The Weekly Take, Issue 136: They Surely Can't Fire Him Now

The standout fixture of the latest La Liga matchday was the latest edition of the Madrid derby. Real Madrid emerged with an impressive 2-0 victory over city rivals Atlético Madrid. Casemiro opened the scoring in the 15th minute. In the second half, an own goal scored by Jan Oblak off Dani Carvajal's shot that struck the post ensured Real's victory.

Real's win put Los Merengues within three points of Atlético, who currently lead the league. It also eased the pressure on head coach Zinedine Zidane. Rumours that Zidane might soon be fired have been circulating for some time now. They only intensified after a recent slump in form.

However, the events of the derby showed that not only would it be a colossal mistake on Real's part if they were to fire the Frenchman; the club's top brass ought to pull out all the stops to make sure that Zidane remains in the Santiago Bernabéu dugout for the foreseeable future.

Consider the fact that although Zidane was going up against one of the top five overall coaches and perhaps the best pure strategist in the world in his Atlético counterpart Diego Simeone, it was in large part thanks to Zidane that Real Madrid came away victorious. His tactical setup was on point, his substitutions were timely and effective, and he ably adjusted to everything Simeone threw at him. It's not often that a great coach like Simeone is so decisively countered. Yet, that's exactly what happened against Real.

I'd actually say that "Zizou" is the most underrated coach in world football at the moment. After all, no one else has ever led a team to three consecutive Champions League titles - that fact alone speaks for itself. While his detractors may claim that his Real Madrid team of 2016 to 2018 was carried to those titles by Cristiano Ronaldo, consider this: to win those three straight European crowns, Real beat Simeone's Atlético in 2016, Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus in 2017, and Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in 2018. For those counting, that would be two all-time great coaches and one excellent one.

Last season was Zidane's first full season in his second stint at the helm of Real. Notably, it was also his first full season as Real head coach since Ronaldo's departure for Juve in the 2018 off-season. Despite having a squad which was clearly weaker to that of his first go-around, Zidane led Real to the league title, finishing ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona by five points. This league triumph came despite key players such as Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale missing large portions of the season through injury.

What Zidane had to deal with upon his return to Real cannot be overlooked either. When he replaced Santiago Solari in March 2019, Real were a club in disarray. They were nowhere near either Barça or Atlético in the league. They had also been knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 after an upset loss against Ajax. Fast forward almost two years later and Real, despite currently trailing Atlético in La Liga, are likely to claim back-to-back league titles for the first time since 2008. They also topped a tough Champions League group containing Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Real's front office is notorious for being trigger-happy with regard to coaches. However, if they break with their history and retain Zidane's services for an extended time period, the club will be likely to experience much current and future success. Given Zidane's track record to date, there is no reason why he shouldn't remain at Real for at least a decade, racking up titles along the way while establishing himself as perhaps the greatest coach in Real's history - and maybe, just maybe, of all time.

It is beyond crucial that Real do not act in their usual knee-jerk manner, especially if results start going against them later in the season. Zidane has clearly built up a body of work which clearly proves that he is an outstanding coach. Firing him would be an epic mistake of almost unparalleled proportions.

The decision should be obvious. Only one question remains: will Real finally "get it", or will they revert to type?

The Weekly Take, Issue 135: The Newest One-Man Team?

The most recent Champions League matchday saw Borussia Dortmund and Lazio play to a 1-1 draw. Raphaël Guerreiro opened the scoring just before halftime to put Dortmund a goal ahead. Ciro Immobile would later secure Lazio a share of the points against his former club by converting his 67th-minute spot-kick.

However, probably the biggest talking point of the match was not about who was on the field, but rather, who was not: none other than Dortmund's young ace Erling Håland. The Norwegian centre-forward missed the match with a hamstring injury. He will be out of action until January.

The difference between Dortmund with Håland and Dortmund without him was glaringly obvious against Lazio. Die Schwarzgelbe lacked that final touch up front which Håland would normally have provided. In place of the Yorkshire-born number 9, Marco Reus started up front. While Reus is a solid player in his own right, he does not even come close to approaching Håland's level. Moreover, Reus is neither a natural centre-forward nor a false nine. He was well out of position against Lazio, and it showed.

Dortmund's performance against Lazio also raises a pertinent question: has the team from the Rhine region become too dependent on their young star? Consider the fact that Håland alone is responsible for almost half of Dortmund's Bundesliga goals thus far this season.

The gap between Håland and the rest of Dortmund's players is not only larger than many might think: as Håland is still just 20 years old, this gap will continue to grow until he hits his prime or (and it pains me as a Dortmund fan to say this) inevitably leaves the club.

Any team overly dependent on just one player is playing with fire. We've seen this story before with many other clubs. Think of the following examples: Luis Suárez at Liverpool, Lionel Messi at Barcelona, and Gareth Bale during his first stint at Tottenham, just to name a few. What happened when the superstar couldn't play? And in the cases of Suárez and Bale, what happened to the team after they left? That's right - the team ended up playing nowhere near its full potential.

For Dortmund, it would be especially disappointing if they have, in fact, become too reliant on Håland. Dortmund have an intriguing group of youngsters including Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham, and Gio Reyna. While these players' potential is obvious and they will likely go on to successful careers in their own right, it is somewhat concerning that already, in many situations their modus operandi appears to be "let Håland take care of it". This mentality certainly won't be to their benefit as they go forward in their careers.

This is a Dortmund team which on paper, you'd have expected to easily handle Lazio even in Håland's absence. The fact that they were unable to do so is not a good sign for the coming weeks as Håland goes through an extended spell on the sidelines.

Although it's never been the "Dortmund way", if Dortmund are to make a serious push for a first Bundesliga title since 2012, make a deep Champions League run, or both, they might need to take out the big bucks and make a splashy signing in the January transfer window. They need a player who, while not necessarily on Håland's level, is one who will be the clear-cut second-best player on the team. Such a player will not only benefit the team in general; he would also give Håland the help he needs. If Håland were to miss a match or have a below-par performance, this other guy could step in, take charge, and lead Dortmund to the win.

Considering the fact that Dortmund is a small-market, relatively unglamorous team, Håland will probably leave Signal Iduna Park at some point. Thus, time is of the essence with regard to finding his sidekick. With the right running mate for Håland, once Dortmund's youngsters develop more, this team could potentially contend for titles.

It's not as though this is a Dortmund team without any hope. After all, the draw against Lazio did seal their place in the last 16 of the Champions League. However, if they are to come close to the glory days of the Jürgen Klopp years any time soon, they need to get Håland some help, pronto.

The Weekly Take, Issue 134: A Legend Like No Other

"There goes (Diego Armando Maradona), the best there ever was in this game." - modified quote from The Natural

There really could only be one topic for this week's post.

Diego Maradona, considered by many (myself included) to be the greatest footballer to ever walk this planet, died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 60.

If you ever wanted to know Maradona's true impact, consider the following:

- Alberto Fernández, the president of Argentina, declared three days of national mourning after the legendary number 10's passing. Unsurprisingly, Maradona will also receive a state funeral
- FIFA postponed its annual awards which would have been held on December 17 as a show of respect for Maradona
- In Buenos Aires, electronic signs around the city which would normally have been used for public transport updates were modified to pay tribute to Maradona
- All over Naples, murals and other tributes were displayed on walls of buildings across the city.

These are but a small snapshot of what the kid from the slums grew up to mean to so many.

If you're still not convinced that Maradona is the greatest of all time, I'd like to bring up a few points.

Most of you probably remember his legendary 1986 World Cup campaign in which he put Argentina on his back and dragged them to a world title which almost no one could have expected. It is regarded by many as the greatest individual tournament performance of all time and was highlighted by his iconic quarterfinal performance against England. Maradona memorably gave Argentina the lead after controversially fisting the ball over Peter Shilton's head and into the net. The infraction, of course, went uncalled. Soon after, Maradona scored perhaps the greatest goal in World Cup history, torching England's defense with a blistering run before putting it in to make it 2-0 to the Albiceleste.

But with that being said: his 1990 World Cup campaign was arguably even better. Argentina were a much weaker team than they had been four years prior. Maradona carried a team which had no business making it to the final all the way to the showpiece match against West Germany. Somewhat ironically, Maradona was denied an even more incredible World Cup victory by a refereeing error: Roberto Sensini's tackle on Rudi Völler was incorrectly ruled as a foul, allowing Andreas Brehme to score the title-winning penalty for West Germany.

Although the record books say that Maradona was never a Ballon d'Or winner or the FIFA World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or was not open to non-European players until 1995, while the FIFA award did not exist until 1991.

Had Maradona been allowed to contend for the Ballon d'Or throughout his career, he would have probably won it in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, and 1991. He'd also have been, at the very least, in the top five every year from 1981 to 1992 and in the top three in most of those years.

That's not even all. Consider the fact that on many occasions, Maradona was denied the opportunity to play in what was then the European Cup because this was before countries could send more than one representative. Under the current rules, Maradona would've featured in the tournament in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, and 1990. The last two appearance would have seen Maradona's Napoli run headfirst into an AC Milan dynasty. However, who's to say that his Barcelona teams of 1983 and 1984 or his Napoli team of 1987 couldn't have been a contender for Europe's biggest club prize?

Such was the shadow Maradona cast over all his successors that many an Argentina number 10 between Maradona's retirement and the emergence of Lionel Messi wilted simply by wearing the iconic number. Ariel Ortega, Andres D'Alessandro, Juan Roman Riquelme - none were scrubs by any means, but it is almost a travesty that they all wore the 10 for Argentina in a major tournament.

It's almost impossible to believe, but somehow, in spite of his unquestioned brilliance on the football field, Maradona might very well actually be underrated. Never has there been a player who could carry a team as he did. Similarly, never has there ever been a player who forced opposing teams to craft game plans specifically to account for him to the extent that Maradona did.

Anyone who does not have Diego Maradona on, at the very least, their Mount Rushmore of footballers is flat-out wrong. For me as well as so many others, he is the greatest there has ever been and perhaps the greatest there will ever be.

I can't say anything else except RIP to the GOAT.

The Weekly Take, Issue 133: Still on the Outside Looking In

Unquestionably, one of the most memorable league campaigns in recent memory (and indeed, of all time) was Leicester City's victorious 2015-16 Premier League season. The Foxes capitalized on various errors and slumps by their more established title rivals to defy the odds and claim a maiden league title. With a team armed with players such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan, and of course, ace midfielder N'Golo Kanté, the future looked extremely bright at the King Power Stadium.

Unfortunately, the fairytale came to a screeching halt almost as soon as it had begun. Kanté left for Chelsea in the off-season of 2016. It soon became evident that the Frenchman had been the lynchpin of Leicester's title run; despite fielding a largely unchanged squad from the previous season, Leicester only finished 12th in the league. They then continued to struggle over the following two seasons.

Things began to turn in the 2019-20 season. Leicester were on course to return to the Champions League for the first time in four years but lost their last two league matches to surrender fourth place and the last Champions League spot. Nevertheless, there was cause for Brendan Rodgers' team to be optimistic heading into the 2020-21 campaign; perhaps this would be the season in which they would seal their return to Europe's biggest stage.

However, during the most recent Premier League matchday, Leicester received a stern reality check, losing 3-0 to Liverpool. To make matters even worse for Leicester, only Schmeichel's excellent performance between the posts prevented the Reds from really running up the score on a completely overmatched Leicester team.

Leicester had come into the match on the back of three consecutive Premier League victories and were actually ahead of Liverpool by one point in the league. Despite these facts, it became clear as the match unfolded that Leicester are not likely to be top-four material come the end of the season unless some major changes are made during the upcoming January transfer window.

This is a team which is quite simply not on the level of other top-four contenders. The other teams which are most comparable to Leicester at the moment are Everton, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur; despite currently leading the league, Tottenham are likely to fall back into the pack at some point, while Manchester City will probably begin their climb up the standings before too long.

When you look at Spurs, you can see that in Harry Kane, they have someone who is capable of putting the team on his back and single-handedly willing them to victory when the pressure is at its highest. Kane is ably supported by Hugo Lloris, Son Heung-min, Eric Dier, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. With José Mourinho in the dugout on top of all of that, there's no reason why Spurs shouldn't be in the top four.

Looking at Everton and Manchester United, while neither have a player of Kane's calibre, both nevertheless have squads which, player for player, are clearly better than what Leicester are currently fielding. Everton can boast of the likes of Jordan Pickford, James Rodríguez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Lucas Digne while also being coached by Carlo Ancelotti. United, meanwhile, have Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, and David de Gea, among others.

Leicester just do not stack up. They have done well to be where they are right now. However, as was shown by what happened against Liverpool, staying there will be a tall order indeed. It is one thing to beat the odds with the level of players they had four years ago. It is quite another to do it with their current roster.

It's much too early in the season to jump to any conclusions about Leicester. That being said, it is beginning to appear somewhat likely that their achievements last season might very well represent the high point for this iteration of the team.

If Leicester are to make a genuine push for the top four this season, they need to strengthen the squad in January. However, this time they face the problem of a relative lack of financial might. Every other team around them can easily outspend the Midlands club if they so desire.

It might not be impossible for Leicester to make next year's Champions League, but the outlook is definitely grim.

The Weekly Take, Issue 132: Who Will Pick Up the Torch?

The latest round of UEFA Nations League fixtures saw Portugal take on France in a match which would see its winner qualify for the Nations League Finals. France emerged with a 1-0 victory and thus became a part of the tournament's final four. N'Golo Kanté scored the only goal of the match to give the reigning world champions an opportunity to add a Nations League title to their world title from 2018. They also denied Portugal the opportunity to claim back-to-back Nations League titles.

As for Portugal, the match revealed a harsh truth which they will soon have to confront. Cristiano Ronaldo was not quite at his usual excellent standard against Les Bleus. Thus, the task fell to Portugal's supporting cast to step up and chip in when it counted most, but none of them managed to do so.

This fact becomes particularly worrying when one realized that Ronaldo is now 35. He does not have much longer at this level. With this in mind, the big problem facing Portugal right now which was also made evident against France was this: who is going to become the leader and driving force of this team after Ronaldo's looming decline and retirement?

One name which might come to mind for some is Bruno Fernandes. The Manchester United midfielder has been extremely impressive for his club ever since signing for the Red Devils in January. He has already established himself as the club's best player and has also shown considerable leadership qualities, leading many United fans to tout him as a future United captain.

However, his performances for his club have thus far not translated on the international front. This was once again evident against France; apart from a few moments when he set up teammates for goalscoring chances, he largely looked lost on the field as he was completely outplayed by his United teammate Paul Pogba. The evidence to date seems to paint Fernandes as the type of player who thrives for his club but struggles for his country.

Some might claim that João Félix could become Portugal's next ace. At just 21 years old, the Atlético Madrid winger has begun to live up to his lofty price tag after having endured a slow start to life in the Spanish capital. He already looks as though he is the future for Atlético; what's more, at his young age, he is likely years away from his peak.

Unfortunately, that may also be the problem for Félix: just how high is his peak? Does he truly have the potential to become, if not a Ballon d'Or contender, at least one of the five best players in the world at some point? As great as he has been thus far, the signs currently do not point to Félix having that kind of sky-high ceiling.

Looking at the rest of this Portugal team, there are a lot of very solid, above-average players who will be key contributors both now and in the future. Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota, Francisco Trincão, and Rúben Neves come to mind. Unfortunately, it is even more unlikely that any of these players will ever be good enough to be the centrepiece of a team contending for international silverware.

Portugal clearly have a collection of formidable young players who will form an impressive core for the next four to six years. The problem, however, is that any team intending to truly contend for a World Cup title or even a European Championship requires, at the very least, that one guy who can say "give me the ball and get out of my way" and take over a match all on his own. After Ronaldo leaves, who do Portugal have who can even come close to filling the void? At the moment, their best player is Fernandes, but as I mentioned earlier, he hasn't quite figured it out for Portugal the way he has for United.

It is somewhat ironic that Portugal won Euro 2016 with a far inferior squad to the one that they will be taking to Euro 2020 (yes, it's retaining its name despite the postponement) or the 2022 World Cup, yet they have almost no chance of winning either of the two upcoming tournaments.

The Ronaldo years have been truly incredible for Portugal, but now the future looks murkier than it has in a long time.

The Weekly Take, Issue 131: Bouncing Back Immediately

The most recent Champions League matchday saw RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain square off in a rematch of last season's Champions League semifinal. This time around, Leipzig claimed their revenge over their Parisian opponents with a 2-1 victory. Emil Forsberg's penalty proved to be the difference between the two sides. That being said, PSG's attempt to equalize was hampered by two red cards: one issued to Idrissa Gueye and the second to Presnel Kimpembe. PSG also played without their full complement of players. Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Mauro Icardi all missed the match due to injuries.

With all of that being said, Leipzig deserve much credit for their performance. Considering that their prior result in the competition had been a crushing 5-0 loss at the hands of Manchester United, it would have been all too easy for Die Bullen to have folded against PSG and slumped to another defeat. Instead, the club from Saxony dug deep and demonstrated their resilience and guts on their way to an impressive win.

Apart from their disaster in Manchester, this season has thus far gone well for Leipzig. They are once again firmly in the Bundesliga title race. What's more, their victory against PSG left them well-positioned to advance to the next round of the Champions League while also putting a serious title contender in jeopardy of being eliminated after the group stage.

One encouraging sign for Leipzig lies in the fact that their win over PSG was not even predicated on the performances of multiple shrewd off-season signings. Leipzig signed up Hwang Hee-chan and Alexander Sørloth from Red Bull Salzburg and Crystal Palace respectively. They also picked up Angeliño and Justin Kluivert on loan deals. Thus, they experienced absolutely no problems as they compensated for the departure of Timo Werner to Chelsea. Once these new additions acquire more of a presence within the team, Leipzig will only improve. The fact that a combined total of just €29 million was spent to bring all four players to the Red Bull Arena is especially remarkable, given their actual quality of play.

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann has also been continuing to prove himself as the best young coach in world football. I have sung his praises time and again, but it is true: even at this early stage of his coaching career, Nagelsmann is already one of the five best coaches in the world. He first worked wonders at Hoffenheim and has since enabled this Leipzig team to play at a level above their apparent level of talent. If Nagelsmann were to lead Leipzig to the club's first Champions League title this season, he would certainly be a part of the discussion as perhaps the best coach in the world. Although it once seemed likely that Nagelsmann would soon leave Leipzig for a more historic and iconic club, the signs now point to his remaining there for years to come.

Leipzig is a team which has been seamlessly put together. Despite never having had a true elite-level superstar on the team ever since they rose to the status of league title contenders, Leipzig have always been among the very best with regard to roster construction as well as player development. It is highly unlikely that players such as Forsberg, Werner, Dayot Upamecano, and Naby Keïta, among others, would have reached the heights which they attained if they had been at almost any other club. LeipIzig has clearly managed to get their front office, players, coaching staff, and everyone else involved with the club to truly buy into the system. As a result, they are now one of the best-run clubs on the planet. For all that can be said about how Red Bull took over the club, it can't be denied that they have since done incredible things there.

Despite their ultra-corporate exterior, Leipzig are a shining example of a club which have done things "the right way". A first Bundesliga or perhaps even Champions League title would be a just reward for the excellent culture which has been built at Leipzig. Will this be the season when Leipzig make a breakthrough and win either of these titles? Maybe not, but do not be surprised if a decade from now, RB Leipzig's trophy room is overflowing with silverware.

The Weekly Take, Issue 130: A Season Hanging in the Balance

Napoli's strong start to the Serie A season hit an unexpected roadblock this past weekend. The Campania-based club crashed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of this season's surprise package Sassuolo. Goals scored by Manuel Locatelli and Maxime Lopez ensured that Gennaro Gattuso's team would not finish with any points to show for their efforts.

This has become a familiar story for Napoli: their team once again appears better on paper than it actually is on the field. It has seemed as though for years now, they have been a step away from making a breakthrough but never actually do so. Already, it appears as that may again be the case this season. They are clearly behind Juventus, Inter Milan, Atalanta, and AC Milan in the current pecking order in Italy. If Sassuolo continue their form throughout the season, it is going to be very difficult for Napoli to make next seasons Champions League.

There were certainly questions about Napoli heading into this season. Last season, they finished seventh in the league. This was their worst league finish since 2009 when they were eighth. They accumulated just 62 points in the league; their lowest tally in eight years. On top of that, they were also knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage. That being said, Napoli also did pick up some silverware by winning the Coppa Italia.

Napoli's future remains somewhat unclear. This is especially so after losing midfielder Allan to Everton for €25 million during the past off-season. They did replace him by picking up Tiémoué Bakayoko on loan; however, despite this fact, Bakayoko's impact on this team is yet to be truly determined. Unless Napoli make some moves in January, this could end up being their worst season in years.

It is somewhat surprising that over the past decade, Napoli have never made a true breakthrough. Despite the immense talent which has sometimes graced their squad, they have not won a league title during this span. Even more damningly, they have not even made it to the Champions League quarterfinals even once. Not even the likes of Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuaín, Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsík could turn Napoli into a true force at the highest level.

However, it isn't all bad news at the Stadio San Paolo. Despite the problems they currently face, they should be able to at least make a top-four push. A team with a core containing Mertens, Hirving Lozano, Kostas Manolas, and captain Lorenzo Insigne can never be truly overlooked. Gattuso, meanwhile, has another year of coaching experience under his belt; for all we know, this might be the year in which he really begins to figure it out. It must also be remembered that prior to the Sassuolo match, Napoli had won four of their first five Serie A matches. If those wins represent their true level this season, their fans have reason to be optimistic.

One step which Napoli could take which would undoubtedly improve their prospects for the rest of the season would be signing a new starting central midfielder during the next transfer window. A midfield with the likes of Fabián Ruiz, Diego Demme, and Bakayoko, while decent, clearly lacks the punch that those of Napoli's Serie A rivals have.

Napoli should also consider adding a new, younger winger who will someday be Mertens' replacement. The Belgian is now 33 years old and thus does not have many years left. Signing Victor Osimhen from Lille was therefore a good move in this area. That said, Napoli can definitely afford to get a little younger, especially if Osimhen ends up not panning out.

If this season ends up being a wash for Napoli, they might even have to take another look at whether Gattuso really is the coach for them going forward. In his coaching career, Gattuso has shown an ability to raise a team's floor. However, he has not shown that he can really team a good, above-average team into an upper-level one, let alone an elite one. Another season in which Napoli fail to make the top four could spell the end of Gattuso's tenure.

Napoli are truly at a crossroads right now. They have many decisions to make. If they choose wisely, they could soon be once again among Italy's top clubs. Get it wrong, however, and the road back will be long and arduous.