The Weekly Take, Issue 73: For Whom the Bale Tolls

The seemingly endless transfer saga involving Gareth Bale has taken yet another twist.

The Real Madrid winger had seemed all set to leave the Spanish capital to chase one final big payday in the cash-rich Chinese Super League by joining Jiangsu Suning.

However, despite the fact that head coach Zinedine Zidane had openly stated that the club had been moving towards moving the Welsh winger, Real's board vetoed the transfer after citing the immense, then-world record transfer fee the club had paid to sign him from Tottenham in 2013.

Bale has certainly had an interesting six years at the Bernabéu. On one hand, he has been an integral part of Real Madrid's dynasty, helping Los Merengues win four Champions League titles in five seasons. Scoring a spectacular bicycle-kick in the 2018 final against Liverpool ensured that Bale would forever have an indelible place in the history of the world's most storied football club. He was also selected as part of the Champions League's all-tournament team in 2016.

On the other hand, though, Bale's stint at Real thus far has also been blighted by numerous injuries. Over the six seasons he has spent at Real, Bale has played in just 155 of Real's 228 league matches. On average, one can reasonably expect him to miss approximately a third of the season. This fact has certainly hindered both Real's success and his own development as a player; his peak was all too brief because of those injuries. Furthermore, he also had chemistry issues with some of Real's other players; his game has not always dovetailed well with those of his teammates.

In recent times, Bale had fallen out of favour with Zidane and seemed to be on his way out of the club. The proposed transfer to Jiangsu would have made Bale the world's highest-paid player. Although Bale received public support from club president Florentino Pérez, the fact that he had already been in an awkward spot at the club has only added further confusion to what was already a tense and highly-charged situation.

The veto of Bale's transfer may have been influenced by a severe injury suffered by promising young winger Marco Asensio. During an off-season friendly match against Arsenal, the Spaniard tore his ACL, ruling him out of the entire 2019-20 season. This in turn would leave Real somewhat thin on the wings, thus causing the club to reconsider Bale's departure. Asensio's ACL injury may also have affected the transfer status of James Rodríguez, whose own expected transfer out of Real also seems to have hit a snag.

Despite this fact, there are teams which ought to consider making a move to sign Bale. At 30, Bale does have two or three more good years left in him before obvious signs of decline are likely to set in. Should he end up leaving Real, he does have options; he might yet even end up becoming a key contributor to a deep Champions League run, but for a different team.

One of the more intriguing possibilities for Bale would be a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. There has been much speculation regarding the future of Edinson Cavani and Neymar; both could end up leaving during this current off-season. Bale would be able to serve as an ample replacement for one of them, thus bolstering their chances of making a deep Champions League run. Even if neither leaves, Bale might take over from Cavani as a starter alongside Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. His arrival would make PSG even more formidable than they already are.

Napoli would also be another viable option. Bale would be a clear upgrade over José Callejón. Alongside Dries Mertens and Arkadiusz Milik, Bale would become part of one of the best frontlines in world football and turn the Campanian club into a possible sleeper pick to win it all. Napoli have never been beyond the round of 16 in the European Cup or Champions League; Bale's arrival might just change that.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for the greatest player to ever come out of Wales. Whatever Gareth Bale's next move may be, it will certainly have quite an impact on European club football as a whole during the coming season.

The Weekly Take, Issue 72: The Legacy Continues

In some of my previous posts, I have written about Juventus' outstanding defense, the fact that Juve have always been a club with a defense-first mentality, and their legacy of legendary defenders.

All-time greats such as Claudio Gentile, Gaetano Scirea, Gianluca Zambrotta, Giorgio Chiellini, and Leonardo Bonucci have represented the Bianconeri at the back. They have played major roles in Juve's success and development of its club identity.

Now, Juve may just have added the latest all-time defensive great to this illustrious list.

Juventus have just signed Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax for €75 million - a remarkable fee given the fact that the Dutchman is just 19 years old. However, in due time, this signing is likely to prove to be well worth the money spent.

Even at his young age, de Ligt is perhaps already the second-best centre-back in the world, only trailing his compatriot Virgil van Dijk. He is the current holder of the Golden Boy award, thus proving his immense potential and sky-high ceiling.

A product of Ajax's iconic youth academy, de Ligt has all the attributes that a defender needs in order to become one of the greats.

His tackling is arguably the best in world football today. He has no fear of aerial duels; he is comfortable in the air as well. De Ligt also has a level of defensive maturity rarely seen in a player of his age; his play might not be the most showy, but it is certainly fundamentally sound and conducive to victory. He can even be a threat on the offensive end. De Ligt is a good passer for a centre-back and has also been known to be a dangerous receiver of set-pieces.

As if all these qualities weren't already enough, de Ligt has also shown impressive leadership abilities. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that he is the youngest captain in Ajax history. He also became the youngest player to captain a team in a Champions League match when he did so in Ajax's upset victory over Real Madrid last season, earning many plaudits in the process.

De Ligt now has the opportunity to take his game to the next level. As I earlier mentioned, Juve is a club with a long and distinguished history of defensive legends. Thus, it is one of the best clubs for a young defender to join.

De Ligt's arrival in Turin might also prove to be just what Juve need in order to land their first Champions League title since 1996.

While Juve already had an impressive starting back four last season which consisted of Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Bonucci, and João Cancelo, the man from Leiderdorp may have elevated Juventus' defense from merely being elite to arguably the best on the planet.

Of course, de Ligt is not Juve's only major signing of the current off-season. They've brought in Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey, and Luca Pellegrini, among others. However, it's obvious that de Ligt is the real game-changer among these signings.

This signing also came at an important time for Juve. With Cristiano Ronaldo now being 34 years old, he will soon be on his last legs. Thus, it was important that Juve sign a player who could potentially go on to become the next cornerstone of the team - a player great enough to lead Juve to not only multiple Serie A titles, but one or more Champions League titles as well. De Ligt might very well be that player, especially if he goes on to play for Juve for a decade or more - a distinct possibility, given all that surrounds him at the moment.

It's somewhat clichéd to say this, but it is nonetheless true: "offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships." Juve as a club have clearly taken this saying to heart over the years. A great defense is often the foundation of any great team.

Such defenses are often led by one overpowering, commanding figure, and for now and in the coming years, Juve might have obtained such a figure in Matthijs de Ligt. Although he might not have played even one game for the reigning Italian champions, based on what he has already shown, he may have made Juventus the favourites to win the Champions League this season.

The Weekly Take, Issue 71: Absolutely Pathetic

I’m not holding back at all this week.

The player I’m writing about has forever sullied his legacy by making the weakest transfer move I have ever witnessed.

This player is a perennial Ballon d’Or contender, the MVP and top scorer of Euro 2016, a World Cup champion who was third in the tournament’s MVP rankings, arguably the world’s best player at his position, and had been the best player on one of the best club teams on the planet.

So what does he do?

Of course, he chooses to run away from the challenges he is faced with and join forces with an immediate rival, both domestically and in the Champions League.

As great of a player as he is, I am so appalled by this transfer that after I mention his name for the first time, I will not do so for the rest of the post. I will channel my inner Skip Bayless and refer to him by his jersey number.

You might already have guessed that I’m referring to Antoine Griezmann, who has just left Atlético Madrid for Barcelona. It cost Barça €120 million, the fifth-highest transfer fee of all time, to land #17.

However, that’s irrelevant. #17 forced his way out of the Wanda Metropolitano, making a transfer request after spending five years at the Madrid club.

Despite clearly having the game and the squad around him to be able to lead Atlético to the top, the man from Bourgogne chose to take the easy way out, joining forces with a direct rival and teaming up with Leo Messi and company.

Here are the reasons as to why I consider #17’s move to Catalonia to be truly pathetic.

1) He was already on a genuine Champions League contender.

Over the five seasons that #17 was at Atlético, the club was never ranked lower than sixth in pre-tournament club coefficient. What’s more, they were ranked second before last season’s campaign, while Barça had been ranked fourth. They also generally lived up to expectations, reaching the quarterfinals in 2015, final in 2016, and semifinals in 2017. Since Atlético were already among the title contenders with #17 on their roster, it’s obvious that he chose the easy way out.

2) His motives were different.

Consider the other major transfers of the current off-season.

João Felix, Frenkie de Jong, Lucas Hernandez, and Luka Jović are all young players trying to break out as superstars at a major club.

Eden Hazard wanted to escape the toxic, dysfunctional, untenable atmosphere at Chelsea.

#17 is in the prime of his career at 28 and had been playing for perhaps the best-run club in the world. He simply wanted to ride Messi’s coattails to an easy Champions League title.

3) He signed for a team which has recently bested his own team often.

Over the five years during which #17 was at Atlético, they twice finished second behind Barça in La Liga. In fact, during this time, Atlético never finished ahead of the Catalan club in the league. They were also knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barça twice.

Thus, it’s a really bad look for him to sign for Barça.

4) There were no other reasons for him to leave.

Star player for a superbly-run Champions League contender? Check.

Lucrative endorsement deals? Check.

Enormous salary? Check.

Big-market team in a place with a favourable lifestyle? Check.

He was in what was close to an ideal situation – and left anyway.

The only other transfer I can think of that exhibited this level of mental weakness was Luís Figo’s departure from Barça to then-reigning Champions League champions Real Madrid, a transfer which marked the beginning of Real’s iconic “Galácticos” era.

For what it’s worth, I cannot wait for Barça’s next away match against Atlético.

Certainly, every time #17 touches the ball, the Atlético fans will unleash every last bit of their pent-up rage and frustration on their former ace who turned his back on them. They will surely greet him with a fusillade of richly-deserved boos, jeers, and heckles.

Regardless of the outcome of that match, it will definitely be something extraordinary to witness, and an Atlético win would be especially sweet - #17 will have received his due comeuppance.

The Weekly Take, Issue 70: A New Force Rises in South America

The Copa América has just ended with Brazil claiming the South American continental title for the first time since 2007.

The Seleção clinched the title in front of a raucous home crowd by beating Peru 3-1 in the final. Despite finishing the match with 10 men after Gabriel Jesus received his second yellow card, Brazil hung on for the victory.

However, what is certainly notable is the fact that they played against Peru in the final.

Peru’s qualification for the final definitely came as a surprise. This is partially due to the fact that La Blanquirroja have very little football pedigree, historically speaking. This had been their first Copa final since 1975, which was also their most recent tournament victory. Furthermore, outside the team’s strongest era of the 1970s and early 1980s, Peru has only ever qualified for the World Cup twice.

But now, things may be beginning to change for the better, and Peru’s run to the final is clear evidence of this improvement.

Although Peru do not have any true star players, they do have a solid core group around which they have done a reasonable job of building. The likes of Yoshimar Yotún, Luís Advíncula, Christian Cueva, Renato Tapía, and veteran captain Paolo Guerrero all played pivotal roles in Peru’s deep Copa run. Interestingly, Jefferson Farfán, who along with Guerrero is Peru’s best player of this generation, did not play much due to injury.

A 5-0 group stage loss to Brazil notwithstanding, Peru were very solid throughout the tournament. They rarely made any major mistakes and generally played organized, systematic football in every match.

The major turning point for Peru seemed to take place during qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Heading into those qualifiers, few expected Peru to qualify for the tournament. After all, they had not been to a World Cup since 1982 and had failed to make it to the previous World Cup by finishing 10 points behind Uruguay, the last South American team to make it to the 2014 World Cup.

However, despite having both statistics and history stacked against them, Peru defied the odds to finish fifth out of 10 teams involved in World Cup qualifying out of South America to advance to a wildcard playoff against New Zealand. A 1-1 draw against Colombia sealed their place in the playoff. What made this even sweeter for Peru is that by qualifying for the playoff, they denied the highly-fancied reigning South American champions and arch-rivals Chile a spot in the World Cup.

Peru went on to beat New Zealand 2-0 on aggregate in the playoff to reach their first World Cup in 36 years.

At the tournament in Russia, although they were knocked out in the group stage, Peru gave a good account of themselves. They narrowly lost to Denmark, then ran eventual champions France close before losing again. They went on to beat Australia in their third match, but it wasn’t enough to prevent their exit.

However, this tournament experience would prove to be a springboard for the team. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength, culminating in their recent impressive Copa run.

Now, that’s not to say that Peru are completely devoid of problems at the moment.

This is not a young team by any means. In Peru’s Copa squad, only seven players were 25 years old or younger. This could very well have been the current core group’s last tournament run together. It also means that despite several good years in recent times, Peru do face something of an uncertain future.

Nevertheless, it is also entirely possible that the events of the last few years, and the Copa run in particular, might serve as inspiration for Peru’s younger generation to step forward and emulate their predecessors. This is unlikely, though – at the moment, Peru do not seem to have any promising young prospects who are likely to reach the level of their current core, let alone become a bona fide superstar.

But for Peruvian football fans who had previously become accustomed to their team’s constant failure, that is a secondary matter. Even if another 30 to 40 years pass before another Peru team emulates the current crop, this team is clearly their country’s finest since the days of Héctor Chumpitaz, Hugo Sotil, and Teófilo Cubillas.