Nate’s 9 Favorite Players –World Cup 2014
Since there are going to be a couple of breaks this week as a result of time winding down on the World Cup in Brazil, I thought I would sit down and think about what players had the biggest impact and who I have fallen in love with over the past 24 days. I will be honest; I much, much prefer club football to that of the international competitions. I just don’t believe that we can consider a team that played well for 7 games (630 minutes plus extras) to be the best in the world and bestow such glory on them for the following four years and beyond. In any case though, I do understand the magnitude of each moment and how it can play on someone for the rest of their careers (i.e. David Beckham/Diego Simeone; Roberto Baggio; Zinedine Zidane). The positive example from this is James. James had always been a pretty good young player and Porto, and I always looked forward to when they had him in the starting eleven. When AS Monaco came in for him and the end of last season, I wasn’t really surprised, but I know that a few out there were. He had been linked to Manchester United and Liverpool, but it never seemed serious, and he never really angled for a move. Now, he may be the most valuable player in the world sans Messi, Ronaldo and Bale. It’s amazing what a few weeks will do for a person on a grand stage, but I for one am excited for him, and he has touched me with his class and passion over these last few games. I hope he bounces back strong and continues to get better.
Note – I took two things into consideration. First, I have ignored the semi-finals as one was over before it started and one didn’t showcase much for talent and inspiration. Second, I included no Germans. Not because I dislike them, on the contrary, I’m their biggest fan. But they’ve played such beautiful team football that it would pain me to single out any player for individual recognition. But they have been very imposing on every team in their own way so far.
#9 – Ross Barkley. I wish he had gotten a little more of a chance to shine, but he definitely had an impact during the times that he was brought on by Hodgson. In the Italy game, the game shifted tremendously once Barkley was introduced. Pirlo didn’t get as much time on the ball, and England looked better going forward. In the Uruguay game, he came on after an hour and also had positive influence, at least until Suarez knocked England out of the tournament. I can not defend his play in the game against Costa Rica, but in truth no one looked special that day. But I think the England squad should consider building around Barkley, as they challenge for 2016.
#8 – William Carvalho. To be fair, I fell in love with his game during the friendlies leading up to the World Cup. He didn’t get a chance to play against Germany, and was non-existent in the game against the U.S. But in the game against Ghana... he was magnificent in mid-field. Breaking up play, spurring the attacks, showing confidence and making good decisions at the age of 22. We are quick to throw around comparisons especially with factors like Facebook and Twitter, but I think if there is going to be another Roy Keane in my lifetime, we may have found him. Not afraid to go forward, but never leaving his teammates exposed when he does... Portugal may have the beginnings of another golden generation.
#7 – Neymar Jr. I have really tried not to believe the hype with this guy. Brazil has been singing his praises since he was 16 years old, and he’s been anointed roles that not even the great players have been designated (Savior, Second Coming, etc). I thought he was just a prettier Robinho. But going back to the Confederations Cup of last year, and well into the tournament this year, he’s been a revelation. He has scored goals at crucial times (Croatia), helped back in defense (Mexico), and to have the nerve to take that final penalty against Chile and just bury it... While most of us were admittedly underwhelmed by his first season at Barcelona, I have to believe that he’s only going to get better, and I was left impressed by the mark that he left in Brazil.
#6 – David Luiz. For those of you that know me well, I can’t stand this guy. First, I will start with his character. He’s always looking to get other players in trouble, acts very condescendingly toward referees and while it was Rafa Benitez, gives managers quite the difficult time in the locker room. Now to mention his game on the pitch: He’s erratic, doesn’t hold true to his position and leaves other players vulnerable to defending, sends 70 yard passes when clearly it’s not in his skill set to do so and demands taking long-range free kicks. Well in these last 3 weeks, his character has shown through (encouraging a positive response from the crowd was awesome), he was willing to take on penalties, he actually committed to defense for most of the matches, and the free kick goal was brilliant. He’s not my favorite player, or even close, but I will say there is room in the game of football for David Luiz.
#5 – Leo Messi. The world has asked so much of him as a player during his career, that I have almost become sickened by it. When he was a teenage prodigy, we all discussed his great dribbling, but he needed to score more goals. He set goal-scoring records at Barcelona, but he couldn’t score with his head. He scored a goal with his head in a Champions League Final match, and then we wanted him to replicate his success with Argentina. It’s always something, and here is one of the greatest players of all-time! I have been delighted by his performance so far in the World Cup, and I am relieved to see that even with all these requirements that we ask of him, he is still playing the game with no pressure on his shoulders (Iran).
#4 – Xherdan Shaqiri. I am a little bit at fault with this blog, as this is another one of the players that I admired prior to the World Cup starting i.e. Barkley; Carvalho. When Basel knocked Manchester United out of Champions League, there were a number of United fans in disbelief. Not I, said the fly. I watched Shaqiri with fascination and intrigue. Here was this tiny little winger that could only dribble with one foot, which had the touch of an angel and the vision of a night owl. Fast forward 3 years, and all his talent has finally come to fulfillment. His game against Honduras, while it was Honduras, was a great individual performance and he was the only player worth watching on a field with 21 other players. He won’t be blocked by Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery for much longer. Shaqiri is approaching greatness.
#3 – Paul Pogba. Literally, I could just watch Pogba play in a game and no one else. He has that type of influence and skill set on every game that he plays in. He can play in just about every mid-field role, and he was dominant in wins against Nigeria and Switzerland. You can see that he can be neutralized in some games (Germany), but I think it’s hard for any team to chase the ball between Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira. Pogba was absolutely brilliant for the rest of the tournament, and his goal against Nigeria came at the perfect time and with the perfect shot. No goalie in the world could have saved that header, and his preferred role is that of defensive midfielder. He will continue to get better.
#2 – Tim Howard. There’s not much to say here. Anyone that watched the United States at all in this tournament knew how important Tim Howard was to the hopes and aspirations for the United States. He single-handedly kept us in the game against Belgium, only for class to finally shine through on the day. He was also great against the Germans, and not for the result of poor defending and a terrible give-away, he may have kept a clean sheet against the Portuguese. The U.S. have had some great goalkeepers over the past twenty years, but no star has been brighter than the performance that Howard put on in 2014.
#1 – James Rodriguez. Simply put, his accomplishments for Colombia in Brazil have been nothing short of extraordinary. I felt like he was one of only two players (the other being Robben) where it seemed like the bigger the moment, the better he played. All of his goals were important including the PK against Brazil. Colombia had many more chances to equalize after that goal, than Brazil did of finishing off the game. He gave his team inspiration, had his entire country behind him, and won the respect of fans and players from all around the world in the 5 games that we got to see him play. It was a true sign of introduction, and now the name James can come of our lips the same way Magic, Peyton and Trout do.
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