The Weekly Take, Issue 26: A Powerhouse Reborn?

Over the last five years, AC Milan have not had the easiest of times.

In the period spanning the 2013-14 season to the 2017-18 season, this iconic club never finished higher than sixth in Serie A, lost two Coppa Italia finals, and only played in European competition twice, with both runs ending in early exits. On top of all these, Milan had previously been banned from the 2018-19 Europa League due to Financial Fair Play violations, though this ban was revoked in July 2018.

However, for the first time in a very long time, the Rossoneri’s future appears to be fairly bright.

In their match this past weekend, Milan beat last season’s Champions League semifinalists Roma 2-1, with substitute Patrick Cutrone netting the winning goal in stoppage time.

This victory could very well be a sign that after a protracted stretch of poor results, the team may finally be beginning to gel.

If one just takes a look at the players currently at AC Milan, one would expect them to be doing significantly better than they have in the last few years.

This is a team containing some very solid players such as Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Franck Kessié, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Ricardo Rodríguez, among others. Though none of these players can be called superstars, nor are any of them even close to that coveted label, they are all good enough to function as important pieces of a team that can challenge for top-four status in the league and make a deep run in Europe.

That’s not even mentioning the fact that this past off-season, Milan brought in players such as Pepe Reina, Mattia Caldara, Diego Laxalt, Ivan Strinić, and of course, Gonzalo Higuaín. Now, although I have been critical of Higuaín in the past, he, along with the other signings I have just mentioned, are all significant upgrades over the players who were already at the club, as well as those who have recently left the San Siro, such as M’Baye Niang, Nikola Kalinić, and Carlos Bacca.

Another important factor to consider is the coach.

Since taking over at the helm of Milan in November 2017 after replacing Vincenzo Montella, Gennaro Gattuso has only enhanced his status as a club legend, having played for AC Milan for 13 years, during which he won five major trophies including two Champions League titles.

Gattuso was able to reverse a horrible start in the league to steer the club to a final position of sixth, which put them into the Europa League. Such an outcome seemed unthinkable when Gattuso first took the job.

Those who remember “Rino”’s career as a player will know that there have been, and will be, very few players who bring the level of intensity and drive that Gattuso did to every single game. This inner fire seems to have continued into his coaching career and, more importantly, has rubbed off on the Milan players. Almost as soon as Gattuso became the Milan coach, it seemed as if the players’ effort and desire for victory doubled overnight.

Another factor working in Milan’s favour is the status of some of the other leading Italian clubs.

AS Roma, Lazio, and Napoli all appear to be weaker this season.

Roma sold Radja Nainggolan, Alisson, and Kevin Strootman during the recently-concluded transfer window. Although they did sign Justin Kluivert and Javier Pastore among others, Kluivert is still just 19, while in my opinion, Pastore is a downgrade when compared to either Nainggolan or Strootman.

Lazio, meanwhile, lost Stefan de Vrij and Felipe Anderson, while making absolutely no signings that moved the needle in any significant way.

Napoli may be the club that suffers the largest drop-off from last season. They have clearly downgraded in goal, replacing Reina with David Ospina. Napoli also sold Jorginho to Chelsea, and most crucially, lost ex-coach Maurizio Sarri to the Blues as well. Although his replacement Carlo Ancelotti is one of the greatest coaches of all time, it may take a while for him to adapt to the club and make a positive impact while there.

All things considered, this season could shape up to be the best in many years for one of Italy’s most storied clubs. While I don’t necessarily think they will hit such heights, do not be surprised if Milan finish as high as second in Serie A, win the Europa League, or both.

The Weekly Take, Issue 25: Justice Goes Undone

Of the four major European football leagues, the Bundesliga was the last to kick off, with its first matchday having been held this past weekend. The most highly-anticipated match to be played was that between overwhelming favourites Bayern Munich and last season’s surprise package Hoffenheim, who defied the odds to finish third in the league.

To the surprise of many, Hoffenheim kept it close for most of the match. However, an 82nd-minute penalty scored by Robert Lewandowski and a 90th-minute goal from Arjen Robben helped the Bavarian juggernauts to a 3-1 victory to begin what is likely to be the first match of yet another Bundesliga title run.

However, this match was also notable for not one, not two, but three questionable officiating decisions.

One of the main talking points of the match was the penalty decision, as it was a very controversial call.

In the first place, the fact that the penalty was even given in the first place was notable, as replays showed that Håvard Nordtveit of Hoffenheim did not make significant contact with Bayern winger Franck Ribéry when Ribéry went down in the penalty area. Even Bayern coach Niko Kovač said that it should not have been given.

Generally, in this situation, the video assistant referee (VAR) would have been consulted, but this time, such was not the case. Because of this, the referee’s incorrect decision to award the penalty remained.

However, what arguably stood out even more was the penalty itself.

With the game tied at 1-1, Bayern superstar Lewandowski stepped forward to take the penalty. His shot was saved by Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, but Robben rushed in to clean up and put the follow-up shot in the net.

The referee then ordered Lewandowski to retake the penalty because Robben had begun his run into the penalty area too early. On his second attempt, the Polish striker dispatched the penalty.

Although on the surface, there appears to be no issue with the events that took place, consider the following.

What if Robben had missed on his follow-up shot?

If that had happened, Bayern would essentially have been rewarded for having one of their players break a key rule with regard to penalties, because it would have granted Lewandowski another chance to score his penalty.

This is notable because experienced players can often tell if the penalty-taker is about to miss with his shot. If they believe he is going to miss, they may exploit the rules by encroaching into the penalty area to force a retake.

In such situations, I believe that the referee should use his discretion and not order the penalty to be retaken.

In this case, the referee was fortunate that Robben scored on the follow-up, because although he made a bad call, it worked out for the best in the end.

The third incident was yet another which involved the VAR, although in this case, it was Hoffenheim who benefited from it.

Bayern’s Leon Goretzka took a shot that caromed off teammate Thomas Müller en route to the back of the net. Although the ball just happened to deflect off Müller, the VAR incorrectly ruled it as an intentional handball, and what should have been Bayern’s third goal was therefore not counted.

In spite of all the praise that the VAR system has received, particularly during the World Cup, incidents such as this prove that the system is not infallible and may therefore require further tweaks.

While in this match, because Bayern went on to score a third goal, the officiating errors did not change the overall result, it is what could happen in other matches that is a cause for concern.

Whether the errors are made with or without the use of the VAR system does not matter, because either way, the net effect on the game is the same.

Hopefully, as the season progresses, matches like this one become the exception rather than the norm, because the myriad of errors committed by the referee ruined the game. Even more than that, in leagues with close title races or in knockout games, refereeing errors can change who will end up taking home the trophy.

It’s time for referees across Europe to take note and step up their game.

The Weekly Take, Issue 24: Back from the Brink

The first matchday of the 2018-19 La Liga season saw a number of enthralling matches. Probably the most notable of these was the clash between Valencia and Atlético Madrid, two of the teams who have qualified for this season’s Champions League.

Ángel Correa opened the scoring for Atlético, but a well-taken volley by Rodrigo proved to be the game-tying goal for Valencia, earning them a point against the Madrid powerhouse.

This result is proof of a remarkable turnaround by Valencia, who not too long ago were in the worst position they had been in for many years.

In both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 La Liga seasons, Valencia finished a dismal 12th in the league, their worst two-season La Liga run since they re-entered the top flight after being promoted from the Segunda División in 1987.

In addition to their league woes, Los Che also suffered early Champions League and Europa League exits in 2015-16, and were also knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the round of 16 the following season.

To give an idea of how badly Valencia were playing at this time, in the 2016-17 season, Valencia’s leading goalscorers were Munir and Rodrigo, who scored a mere seven goals apiece.

This trying period was also marked by coaching instability, with Valencia hiring and firing five different coaches over those two years.

However, things began to change for the better in the 2017 off-season. The club hired Marcelino as coach, and also made a number of extremely shrewd signings. They signed Neto and Simone Zaza, both from Juventus, and crucially, also made multiple solid pickups on loan deals. These players brought in on loan included the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Andreas Pereira, and Gonçalo Guedes, all of whom went on to become solid contributors to Valencia’s eventual revival.

In addition, Valencia also saw significant improvements in the levels of play from players such as Dani Parejo, Rodrigo, and Santi Mina. Ultimately, the 2017-18 season proved to be Valencia’s most successful in three years, as they qualified for the Champions League and reached the Copa del Rey semifinals.

However, in the previous off-season, some questioned if their success last season had just been a fluke and felt that they might not really be back. This feeling of uncertainty was strengthened by the fact that Guedes, Pereira, and Luciano Vietto all left Valencia after completing their loan stints. Valencia also loaned Zaza to Torino.

Despite these losses of personnel, Valencia were also active in the transfer market. They turned Kondogbia’s loan deal into a permanent one by signing him for €25 million. Other signings made by Valencia included the pickups of Daniel Wass from Celta and Kevin Gameiro from Atlético.

In addition, Valencia added Michy Batshuayi and, crucially, Denis Cheryshev on loan from Chelsea and Villarreal respectively.

All things considered, the reversal of Valencia’s fortunes since the end of the 2016-17 season has been extremely impressive. Not many saw this improvement coming at the time.

In fact, such has been their revival that this season, they are the most likely team to challenge La Liga’s dominant triumvirate of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético.

It must also be kept in mind that this isn’t a team with little history. During Valencia’s best era of 1998 to 2004, they won two league titles, a Copa del Rey, and a UEFA Cup (now known as the Europa League). They also reached the final of the Champions League twice, losing to Real Madrid in 2000 and Bayern Munich in 2001.

Valencia’s recent success has shown that even if a team has fallen on hard times, with good planning, shrewd signings, and a clear strategy, they can eventually make their way out of the depths.

Although they have only played one league game, if their performance against Atlético is anything to go by, Valencia can look ahead to this season with much optimism, as it seems to be the case that their fourth-place La Liga finish and deep Copa del Rey run from last season do not appear to be flukes.

If they can continue their renaissance throughout this season, expect Valencia to cause trouble for the three top teams in La Liga and also go far in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League.

The Weekly Take, Issue 23: New Coach, Same Old Arsenal

The new Premier League season has begun, and the first matchday was highlighted by a clash between Arsenal and Manchester City. City registered a 2-0 win over the Gunners, with Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva scoring the two goals for the reigning Premier League champions.

Last season, Arsenal endured a miserable campaign in what proved to be Arsène Wenger’s final season at the helm of the Gunners. They finished sixth in the league, their worst league campaign since 1995. They were also knocked out in the Europa League semifinals, as well as the third round of the FA Cup.

Realising that things were only getting worse for Arsenal, Wenger made the long-overdue decision to step down. He was subsequently replaced by Unai Emery, who joined Arsenal from PSG.

However, as evidenced by the game against City, the appointment of Emery has done little, if anything at all, to improve Arsenal.

From the very beginning of the match, Arsenal were completely outplayed, as everything they did seemed to be met by an answer from City. The likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Granit Xhaka were nowhere near the levels they are capable of playing at.

While it is true that City were favoured to come out on top comfortably, one would have thought that, with a new man in charge and a new era at the Emirates beginning, Arsenal would have offered more resistance than they did. However, as was frequently the case last season, Arsenal were shown to be nowhere near the level that they need to be at in order to challenge for titles.

One of the main problems facing the Gunners is, in fact, the new coach himself.

Considering the large amount of resources that Emery had at his disposal when he was at PSG, the team clearly underachieved during his time there.

During his two seasons in Paris, PSG only won the Ligue 1 title once, an embarrassing statistic given the financial disparity between them and the rest of the league. They also never made it beyond the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Over his four years at Valencia, once again, he never led them beyond the Champions League’s round of 16.

The only period of his coaching career that could truly be considered successful was his three-year stint at Sevilla, in which he led the Andalusian club to three Europa League titles. However, even this must come with a caveat: in those same three years, Sevilla never finished in the top four in La Liga.

Another reason that Arsenal may face a tough season ahead is the fact that, as has often been the case in past years, they have not signed players who will make a difference.

Other than Stephan Lichtsteiner, in the recently-concluded transfer window, Arsenal failed to make a single signing whom I believe will have a significant positive impact on their team.

Besides Lichtsteiner, Arsenal signed Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papasthopoulos, Mattéo Guendouzi, and Lucas Torreira.

Not a single one of these players, in my opinion, is or will be an upgrade for Arsenal. Even though some are sold on Torreira, and although he did have a solid World Cup campaign for Uruguay, it is not likely that he will make the sort of impact that will lead Arsenal to greater heights for years to come.

Furthermore, it could even be possible that Emery’s tactics do not gel with Arsenal’s play style. After the game against City, even though Emery said that it will take time for the players to properly execute his tactics, it may have been a way to keep his team’s spirits up after a loss, rather than an honest assessment of how things would necessarily go.

At the start of the season, many Arsenal fans were hopeful that a new coach and the new tactics and ideas he would bring with him would somehow bring back the glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

However, although only one game has been played thus far, based on this performance, the North Londoners are lightyears away from where they dream of being. Arsenal fans may now have to brace themselves for another long, difficult season which is likely to end without much success.

The Weekly Take, Issue 22: The Most Underachieving Player of His Era

Recently, many notable transfers have been taking place. Many elite players have switched clubs in hopes of better pay, a better chance of winning titles, or both.

One of the transfers which has generated considerable interest is that of Gonzalo Higuaín, who has moved from Juventus to AC Milan.

Now, it’s not as if Higuaín has had a poor career by any means. He has scored 218 league goals in major European leagues, won five league titles and four domestic cups, finished as high as second in the European Golden Shoe rankings, and even reached the final of the World Cup.

Yet for all of this, in so many ways, Higuaín’s career can also be claimed to be extremely disappointing.

On many an occasion, he has failed to show up on the biggest stages of all.

He has only made the final of the Champions League once, with Juventus in 2017. In this match, Juve were soundly beaten by Real Madrid, losing 4-1, and Real had no trouble at all keeping their former striker at bay.

This was not the first time Higuaín had underperformed in an important final.

In the final of the 2015 Copa América, Higuaín’s Argentina team faced off against Chile, a team the Albiceleste were expected to beat with minimal trouble.

Higuaín started on the bench but came on as a substitute for Sergio Agüero in the 74th minute. The match was eventually decided via a penalty shootout, which was won by Chile.

One of the players who missed his penalty was Gonzalo Higuaín.

However, just one year later, it appeared that the then-Napoli striker had a chance for revenge, as in the final of the same tournament, Argentina once again played against Chile, and Higuaín was in the starting line-up this time.

Unfortunately, Higuaín played so poorly that he was pulled from the game in the 70th minute. This time, the roles were reversed, as it was Agüero who replaced him.

Once again, Argentina went on to lose on penalties, and, almost as if to rub salt into Higuaín’s wounds, Agüero converted his penalty in the shootout.

Of course, the most glaring example of Higuaín’s underachievement when the pressure was at its greatest occurred in the final of the 2014 World Cup, when Argentina played against Germany.

After having been set up by Lionel Messi, Higuaín had a chance which most would have expected him to have converted. However, he ended up pushing it wide, and was later substituted, with Rodrigo Palacio replacing him.

Argentina went on to lose 1-0 in extra time.

That makes for a total of four consecutive major finals, four losses, and four below-par performances by Gonzalo Higuaín.

Furthermore, despite his previously-mentioned gaudy goalscoring totals, he has never truly been able to be quite the right fit at any club he’s ever been with, and teams seem to get better after he leaves them.

Even as a youngster, when Higuaín left River Plate for Real Madrid, River Plate won the Clausura in the next season.

The year after he left Real to join Napoli, Real won the Champions League.

Although Napoli finished third in Serie A the season after Higuaín left, a spot lower than in the previous seasons, they garnered four more points than in the previous campaign, and also advanced deeper in the Coppa Italia, reaching the semifinals. They also had the misfortune of running into the greatest club team of all time in Real Madrid in the Champions League’s round of 16.

This hasn’t just happened for his club.

In World Cup qualifying, Argentina were struggling to even qualify for the tournament. In fact, they only qualified for the tournament on the final matchday of qualifying. However, after Higuaín was dropped as one of Argentina’s starters, the team’s fortunes began to turn for the better.

Just to reiterate, Higuaín has had a solid career. He has already done things many players can only dream of. Five league titles, a World Cup final appearance, hundreds of goals – those achievements must certainly be respected.

However, when all is said and done, the career of Gonzalo Higuaín will be remembered as one which never came close to reaching the levels that it could have, a fact that even the most fervent backers of “El Pipita” must admit.

The Weekly Take, Issue 21: Flying Under the Radar

The transfer window is now in full swing, and several notable transfers have already taken place.

Some of the most notable players to have changed clubs thus far include Jorginho, who has left Napoli for Chelsea; Gianluigi Buffon, who went from Juventus to Paris Saint-Germain; Riyad Mahrez, who finally maded his long-anticipated move from Leicester to Manchester City; and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, whose transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus stunned the football world and even managed to temporarily take its focus away from the World Cup.

However, on many an occasion, it has not been the blockbuster transfers that have had the most impact on the season to come, but rather, the transfers that were initially greeted by little fanfare, but subsequently turned out to change the course of the season, and sometimes multiple seasons thereafter as well.

For example, during last off-season’s transfer window, the most talked-about transfers that hogged all the attention included the following: Álvaro Morata leaving Real Madrid for Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku’s transfer from Everton to Manchester United, and of course, Neymar’s record-breaking move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, which, as far as the transfer market itself is concerned, fundamentally altered the transfer market forever.

However, in terms of the impact a signing made on his new team, by far the most impactful signing of the transfer window was that of Mohamed Salah, who left Roma to join Liverpool in a move that was largely overlooked by many.

Salah went on to prove the folly of those who underestimated him by playing an incredible season marked by his scoring 32 league goals, leading Liverpool to the Champions League final, and winning a bevy of individual awards, including Premier League Player of the Season, PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, and African Footballer of the Year.

On the other hand, Morata’s season was so poor that he missed Spain’s World Cup squad, Neymar missed a large portion of the season with a foot injury, and while Lukaku did have a solid season, it was nowhere near the level of Salah’s.

This phenomenon has occurred before.

In the mid-season transfer window of 2011, several transfers which generated tremendous amounts of hype were made. Chief among them were the signings of Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll, who moved from Liverpool to Chelsea and Newcastle to Liverpool respectively. The immense buzz that accompanied these transfers caused Manchester City’s signing of Edin Džeko from Wolfsburg to be overshadowed.

However, circumstances would play out in the exact opposite manner that one would expect, given how much hype each of these signings received.

Neither Torres nor Carroll ever really adapted well to life at their new clubs, and both soon entered a terminal decline. On the other hand, throughout his tenure at City, Džeko was a key contributor, scoring 50 league goals and helping City win two league titles before departing for Roma in 2015. Džeko scored more goals over this period than Torres and Carroll combined.

Several of the world’s best players today were once under-the-radar signings as well. Not many had heard of N’Golo Kanté in 2015, Diego Costa in 2010, or Mats Hummels in 2009; however, all three went on to make major contributions to their new clubs: Leicester, Atlético Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

It takes a shrewd team to figure out which players who have been slept on and overlooked are ready to make the jump and become a key contributor on a top team. Many under-the-radar signings who succeed and make significant impacts were selected based on careful scouting, thorough evaluation, and knowledge about how they would fit into their new team.

Conversely, in the examples already provided about hyped transfers of players who never quite reached the expected levels, the clubs who signed these players went directly for the “star names” without considering the context, or how each player would fit into the team.

As the transfer window carries on, there will surely be more big-name transfers to come which will attract all the headlines. However, do not overlook supposedly “lesser” signings, because some team out there might have just unearthed a true gem who turns out to be the missing piece they needed all along.

The Weekly Take, Issue 20: Post-World Cup Special: That’s It for the World Cup – Now What?

It has been a gripping, enthralling month of World Cup action, culminating in France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final to give Les Bleus their second World Cup title and first since 1998.

However, lost in the shuffle of everything that has gone on during this World Cup is this: what impact is this World Cup going to have on the players as they prepare for the upcoming European club football season?

Some players in this World Cup have seen their stock soar, while others have seen theirs collapse.

One of the more interesting points to be discussed in the wake of the World Cup is this: what is going to happen at Paris Saint-Germain this season?

During the World Cup, PSG’s two superstars, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, had very different experiences.

Mbappé was the breakout superstar of the tournament, emerging as one of the world’s best players, even at the age of 19. He scored four goals and was arguably France’s best player during their run to the title.

On the other hand, Neymar’s Brazil team were knocked out in the quarterfinals, and Neymar himself became an object of scorn and ridicule because of his overreactions during matches, especially when he was fouled.

Taking these factors into consideration, as well as the fact that prior to the World Cup, Neymar had been the focal point of PSG’s team, it will be interesting to see if Neymar will be willing to take more of a backseat to accommodate his younger teammate, or if Mbappé’s growing stature will lead to discord between the two, which would then potentially derail the Paris club’s season.

Given Neymar’s personality, as well as the fact that he left Barcelona to become the best player on a team, the latter scenario is a distinct possibility.

Another point which remains to be seen is the question of which previously-overlooked players have earned a move to a bigger club through their World Cup performances.

Among the players who rose to global prominence during the World Cup include Villarreal winger Denis Cheryshev (Russia), Stuttgart full-back Benjamin Pavard (France), Beşiktaş centre-back Domagoj Vida (Croatia), and Leicester centre-back Harry Maguire (England).

Do not be surprised if, on the back of their strong World Cup campaigns, one or more of these players end of signing for a major European club during this ongoing transfer window.

In the past, players have used the World Cup as a springboard to take their career to the next level, and these players have the opportunity to do just that.

The World Cup also certainly had an impact on the race for the Ballon d’Or.

Every year since 2008, the award has been won by either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. However, this year, that may change because of the fact that neither Ronaldo’s Portugal nor Messi’s Argentina were all that impressive during the tournament, as both teams were knocked out in the round of 16.

That may open the door for the likes of Mbappé, his French teammate Antoine Griezmann, tournament MVP Luka Modrić, or perhaps a fringe contender, such as Harry Kane or Kevin De Bruyne, to possibly come through and break Ronaldo and Messi’s stranglehold on football’s most prestigious individual honour.

On a related note, it also remains to be seen how players from countries such as Spain, Germany, and Argentina will respond to their World Cup failures.

These countries are all powerhouses of world football, but all three were knocked out of the World Cup early. Therefore, there are two possibilities as to what mindset their players will enter the club season with: either they will go in with a chip on their shoulder and take out their World Cup frustrations on opposing teams, or their failure at the World Cup will continue to weigh heavily on their minds, thus negatively affecting their level of play for their clubs.

All of these factors which the World Cup has influenced, as well as the fact that the transfer window still has over a month to run, lead to one conclusion: get ready for a truly enthralling 2018-19 season of European club football that will hopefully rival the World Cup in terms of sheer excitement and intensity.