cement his legacy, he has to go – the sooner, the better – for his club has failed him one too many times and will likely continue to do so, should he stay.

The Weekly Take, Issue 45: The Greatest Goalscorer of All Time

Everyone knows that in any football match, it is always the goalscorers who hog the limelight and take the majority of the plaudits.

Over the years, there have been some truly remarkable marksmen who have taken to the pitch and staked their claim as the greatest goalscorer in football history.

Players such as Ferenc Puskás, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Pelé, Gerd Müller, and Cristiano Ronaldo come to mind.

However, during the previous matchday, the player who has surpassed them all as a scorer reached a milestone that may never be equalled.

In Barcelona’s La Liga game against Eibar, Lionel Messi scored the 400th La Liga goal of his career. It was the second goal in Barça’s 3-0 victory over the Basque club.

Let that figure sink in for a moment. Four hundred league goals. With every single goal having been scored in a major league.

I can already hear some of you saying “but what about Pelé/CR7/ whoever”?

I will now proceed to show why Lionel Messi is the greatest goalscorer in the history of football.

Although he was a part of three World Cup-winning teams and scored 650 career league goals, I cannot put Pelé over Messi for two obvious reasons: he never played in a major league, and the overall level of competition was not as deep in the 1960s as it is today. Admittedly, he has scored 18 goals in international tournaments to Messi’s 14. However, I would definitely say that 400 La Liga goals is more impressive than 650 Campeonato Brasileiro and NASL (the MLS before the MLS, for the uninformed) goals.

Similar to Pelé, Ferenc Puskás also played in a weak era and only played in a major league for the last eight seasons of his career. Furthermore, his career total of 598 goals is by far the lowest of all the feasible greatest goalscorer candidates.

By far the most common comparison to Messi is Cristiano Ronaldo. However, as a goalscorer, even the Portuguese legend does not stack up well against his Argentine rival.

Although Ronaldo has scored 409 major-league goals in his career and like Pelé, has 18 international tournament goals, his career total of 673 goals has come in 932 official games, while Messi has found the net 667 times in 842 official games. Game-for-game, it isn’t even close. And before anyone says “but Ronaldo won the Euro!”, this is not about titles. I’m strictly talking about goalscoring prowess.

Next, we come to Gerd Müller.

Müller boasts an unbelievable goal-to-game ratio, with 722 in 770 across all his official games. However, a considerable number of his goals came in less important matches. He scored 417 goals in either a major-league game, the European Cup, or an international tournament. Messi, on the other hand, has 520 in such high-leverage games. To me, the 103 extra goals in important games outweigh the 55 career goals more that Müller scored.

But it’s not just about the “how many” that make Messi so great, but the “how” as well.

Although his left foot is truly legendary, he can do it with his right and even the occasional header in spite of his short stature.

One-on-ones, set pieces, tap-ins, long-rangers – you name it, Messi can score it.

No other player has ever been as prolific or has had quite the goalscoring repertoire of “La Pulga”. Whether playing for Barça or Argentina, there is a reason that Messi is the most feared goalscorer there has ever been. Even his mere presence on the field is a game-changer, for it affects the other team’s approach to the game.

Arguably even more astonishing is the fact that, despite now being on the wrong side of 30, Messi’s goalscoring rate does not seem to have dipped at all.

Would I say that Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time?

I would not. To me, that accolade goes to Diego Maradona; however, I have Messi second all-time behind his World Cup-winning compatriot. That said, I do believe that Messi is closing the gap with each passing year.

But, as I mentioned, where there is no debate is as a scorer. In the more than 100 years of professional football, there has never been a player who has been able to put the ball in the net quite like Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini.

The Weekly Take, Issue 44: City’s Most Underrated Player Steps Up

Heading into the recent match between Manchester City and Liverpool, the two Premier League powerhouses were first and second in the league, with Liverpool ahead of City by seven points. Thus, there was a tremendous amount riding on the outcome of this clash.

The game at the Etihad Stadium ended in a 2-1 victory for the Citizens, with Leroy Sané scoring City’s winning goal to cap off what was arguably his best performance of the season.

The German winger absolutely torched the Reds’ defence, making the normally solid defensive pairing of Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk look like complete amateurs.

But here’s the interesting part – despite being an integral part of City’s Premier League-winning team of last season, many do not truly appreciate the value that Sané brings to the table. While he did win the PFA Young Player of the Year award last season, the award seemed to do little to enhance his standing with the average fan.

When people think of Manchester City, they will usually think of players such as Bernardo Silva, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, and, of course, Sergio Agüero. Leroy Sané is frequently overlooked.

This is unfortunate because Sané has been one of City’s best players ever since joining the Manchester club from Schalke in 2016.

Sané first arrived at the Etihad to much fanfare, and rightly so – he was, and still is, considered one of Germany’s best young prospects. Sané garnered a tremendous amount of hype during the 2015-16 season, his last with Schalke. It didn’t take him long to make an impact – despite missing almost a third of the season due to injury, Sané quickly established himself as a mainstay of the team and was named the club’s Player of the Month in February and March.

The following season was a career-best season for Sané as he helped City win the Premier League with a remarkable 100 out of a possible 114 points. His Young Player of the Year award was a fitting conclusion to a campaign in which he was one of City’s standouts, scoring 10 goals and handing out 15 assists. In doing so, Sané established himself as one of the best players at his position in the league. However, despite winning the award, Sané was twice snubbed at the end of the season – first by PFA experts who inexplicably selected Christian Eriksen of Tottenham over him in the Premier League’s best 11 of the season, then by Germany coach Joachim Löw who did not select him as part of Die Mannschaft’s World Cup squad. Löw’s decision backfired in shocking fashion as Germany were sent packing in the group stage; many believed that had Sané been playing, he would have made a difference and helped Germany advance to the round of 16.

These two snubs appear to have fuelled Sané this season, as he is clearly playing with a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove. His performance against Liverpool only gave further evidence of this fact.

So why has he been slept on? In my opinion, here are some of the reasons why.

1) He plays for Manchester City. This is a loaded team with two clearly superior players in Agüero and De Bruyne. Furthermore, players such as David Silva, Sterling, and Kompany seem to resonate more with the average fan.

2) He is not British. Last season, some of the other nominees for the Young Player of the Year award that Sané won were Harry Kane, Sterling, and Marcus Rashford. While Kane is certainly a better player than Sané, the other two are definitely not. What do all three of these players have in common, though?

Exactly.

Once again, the British media has overhyped its own players to such a degree that better players are overlooked.

3) He hasn’t done much at international level (yet). He has only played 17 games for Germany thus far and has featured in just 11 minutes of tournament play – against France in Euro 2016. Despite this, more opportunities should surely come his way in the future, especially since Germany failed without him at the World Cup.

If he continues on his current path, it won’t be much longer before fans and media begin to take more notice of the man from Essen.