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Summer Transfers 2014


WhiskeyJar
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I think Gerrard would end up playing backup to Alonso who is much more disciplined and mixes up his passes better than Gerrard. Knows when to play it short or long etc. Both are fantastic passers but Alonso has been big pimping that role for a generation. I actually think Alonso is much more suited to Mourinho, Benitez and DelBosque. Who give their midfielders much stricter instructions and are more concerned about balance and control than going gungho.  

 

It won't happen but Alonso does have a dilemma of what/where to go next. 

 

Wow.

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I think Gerrard would end up playing backup to Alonso who is much more disciplined and mixes up his passes better than Gerrard. Knows when to play it short or long etc. Both are fantastic passers but Alonso has been big pimping that role for a generation. I actually think Alonso is much more suited to Mourinho, Benitez and DelBosque. Who give their midfielders much stricter instructions and are more concerned about balance and control than going gungho.

 

It won't happen but Alonso does have a dilemma of what/where to go next.

Repped for use of big pimping in relation to Xabi.

 

Fair's fair.

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A fish called Wanda:

 

The Inter striker has caused controversy in recent days due to his affair with the ex-wife of his former Sampdoria team-mate and needs to be brought into line

 

Young sportsmen will always make mistakes. It is often the fallout from such an error that helps a young man to quickly mature into a person of great standing both professionally and personally. If anything, that is all part of the process. But Inter’s Mauro Icardi seems to be at the start of that cycle right now, with his very public affair with the wife of former Sampdoria team-mate Maxi Lopez causing a huge stir in Italy in recent weeks.

 

The 20-year-old Argentine, who is currently out of action with a hernia problem, has hit the headlines during the international break following revelations regarding his relationship with Wanda Nara, who was previously married to Lopez.

 

The story goes that Icardi made moves on Nara upon hearing about the breakdown of her marriage with his close friend, who he had spent much time with when they both played at Sampdoria – often with Nara in tow.

 

@wanditanara Te Amo, nunca me sera sencillo decir lo Q siento, PorQ descubri que esas 2 palabras llevan consigo 1 Sentimiento sin Limites!

 

- Mauro Icardi via Twitter

 

 

Now Icardi has taken to Twitter to profess his love for Nara, who herself has made no secret of the relationship on the social media site. "I love you, it will never be easy to say how I feel, because I discovered that those two words carry the same limitless feeling as one!" he stated. The striker has even had a tattoo of his love interest’s first name inked on his left forearm, posting a photograph of it on Twitter too.

 

It is perhaps normal that a young, impressionable man who in the last 12 months has hit the big time in his professional life should find the attention a little overwhelming. That it seems to have gone to his head is disappointing but also understandable. However, his blatant disregard for a close friend and former colleague does not sit so easily.

 

One of this writer’s particular bug-bears in regards to social media is the allure that some couples feel to shun the traditional verbal option or even the possibility of speaking on the telephone in favour of sharing intimate greetings with the rest of the world. Obviously, this comes down to personal preference to some extent, but the opportunity for innocents to be caught in the crossfire of the ebbs and flows of somebody else’s relationship is far too great when social media is involved in such exchanges.

 

Wesley Sneijder has become a figure of fun to some Twitter users in light of his regular statements of undying affection toward his wife Yolanthe Cabau, and while they began a relationship in somewhat notorious circumstances, they are at least a married couple who are leaving no third party open to ridicule as a result of their tweets.

 

Icardi, however, is making Lopez look more and more ridiculous with each tweet he sends. Moreover, he is subjecting himself to the same portrayal. His tweet on Thursday ("I've washed it 10 times already and it won't come off!") including a picture of his new tattoo with Nara’s name covering the length of his forearm had to be seen to be believed.

 

@wanditanara Ya me bane 10 veces y no se Borra!

 

- Mauro Icardi via Twitter

 

 

One almost cannot wait for the relationship to turn sour since it is often the fallout of such an eventuality that strengthens people emotionally, and to the public eye that appears to be what Icardi needs right now. Perhaps the break-up of this modern day ‘dream romance’ will help him to see what his former friend and team-mate is feeling at this moment in time. That might go some way to bringing the Argentine back to earth and realign his focus on his career.

 

On the other hand, the perfect scenario would be that two people between whom there is mutual love are able to get on with their lives in private without feeling the need to rub it in the face of someone about whom they both once cared, but now don’t seem to give two hoots about. However this story plays out, it is now Inter’s job to try to get Icardi off the front pages and back to the top of his game.

 

Icardi is not the first footballer to hit the tabloids over such a scandal, nor will he be the last. John Terry’s affair with the girlfriend of Wayne Bridge made huge headlines in 2010, even robbing the Chelsea defender of the England captaincy, but at least Terry had the good grace not to boast about it in public.

 

Fifa president Sepp Blatter laughed off Terry’s misdemeanour at the time, claiming that he would have been considered a hero in some countries, but the behaviour of Terry, Icardi and others seems to be just the latest blemish on football’s increasingly loose moral code. Exactly what impressionable young minds make of these indiscretions is a frightening consideration.

 

“The heart has reasons that reason itself can’t explain,” said Nara in a tweet this week which was immediately retweeted by Icardi. If that was meant as some kind of explanation as to why the two should be allowed to act with such emotional brutality, it failed to hit the mark.

 

“There are no friends in football,” says one oft-used cliché to describe the intensity at which matches are played, but it sums up an all-too familiar story about the goings-on in the sport’s dressing rooms too these days. Honesty and discretion are things of the past in a footballing world increasingly bathed in scandal.

 

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Echo:

 

Young German attacking midfielder Julian Brandt has been watched, and impressed Reds scouts at the recent European U19 Championships in Hungary.

But prising the highly-rated 18-year-old away from his club, Bayer Leverkusen, could prove difficult this summer. He is seen as one to be monitored.

 

 

This kid looks a prospect, exactly the type of signing we should be investing in.

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Maybe swap Brandt for Yesil since Leverkusen still retain some sort of option on him.

 

"Hey, Leverkusen, remember that hot prospect we nicked off you a couple of years back, well, here's the thing, he's broken and fucked, so we were thinking we could maybe have a different one instead and you can have the first one back.  What do you say?"

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This Icardi lad should be commended for dedication to his profession. Everyone knows young footballers are best having a wife and kids so they can apply total focus to their career.

Yep. Someone should tell him its a bit less controversial if it's his own wife and kids he shacks up with tho.

 

Mind you with morals like his, surely he'd be better off at Chelsea. Imagine the end of season 'keys in the ashtray' party! Scenes.

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20140107_wanda_nara_-_2.jpg

 

The heart wants what the heart wants, and in Icadi's case his heart wants a massive pair of jebs.

 

 

I thought when I read about them two that she isn't even that fit

 

If I was a professional footy player in italy I would intentionally stay single just to bang the absolute multitude of fit italian women. 

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"Hey, Leverkusen, remember that hot prospect we nicked off you a couple of years back, well, here's the thing, he's broken and fucked, so we were thinking we could maybe have a different one instead and you can have the first one back.  What do you say?"

 

It might work!

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Everything you need to know about... Julian Brandt
 

The 60-second story

 

Julian Brandt is the latest package to drop off the ever-revolving conveyor belt of prodigious German talent. The Bremen-born star joined Bayer Leverkusen after the winter break in January last season, after spending two impressive years in Wolfsburg's youth ranks.

 

Having already sampled Champions League football, twice as a substitute against PSG last term, the Germany Under-19 youngster has settled well in the Rhineland. It took him until his seventh game to net his first goal against Hamburg, but he followed that up with another the following week – a glorious lob against Hertha which earned Leverkusen all three points. 

 

Brandt, and Bayer, are clearly sure of his abilities: he joined them on a five-and-a-half-year deal based on the promise of regular first-team football. Despite only recently turning 18, he may well get it next season. So far it's been a good summer for the youngster, who after seeing his nation lift the World Cup was part of the German U19 side which claimed European Championship glory in Hungary. 

 

Why you need to know him

 

Standing out among so many other highly rated German kids, Brandt is considered one of the Bundesliga’s most promising wingers. At youth level he plundered 27 goals in 48 games over two seasons for Wolfsburg (enough to help his side win the youth league), and has proven capable of transferring his net-rippling to the big time. Last season he provided genuine competition for South Korean star Son Heung-Min, who didn't quite kick on as was hoped in his first year in Leverkusen. 
 
He'll be playing under a new manager next season – Roger Schmidt has replaced now-Brighton boss Sami Hyypia permanently – but his chances of making an impact won't be lessened. Schmidt proved his willingness to give youth a chance during his two-year spell at RB Salzburg. 
 

brandt-psg.jpg?itok=Yg40zei0
 

Strengths

 

Having netted 10 goals in 32 games at various levels for Die Mannschaft, and provided 11 assists in the first half of last season for Wolfsburg's U19s, Brandt's all-round attacking game is clearly strong. The teenager is a two-footed speed merchant, excellent in tight spaces and also stronger than he looks, at 6ft tall and over 12 stone. 

 

Weaknesses

 

Brandt himself has acknowledged that his "defensive work and heading ability" are areas in need of improvement. In the Bundesliga, where goals certainly aren't at a premium, working on these areas of his game is important. 

 

 

They said...

 

Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller wasn't exaggerating when he said Brandt was "one of the most talented players in German football". "His signature is a great investment for the future," concluded the former Germany international.
 
The player himself, meanwhile, is not getting carried away. "I've still got my feet on the ground," he said. "My father helped me look for the club with the best prospects on the pitch. The club is brilliantly organised and the team is great. I've no regrets."

 

Did you know?

 

Despite his obvious talents, Brandt began an apprenticeship as an office administrator during his time at Wolfsburg. "It was interesting, but also time-consuming," he admitted in an interview with German newspaper Express.

What happens next?

 

Chelsea were reportedly keen to snap up the wunderkind before his move to the BayArena (as were Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund), but the 18-year-old avoided a loan move to Vitesse and is thriving in his homeland. Bayer Leverkusen will have to negotiate a play-off to reach the Champions League this season, and long-term it's that regular European football that will be key to keeping hold of their prodigious playmaker. Further forward, expect to see him helping Germany defend their crown at Russia 2018. 

 

TALENTSPOTTER RATINGS
  • Shooting 7
  • Heading 5
  • Passing 8
  • Tackling 5
  • Pace 9
  • Dribbling 9
  • Creativity 8
  • Work-rate 8
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