The Playmakers

 We’ve all loved the great playmakers to grace the game over the years. Those supreme ball artists who can pass the ball with vision and grace, and some, the truly great ones, who write poetry on the pitch. Socrates, Zico, Guardiola, Zidane, Seedorf, Figo, and today Xavi, Andrea Pirlo and Cesc Fabregas.      

Ever since Xavi and Iniesta destroyed Manchester United in the Champions League final, the world has once again fallen in love with the playmaker. But new playmakers of that quality seem just not to be appearing.

There are a few coming out there that give hope, though.

1.      One of the most promising of these is Mesut Ozil of Werder Bremen. The german U-21 international OF Turkish descent displays creativity, flair and superior technique every time he takes the field. I’ve been following the German U-21 teams last few matches and Ozil has looked by far the most creative player on the pitch every time he’s played.

Personally, if I was Sir Alex Ferguson, I would go out and sign him to replace Ronnie the portugese prat at Old Trafford. He’s fast and skilful, like Ronaldo, and a team player, unlike Ronaldo and would fit in perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvzBmCpy3dU&feature=related

 

2.      Ajax’s Ismail Aissati  of Moroccan descent is another one for the future.  Superb ball control and flair in distribution make him the man Ajax depend on to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third of the field. And he’s just 20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt-18NmkXQw&feature=channel

 

3.      Diego Buonanotte from River Plate is a small, agile player who often puts in the final ball for the Argentine side’s goals. He’s one of those classic playmakers, slightly built (just 163 cm. tall) but great on the ball and with an eye for the killer pass. Too good for the Argentine league anymore, a move to Spain would suit his game. Love this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDsnmni7zqk

 

4.      The 23 year-old Brazilian Hernanes from Sao Paolo too is gaining some rave reviews for his classy performances in the middle of the park. Bite on the tackle and smooth distribution and ball play make this guy one of the best talents in Brazil today. Should play for Brazil in the next World Cup.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOLEaD4270

5.      Yoann Gourcuff. Of course. Half of Milan had been going gaga over this guy for three seasons at the San Siro where he was being groomed, it seemed to take over Clarence Seedorf’s role in the side. A loan season at Bordeaux turned out to be his breakthrough season, and the move was made permanent this summer.

After helping Bordeaux dethrone Lyon from the pinnacle of French Football with his sublime creative and attacking play, he is being called the heir to Zinedine Zidane and for once, no-one’s really contesting it outright. Clearly outstrips the other 20-odd ‘New Zidanes’ named by the press in the past few years.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCFsov4MOmo

 

A few other names to watch out for:

1.       Sofiane Feghouli

2.       Lulinha

3.       Gael Kakuta

4.       Andrea Russoto

5.       Adel Taarabt

6.       Douglas Costa

Transfers

I'm back.

First : Whats Actually confirmed in the transfer market?

1. Yoann Gourcuff has signed for Bordeaux from AC Milan at the end of his loan deal. After an AWESOME season.

2. Podolski to FC Koln

3. Olic and Mario Gomez to Bayern Munich. How many strikers do they need?

4. Thomas Kahlenberg has moved to French side Auxerre after helping Wolfsburg to the title.

5. Kaka and Ronaldo to Madrid.

6. Acquafresca and Crespo to Genoa. Probably Crespo's last season.

7. Diego Milito and Motta to Inter Milan.

8. Cannavaro and the Brazilian Diego to Juve.

There are, of course loads and loads of rumours, as anyone who's familiar with the workings of the transfer market would know. A lot of players are currently whoring themselves in the markets to look for potential suitors. Of these, the top 5 :

1. Carlos Tevez - I lose respect for the guy everyday as i catch up on the news. Put the money under his nose and watch him run.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Isn't Inter good enough?

3. Robinho - First he comes to City and they finish bottom half, no thanks to him. Now, he's issuing a come-and-get-me to barcelona.

4. David Villa - Maybe, not his fault. Valencia NEED to sell him to the highest bidder. But, the way he's talking to the media left and right, you'd think he was raking lessons from Tevez.

5. Samuel Eto'o - Even after being part of one of the greatest footall teams of all time, he claimed he has 'no love for barcelona' and his relationship with the club was 'that of an employee to an employer'. Why Sammy why? Couldn't you shut up and keep winning?

Real Madrid are building the world XI. After signing Kaka and Ronaldo, they're running after Ribery, Xabi Alonso and David Villa.

That means the likes of Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben are available, and at cut-price, because Madrid need to get rid of them fast. Nistelrooy's looking to move to Spurs. Spurs have now officially been linked to every player to play the game. EVER.

It should be interesting to see what happens of this team. What I really want to see is El Classico next season with Kaka and Ronnie the portugese prat running around in circles while Xavi and Iniesta pass the life out of Madrid at the Bernabeau. 70 minutes gone, Barca 2-0 up, with 66% posession.

Chelsea are pretty active in the transfer market too, although no signings have been made yet. They're chasing Alex Pato, Aguero, Ribery and David Villa. All good bets, if they land either Pato or Aguero, they might well find the missing ingredient in their team, as both can be seen blossoming playing off Chelsea's main battle tank, Didier Drogba.

United have already lost Ronaldo and Tevez has turned down his chance to stay. They might well be losing Nani too, with Sporting Lisbon moving in for their youth product. With Giggs retiring, United will be looking to sign at least two attack-minded players this summer. One of them looks to be Antonio Valencia, the other could be one of Karim Benzema, Franck Ribery and Samuel Eto'o. Let's see. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an option, if they're willing to fork out the stuff.