The Weekly Take, Issue 320: Overshadowed No Longer

While the Olympic football tournament, mostly restricted to players aged 23 or younger, is primarily intended to spotlight the world’s most promising young talents, each squad is permitted to include up to three players older than 23 - and sometimes, these overage players can be the difference between a team leaving with the gold and showing up at the airport empty-handed.

When the squad lists for this year’s tournament were released, one overage player in particular on France’s roster stood out. The player in question is a club legend at Lyon who’s also spent five years playing for Arsenal. With just 16 caps for France’s main team, he has been unlucky to have been buried behind the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappé, and sometimes Karim Benzema. That being said, even at age 33, he’s shown that he’s still got it.

The player I’m talking about? None other than France’s Olympic captain Alexandre Lacazette.

In the host country’s opening match against the United States, Lacazette scored France’s opening goal as they eased to a 3-0 victory. The result was never really in doubt - the skill gap between the two teams was more than obvious. What caught the eye, though, was the fact that despite what many might have assumed just two years ago, Lacazette certainly isn’t washed by any means.

After a dismal 2021-22 season in which Lacazette scored just four Premier League goals for the Gunners, Lacazette returned to his hometown club where he’d played up front for eight seasons before heading for North London in the 2017 off-season. It soon became obvious upon his return to Lyon that Lacazette was a player rejuvenated. In the first season of his second stint at Lyon, Lacazette almost single-handedly carried Lyon to a top-half finish. The club finished seventh in Ligue 1, scoring 65 goals along the way. A total of 27 of those were scored by Lacazette.

Last season, Lacazette backed it up, putting together another strong campaign and once again being Lyon’s best player as he took them to a Europa League spot by finishing sixth in the league. It was Lyon’s first time qualifying for continental play in three years. Lacazette also spearheaded Lyon’s run to the Coupe de France final where they would lose to Paris Saint-Germain.

While it’s absolutely possible that Lacazette might want to finish his career at his beloved hometown club or perhaps even be tempted by a big-money move to Saudi Arabia to finish his career some time from now, as of this moment, what we’ve recently seen from Lacazette proves that for big clubs in need of a striker, he’s certainly worth picking up on a short contract.

Given his age as well as the fact that he’d be arriving from a relatively less prestigious and difficult domestic league, Lacazette could easily be signed for €15 million or less. For example, with Serhou Guirassy just having left VfB Stuttgart for Borussia Dortmund, could Lacazette on a one- or two-year deal be an option worth exploring for Stuttgart?

Or what about Bologna? While head coach Thiago Motta turned heads across the football landscape with his unconventional yet effective strategic approach, the fact remains that only two Bologna players finished with at least 10 goals last season; Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee led the club with 11 goals in Serie A.

Like Bologna, Juventus finished the season with just 54 league goals to their name. Apart from Dušan Vlahović, Juve had no reliable goal threats. If the Bianconeri are to make a serious push for the Scudetto in the coming season, a signing like Lacazette might end up giving them a realistic chance to win the league.

France are the pre-tournament favourites to win it all on home turf - and not just because they have home ground advantage. On paper, this should be a squad that should handle every opponent they face without too much difficulty. Lacazette, who’s the odds-on favourite to finish as the tournament’s top scorer, is a big reason for that - and he proved it once again as he helped give Les Bleus’ junior unit a hot start.

Apart from his dismal 2021-22 season, Alexandre Lacazette has been somewhat underrated for years. If France win the gold, he’ll be getting his long-deserved props at last for sure.

The Weekly Take, Issue 319: The Signing That Saved Their Off-Season?

To say that up until this past week, the off-season transfer window had not been going in Borussia Dortmund’s favour would have been a grave understatement. Following the departures of club legends Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, Die Schwarzgelbe failed to secure the permanent signings of Ian Maatsen and Jadon Sancho. Both had been at Signal Iduna Park on loan deals from Chelsea and Manchester United respectively and were among Dortmund’s most impactful players on their run to the Champions League final.

Although Dortmund did land Waldemar Anton from VfB Stuttgart for €22.5 million, this was regarded as a solid signing - but not a game-changer or anything like that. However, a week and a half after that signing, everything changed.

Earlier this week, Dortmund signed Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy, a teammate of Anton’s at MHPArena for the past two seasons. Prior to arriving at Stuttgart, Guirassy had never scored more than 10 top-flight league goals in a season - and even that came in the relatively weaker Ligue 1 with Rennes in the 2020-21 season.

In Guirassy’s first season at Stuttgart which was spent on loan from Rennes, he beat that tally with 11 goals in the Bundesliga despite playing in just 22 league matches. From a team perspective, however, Stuttgart struggled all season long and only avoided relegation after beating Hamburg SV in a two-legged playoff. With this in mind, no one could possibly have predicted what would come next.

Stuttgart would turn Guirassy’s loan deal into a permanent one in the ensuing off-season, signing him from the Brittany-based club for €9 million - a laughably low figure in retrospect. Guirassy went on to have a breakout season in just about the most spectacular expression of the phrase, scoring 28 league goals in as many matches and leading Stuttgart to a second-place league finish. It was the southwestern club’s highest league finish since their stunning triumph in the 2006-07 season.

Heading into the off-season, it really did seem as though the sky was the limit for Guirassy. A move to a more glamorous club would not have been out of the question; however, while Dortmund could be classified as such a club, not many were expecting them to make such a splash in the transfer market. After all, this was a club which had somewhat deservedly garnered a reputation for consistently fumbling in the transfer window with the most notable recent examples being the sales of Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland to Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively for transfer fees far below their true values. However, this time it was Dortmund coming out on top of a transfer deal.

Dortmund brought Guirassy to the club for the stunningly low transfer fee of €18 million. Considering the fact that Guirassy could easily have commanded twice that figure, this has to be seen as nothing short of a resounding success on Dortmund’s part. With the acquisition of Guirassy, Dortmund now have the goalscoring punch that they lacked last season - a big reason why they finished just fifth in the league; had the Champions League not been expanded, they’d have failed to qualify for this season’s edition.

Guirassy has established himself as one of the best pure finishers in the game right now - evidenced by his outstanding goals to xG ratio last season. Guirassy’s build-up play as well as his playmaking are both somewhat underrated; he also brings a level of mobility and technical skill that current starting centre-forward Niclas Füllkrug doesn’t have. There’s also the possibility that having taken over from previous head coach Edin Terzić who had been in the role for two years, Nuri Şahin might pivot to a dual centre-forward formation. Guirassy is equally adept as part of a strike pairing as he is as a solo centre-forward.

Of course, nothing is ever certain and Guirassy might not live up to the hype. However, this is just about as ideal of an example there is of a low-risk, high-reward signing. When a player like Guirassy is available at that price and a team could do with an upgrade at the position, it’s borderline malpractice to not even consider making the signing. Borussia Dortmund took the opportunity and will likely be rewarded - with Guirassy on board, expect a much-improved Dortmund team in the coming season.

The Weekly Take, Issue 318: It Hasn't Come Home - in Part Because of These Two

The final of Euro 2024 saw Spain take on England at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Spain lived up to their status as pre-match favourites with a 2-1 victory to clinch an unprecedented fourth continental title and third in the past five editions of the tournament.

Although Spain were largely in control of the match throughout the first half, it wasn’t until shortly after the half-time break that La Furia Roja scored the opening goal. Nico Williams got on the end of Lamine Yamal’s pass after Yamal had made his way through a cluster of England’s players. England would go on to score the equalizer in the 73rd minute via substitute Cole Palmer. Just a few minutes after having replaced Kobbie Mainoo, Chelsea attacking midfielder Palmer scored from just outside the penalty area to pull the Three Lions level.

With just four minutes left in regulation time, Mikel Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad winger who came off the bench to sub in for captain Álvaro Morata, finished off Marc Cucurella’s cross to secure the title for Spain. From the very beginning of this tournament, Spain had been playing at a level clearly above every other team sans Germany - and this superiority once again showed itself in the final. There’s every chance that Spain will enter the 2026 World Cup as the pre-tournament favourites.

As for England, this was clearly a blown opportunity. Having taken advantage of a relatively easy bracket, all they really needed to do was outplay Spain over the course of a single match. While some of England’s players did step up on the big occasion, many certainly did not - including, once again, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.

Apart from an outstanding showing in the quarterfinal match against Switzerland, Saka had an underwhelming tournament on the whole. This has become a recurring theme throughout the Arsenal winger’s admittedly young career thus far - when the lights have been brightest and the pressure highest, the Londoner has more often than not come up short.

During Arsenal’s most recent Premier League run-ins, Saka has frequently underperformed during high-stakes scenarios. While it was his play that was a large contributor to the Gunners’ presence in the title race to begin with, his declined performance down the stretch has also been a big reason why the North London club have lost both of the last two Premier League titles to Manchester City. In international play, there’s of course his iconic penalty miss in the shootout of the Euro 2020 final against Italy. Saka also turned in a dismal performance in England’s 2022 World Cup quarterfinal loss against France.

At this point, with Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden having ascended to genuine superstar status and Palmer’s recent breakout, it’s worth questioning if Saka should even retain his spot in England’s starting 11 at all. England cannot afford to risk yet another no-show under pressure if they’re seriously pushing for a World Cup title in two years’ time.

On that note, we now come to Harry Kane. Amidst all the jokes and memes about how England’s all-time leading goalscorer has never won a trophy of any sort, there’s perhaps a kernel of truth. Like Saka, Kane has consistently wilted under the brightest spotlights despite his usually elite level of play. This was never shown more dramatically than via his game-losing penalty miss against France in the World Cup.

Kane turned in yet another dud on the big stage. The only thing of note the Bayern Munich striker did was incur a yellow card in the first half. He proceeded to cut a silent figure throughout the rest of the match, eventually being substituted by Ollie Watkins early in the second half - after which England started playing noticeably better.

It might now even be worth asking a question which not too long ago might’ve sounded borderline blasphemous: is it possible that benching Kane might end up being the catalyst that takes England to the mountaintop? It’s likely too soon to tell, but is he actually holding them back in some way?

Despite being somewhat top-heavy, there’s no question that England have the star power to win a title. However, at this level, the intangibles make all the difference - and when two of a team’s key starters seem to lack them in the way that Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane do, it’s not likely to “come home”.

The Weekly Take, Issue 317: A Quarterfinal Exit Doesn't Tell the Whole Story

Since the beginning of this year’s European Championships, it has been obvious that by far the two best teams to this point have been Spain and Germany. As such, it was exceptionally unfortunate that the bracket paired them against each other in the quarterfinals, thus ensuring that one of the two would be knocked out of the tournament much earlier than what ought to have been the case.

The first half ended goalless, but six minutes after the break, substitute Dani Olmo opened the scoring for Spain. However, just when it may have seemed that Spain were all set to make it to the last four, Florian Wirtz scored Germany’s equalizer to send the match to extra time. A fairly evenly-matched extra time eventually culminated in Mikel Merino’s winning goal, a header from Olmo’s cross, with barely any time left.

Despite being eliminated on home turf in the last eight, this tournament represented a significant step forward for Germany. Ever since winning the World Cup in 2014, Die Mannschaft had been experiencing a significant decline. Following a semifinal appearance at Euro 2016, Germany went on to be knocked out in the group stages of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups with a last-16 exit at Euro 2020 in between.

Despite having run into a difficult bracket, the foundation for a title run at the 2026 World Cup is clearly in place. This is a Germany team that looks nothing like the ones which wilted in the spotlight during the three most recent major international tournaments. From the tournament opener against Scotland all the way up until Merino’s winning goal, Germany looked like a team which could genuinely have won it all.

Perhaps the most important reason why Germany will remain title contenders for quite some time to come is the fact that they already have their superstar of not only the future, but the present - one around whom this entire team can be built and who, even at his young age, looks primed to go on to become one of the all-time greats. Florian Wirtz picked up where he left off following his ascension to genuine Ballon d’Or contender status after having spearheaded Bayer Leverkusen’s historic domestic Double-winning season. At just 21, Wirtz is not only already Germany’s best player; he’s likely at least six or seven years from his true peak. Wirtz is the sort of generational star that any team intent on seriously challenging for a World Cup title needs - and considering the fact that Germany as a whole are on the rise, this could very well happen as soon as 2026 when world football’s showpiece event comes to North America.

On the topic of Bayer Leverkusen, their rapid rise has undoubtedly been a great boon for the German national team. Jonathan Tah and Robert Andrich have both been solid throughout the tournament on the back of their own breakout seasons. Of course, the bulk of the credit for Leverkusen’s success - and thus Leverkusen’s contributions to Germany’s national team - ironically have to go to a Spaniard. It’s clear that without Xabi Alonso, Germany would not be where they are now.

The same can be said of Julian Nagelsmann, who has coached Germany since September 2023 after replacing Hansi Flick. While Nagelsmann’s stint in charge of Bayern Munich didn’t exactly end in glory, it’s now evident that how it ended at the Allianz Arena was an outlier. Nagelsmann has proven that he still has it, playing a major role in turning Germany’s fortunes around and thus proving why he’d first amassed all that hype when he was coaching Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig years ago.

Of course, there’s still some way left to go. Having not made it deep in a tournament for so long, there are still questions about how Germany will fare under pressure once they do reach a semifinal or even final - and that element could come into play even more in the coming years with many of their veterans likely to hang it up soon. There’s also the question about how the rest of the young talent around Wirtz will develop - apart from Jamal Musiala, there don’t seem to be any names that jump off the page right now. That being said, Euro 2024 has proven beyond any doubt that Germany are indeed back.

The Weekly Take, Issue 316: End of an Era?

Before Euro 2024 began, if anyone had been told that one of the round of 16 matches would’ve been France vs Belgium, most people would have expected a hotly-contested match with France coming out on top, likely dispatching Belgium with an impressive performance.

However, although France did beat Belgium, their victory would’ve convinced absolutely no one that Les Bleus have what it takes to claim a record-tying third continental championship. Even though France won 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, that one goal was an own goal scored by Belgium’s veteran centre-back Jan Vertonghen.

Through four tournament matches thus far, France not only have a paltry total of three goals to their name; they have not scored a goal from open play via one of their own players. Both open-play goals in France’s column up to this point have been own goals; the other occurred during the group stage via Austrian defender Maximilian Wöber. France’s only other goal so far was a penalty scored by Kylian Mbappé against Poland.

France somehow failed to top Group D - something which they should easily have accomplished. The level of play that they’ve shown thus far is not even close to what got them to the World Cup final less than two years ago. Unless they find a way to get back to the level which they’re clearly capable of playing, France’s ceiling in this tournament is the semifinals at best - where they’ll almost certainly be picked off by the winner of the Spain/Germany quarterfinal.

The way things are going right now, France will soon be going out with a whimper to end one of the most successful eras in the national team’s history. Players such as Dayot Upamecano, Marcus Thuram, Antoine Griezmann, and Olivier Giroud have been well below their usual standards - at least as far as international play is concerned. While their current level might be enough to get them through their quarterfinal match against a Portugal team who have been equally unimpressive thus far, that’s almost certainly not going to be enough against either of the two teams most likely to win it all as of right now.

This is a team full of players who are clearly out of sync with each other. Misfires in front of goal, sub-optimal decision-making, misplays under no pressure, and most notably of all, tactical errors - all have typified what has been what would’ve been a campaign to forget had it not, somehow, been for France’s actual results.

Going back to the point of tactical errors, something that has been common across many teams in this tournament and the reason why so many have underperformed is the general strategic ineptitude that has, for one reason or another, plagued a large number of coaches and threatened to halt what would be potential title contenders in their tracks. France are no exception; Didier Deschamps has gotten it wrong on multiple occasions.

The decision not to bench Griezmann for the match against Belgium was questionable indeed. Though the Atlético Madrid winger is one of France’s all-time legends, he’s clearly well past his prime - and it has been obvious. Griezmann has been arguably France’s worst player in this tournament and turned in another lacklustre showing against Belgium. While it would be an unpopular decision on the surface, if Deschamps again refuses to drop Griezmann for the quarterfinal against Portugal, it could very well be a call that comes back to haunt him.

Upamecano has been thoroughly unimpressive from day one of the tournament and served up another dud against Belgium; he too ought to be dropped. It’s even worth questioning if France should be playing a 4-3-3 at all, as they have in their past two matches. Even their rare bright spots like Mbappé and N’Golo Kanté have been played out of position because Deschamps has inexplicably switched to a 4-3-3.

All of this being said, it’s not out of the question that the quarterfinal against Portugal ends up being France’s turning point. However, based on everything that has been shown until now, that would seem rather unlikely. Not only that - the answer to the question of whether Deschamps will even remain in the national team’s dugout by the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around might be hanging in the balance right now and perhaps hinge on whether he actually can and does turn it around.

The Weekly Take, Issue 315: Memphis Blues

 Following a dismal season in which he only scored five league goals and concluded with his departure from Atlético Madrid, Euro 2024 was an opportunity for Dutch striker Memphis Depay to prove that he still has what it takes to succeed at the highest level - at the very least, with regard to international play. After all, Memphis is the Netherlands’ second-highest goalscorer ever and turned in some solid performances up front during the Oranje’s most recent major tournament: the 2022 World Cup.

Instead, Memphis has thus far done the opposite. His contributions to the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Poland were scant to say the least. Memphis was then even worse in the subsequent match against France. Apart from a single shot which was saved and led to a disallowed goal following a VAR check, Memphis might as well have been absent altogether - such was his overall lack of output at Red Bull Arena.

Memphis’ two showings in Germany so far have been characterized by errant finishing, loss of possession, and an absence of situational awareness. He has turned into a mere shell of the player who just three years ago notched a whopping 17 international goals over a calendar year and seemed to be set up for a great next few years following his move to Barcelona. That outcome, however, could not have been further from what actually transpired.

Apart from the World Cup in Qatar almost two years ago, the last time Memphis was even a serviceable starter-level player was the 2021-22 season, his first and only full season at Barça. The decline in Memphis’ level of play - first for club, then for country - has been obvious for some time now. It’s clear at this point: Memphis doesn’t have “it” anymore and having turned 30 a few months back, almost certainly never will again - players who experience late-career revivals are outliers.

In fact, benching Memphis for the remainder of the tournament is a step that Ronald Koeman needs to seriously consider. Although an opening-day win followed by a draw against one of the leading title contenders on paper appears to be a solid start, Koeman’s first crack at a major tournament coaching his country’s team is likely go off the rails if the team doesn’t elevate their general level of play thus far - and a large portion of the blame for their relative underperformance can be directed at Memphis.

There are several options to be considered if Memphis is indeed to be benched. Perhaps Cody Gakpo could be moved to centre-forward, opening up a spot in midfield for either Joey Veerman or Georginio Wijnaldum. Giving Donyell Malen or Wout Weghorst the start at the sharp end of the pitch is another viable option. Nevertheless, based on how Memphis has been playing at this tournament, one of those - or perhaps something else which also involves dropping Memphis from the starting 11 - might be just what the Netherlands need.

Going even further, when considering Memphis’ recent track record at club level, it becomes even more apparent that Memphis is only a starter due to “legacy”, not because he genuinely deserves to be part of the starting 11 right now. Could part of it be the fact that Memphis is just five goals short of tying Robin van Persie as the Netherlands’ all-time leading international goalscorer? Perhaps - but this is not the time to play a clearly underperforming player just to chase a record (which, the way he’s been playing over the last few years, will likely never arrive anyway).

Koeman has to make the big call here. Memphis has been an anchor for the Netherlands so far - and not in the sense of “anchoring the team”, but as in “weighing them down and stunting their progress”. It’s unlikely that they will make a deep run if they start Memphis the whole time.

Finally, think back to the 2022 World Cup. Remember that in the earliest matches of the tournament, eventual champions Argentina struggled after starting the underperforming Lautaro Martínez up front. As soon as the Inter striker was replaced by Julián Álvarez, the Albiceleste’s campaign truly took off and culminated in a first world title in 36 years. Does this mean that the Netherlands will win Euro 2024 by benching Memphis Depay? Not necessarily - but to have a chance, they must at least try it.

The Weekly Take, Issue 314: A Hot Start to the Quest for Four

Ever since winning their third continental title at Euro 2012, Spain have generally struggled in tournament play. Over the three World Cups and two European Championships since then, La Furia Roja have advanced beyond the round of 16 on just one occasion. Heading into Euro 2024, Spain were generally regarded as a potential dark horse pick capable of going deep but not necessarily likely to win an unprecedented fourth title.

That being said, Spain clearly showcased their title credentials in their opening Group B match, beating Croatia 3-0 with a dominant performance. All three goals were scored in the first half with Álvaro Morata opening the scoring in the 29th minute, this was soon followed by Fabián Ruiz extending Spain’s advantage. In first-half stoppage time, Dani Carvajal made it three to round off a 45 minutes that proved why Spain cannot be overlooked when it comes to being title contenders.

There should be no question that Spain have arrived at the tournament with a point to prove. This was an extremely impressive performance from almost every single member of Spain starting 11 - arguably Rodri and his surrendered penalty notwithstanding; even then, Unai Simón saved Bruno Petković’s spot-kick.

That, in fact, is a good place to start. Spain’s defensive unit, goalkeeper Simón included, turned in a clinical performance that will surely make any opposing attacking player think twice upon further viewing. Despite having a sizeable chunk of possession in the final third, there wasn’t anything Croatia could do to create a truly notable goalscoring opportunity in the second half. The Spanish backline of Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Nacho, and Marc Cuccurella kept their Balkan opposition’s attacking threat stifled almost at all times. While it remains to be seen how they’ll hold up against more potent attacking threats in later rounds, this was certainly a good sign for the rest of the tournament.

Further up front, Lamine Yamal lived up to all the hype surrounding his debut in a major international tournament. At just 16, the Barcelona winger has just had a season in which he has clearly established himself as not only the future of the Catalan club as well as his national team, but before too long perhaps the present as well. It was from a cross sent in by Yamal from which Carvajal scored Spain’s third goal and throughout the entire match, Yamal posed a significant danger to Croatia’s defense. There’s every possibility that during this tournament, Yamal will cap off a truly remarkable season with a standout showing in Germany. To say that Yamal’s future is bright would be a colossal understatement.

From a tactical standpoint, Croatia played directly into Spain’s hands. As Croatia pushed forward, they ended up being left vulnerable at the back, allowing Spain to create goalscoring opportunities. Spain’s first goal was an example of this: it came off a counter-attack from a botched long ball forward by Croatia. Cucurella took possession and played it to Rodri who in turn tapped it to Fabián. Finally, Fabián put Morata through on goal; Morata duly finished it off. Sequences similar to this one did take place on multiple occasions during the match and could easily have resulted in further goals.

While it’s true that Croatia aren’t really regarded as contenders to win it all, this match clearly showed that Luis de la Fuente’s team can’t be written off by any means. Despite not having the sheer star power of France, England, or even Germany, this Spain team boasts a deep, cohesive squad that on their day can stand up against anyone. Perhaps the major thing that might hold them back would be their recent tournament history. However, it must also be kept in mind that in the majority of the tournaments to date, the title hasn’t gone to the team most favored to win it all.

The shadow of Spain’s legendary team of 2008-12 - perhaps the greatest international football team of all time - has continued to loom large over every Spain team since. However, this current team seems to have everything needed to finally emerge from that iconic squad’s shadow and craft a legacy of their own. Could that happen at this very tournament? Early signs are definitely promising.