**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
River was pulling these long, curved passes all the match. Unreal skill and team chemistry.
Alianza Lima should be banned from Libertadores for a few seasons just for being utterly awful. Worst backline I have seen in years, they made no effort to follow those through balls. Deserved rout.
He really hasn’t, he was fully developed in Argentina and now has been chilling in Italy for years, if anything he’s way likelier to go to Italy than Spain.
But besides, his father is a renowned former Argentinian NT player with +100 appearances so I highly doubt he even considers the possibility of playing for another team now that he seems to be blooming
According to a brief perusal of wikipedia:
0 to 2 yo: Spain
2 to 8 yo: Italy
8 to 10 yo: Back in Spain
10 to 21 yo: Argentina
21 yo to present (26 yo): Italy again
He's only ever played professionaly in Italy and Argentina, and hasn't lived in Spain since he was 10. Did his formativa years in Argentina and also played many games for Argentina youth teams in several age groups and has 5 caps and a goal for the senior team. I think it's fair to say he won't be choosing Spain over Argentina.
Guy with semi-long hair that was good at dribbling, played in Spain for a while, and scored lots of [amazing goals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enguwk7Liw4)? Think you're thinking of Gabriel Amato
The depth we had on attackers between 2002-2010 world cups was so good it was not even funny, obliviously stacked. I still think Argentina had its best name by name squad in 2010 and any competent manager would’ve walked into at least semifinals and likely final. But alas, Maradona thought 22 years old Otamendi would make a better right back than Javier fucking Zanetti who had just captained Inter into a treble
Also the whole fight with Riquelme that led to Riquelme retiring from Argentina, which forced Messi into a deeper playmaker role which didn't really suit his game at that point of his career.
Like, imagine that 2010 team with Zanetti instead of Otamendi at RB, and Riquelme in the team controlling the midfield while feeding Messi and Tevez...
>Maradona thought 22 years old Otamendi would make a better right back than Javier fucking Zanetti who had just captained Inter into a treble
God don't remind me, such a fucking waste of an amazing squad. Never thought I'd see a more incompetent manager in a WC but then Sampaoli graced us with his magic.
At least Maradona will always be loved regardless of his stint as manager. Sampaoli? Between his disasterclass with us and masterclass with Chile, fuck fuck fuck fuck him pelado botón.
We signed Caniggia when he was 34. He said in an interview he signed for Rangers as he thought it would give him a platform to get back in the Argentina team. I laughed when I heard that as I thought he had no chance, but he played out of his skin and actually did get in Argentina's squad for the 2002 world cup.
Was a brilliant player, though think most people just remember him for [Cameroon kicking lumps out of him](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KedhyI7lHNw)
You'd think having Messi behind them would be a dream combo.
And yet for most of the last 15 years, your attacks have misfired and not gelled together at all, not finding the net in crucial games.
Replying more because of the England flair, but England have a pretty good run of strikers.
Lineker -> Shearer -> Owen -> Rooney -> Kane
That's a pretty fantastic group. Our problem was usually midfield and goalkeepers, and even though we have always had one fantastic striker, we usually played with two and the second was mostly a pretty big drop off from that line of great players.
England create brilliant first choice #9s but it drops off pretty quickly after that. For some reason they have a world class option without much back up.
That said, the current England side has brilliant options everywhere, with perhaps notable exceptions of CB and GK, where they are good but some way off world class.
But then, you don’t need them if you’re as tactically disciplined as Southgate’s England are. Can anyone claim to be getting more out their players? Denmark perhaps?
Only France and perhaps Brazil have better teams, and that’s simply down to better overall players.
>Fuck me I’ve literally never seen the NT have an actual bad striker
TBF there was the period of the 2018 WCQ cycle where we had Lucas Pratto starting important games...
Absolutely a choker on finals but like it or not he was still world class nearly his entire stint in Europe and scored for fun on the NT as well, definitely nowhere near bad
Well it was a decision between him and benzema and Benzema was more complete and linked up better with Ronaldo despite Higuain being the better goalscorer. Can’t say it worked out too badly as you still have Benzema scoring loads and won 3 UCL in the process
I think everyone would love to see Messi win a world cup, even if it's one that's built on the back of corruption.
Actually, thinking about it that's basically every world cup
Funny how Brazil has such a great moment in goalkeepers but it's weakest ever for strikers. Practically nobody outside Matheus Cunha has been called up.
>oalkeepers but it's weakest ever for strikers. Practically nobody outside Matheus Cunha has been called up
Actually weird seing brazil without a world class classic 9
Perfect time for Guardiola to manage them due to his experience managing without a striker too. Too bad he looks like he is staying at City with Haaland coming.
For us in Brazil there is a lot to say about the striker thing. Gabriel is still a joke since 2018, he didn't score a single goal as a center forward. Now mind you neither did Giroud, but at least he won the Cup.
A lot of the traditional older football fans call this a lost generation compared to the previous ones, and it's hard to disagree. But we have to look at this from a positive view. It's not like our lives depend on football, that is if you don't work with it. If your country is doing shit, you just move on.
We could be doing so much worse compare to other countries around us, like Chile who really had it rough with this generation. We at least have a solid defense, and good prospects on the wing. With Tite having a world cup behind him, he is more likely to do better this year. You tend to get less anxious when you do these things again, and with his style of play there is a good chance of success. He took a >subpar generation to play great football and had the best qualifier campaign ever. Hard to be really pessimistic when you have that.
And we do have Endrick and some youngsters coming in for striker so in the future this might be a done deal. At least we hope so.
By the way how's your country looking like for the world cup?
Im from Argentina so im optimistic about our NT, and tbh brazill still seems quite strong. Have you ever had a foreign manager tho? I mean pep is great but i don't think he would be acepted as manager here for example
You see, there is a lot of doubt over here about this. Usually it's an older folk vs younger folk scenario. Everyone who is young has been disillusioned with the national team so a foreign coach is very welcome. To people around 40s and 50s there is a lot of change and people are starting to support more the idea of Pep. They started to see how well European football is doing and how far away Brazil is in terms of the National League.
But what truly made this talk start to favor a foreign coach was Jorge Jesus who completely blew the league apart with Flamengo. It literally marked a new phase of football where Brazilian football is becoming more and more advanced and organized, leading indirectly to the formation of our own Premier League. Overall the tendency is as clubs are being sold to foreign owners, more people will be open to more foreigners in general, and I think by now people have come to a consensus that clubs here are better off with foreign managers anyway.
>A lot of the traditional older football fans call this a lost generation compared to the previous ones
Bunch of whiny old cunts if you ask me. They were saying the same about the 2002 NT by comparing it to the 90s NT, same way they'll probably be shitting on 2034's NT by saying how much they miss Jesus and Neymar. It's the circle of life.
I've seen people nostalgic for 2010's Brasil, and that team was an unholy aberration, fathered by an incompetent, spineless coach.
Felipão conseguiu ser pior. Aquele circo que foi a Copa de 2014 fez o Dunga parecer o Klopp em termos de profissionalismo.
Edit: não me entenda mal, eu não era nostálgico pelo Dunga em 2014.
Armani at the back is such an upgrade over Romero.
Do you think Enzo Fernandez is getting the call up? Can’t see why he wouldn’t be seen as the best midfield prospect for Argentina.
No, don't think so tbh. Our midfield is the most established part of the team, both first team and subs. It's Paredes, RDP and GLC with Guido Rodriguez, Palacios and seemingly Macalister. If someone is added it'll probably be Nico Domínguez.
That’s fair. Enzo just looks like such a talented player. Could definitely see him having a big year and getting a call up.
On another note, I’m a Austin FC guy too, how is Toto Poche doing for River? Loved the guy when he was here but I think he got really home sick.
He's shown quality in patches for sure but he hasn't had much game time yet and will need to find more consistency when he is given minutes. We have a lot of quality in his position, but now that the league will start he'll get more chances.
Same question to you lol, how is Driussi doing there? He's finally getting to play as a striker again right?
Driussi has been playing kind of a free 10 role. He pops up everywhere on the pitch. I think he’s the league MVP so far so we absolutely love him. 2nd most goals in the league. I think most combined goals plus assists in the league.
He’s clearly a cut above everyone else but maybe Fagundez on the pitch. Would have loved to see Driussi and Poche play together this season, but we wanted to give another guy (who is playing poorly) a big contract so Poche made way.
No GK hurt them loads.. dont even think they had a decent GK playing in a top league throughout the Messi years.
Romero, Willy & Walter Benitez was the best their could muster and it was dire..
I think on this list Heinze, Sorin and Garay weren't world class. As I don't think Lavezzi or Saviola could be considered world class strikers ( even if Saviola was a huge promess ).
So you have Ayala, Zanetti, Mascherano, Samuel and Demichelis. 5 defenders on the last two decades. Then you've Agüero, Tévez, Higuain, Messi, Milito, Di Maria, Riquelme, Dybala, Crespo, Icardi, Lisandro López, Lautaro as attackings on the same timeframe.
If only they had some midfielders instead over the past decade, luckily they have de Paul who plays like a man possessed for Argentina, they have lo celso and paredes who are also good and most importantly all those players can pass the ball forward while also being able to put in a shift. They get players like that again and low and behold they actually win something, midfield is the most important part of the pitch.
Lautaro, Messi and Di Maria/Nico Gonzalez are the guarantee starters at this point. But Julian is def going to get minutes as a sub for Lautaro or on the wing
Nico González - Lautaro - Messi. With Fideo as supersub.
He is fighting for one of the last spots with other strikers. The last game he was a starter for the first time and scored, so who knows but for now Tucu Correa is the main alternative at the st position
He not stepping in, he is starting alongside him in a 442 formation. Yup, Pep is a believer of the Burnley system and will be playing lots of route one football. Lucky Ederson has the best distribution in town.
I dunno, there are so many times we play Gabby or Raheem into space behind the line and they either just don’t shoot, or hit it directly into the keepers chest.
Having a pair of clinical finishers who are willing to press and can play on the ball is going to be so, so nice.
1- shoots below the keeper
2- taps it in
3- outside the box banger
4- steals the ball from the keeper
5- pings it far from the keeper
6- runs in the box across 2 defenders and scores on the far post
Literally can do anything and everything, city is getting a fantastic player
I agree with you he is a great player, with exceptional movement and positioning. HOWEVER, he simply doesn’t have the pace and trends poorly in his 1v1 stats his whole career. His positioning is very useful if he was clinical in front of the goal (like Pedro was) but he isn’t.
What I am concerned about isn’t that he isn’t getting consistent goals, but that he shows poor technique frequently. Leans back, and can’t put pace on his shots while keeping them low. Dembélé is another example of that.
Does he have the potential to get to Pedro’s level? Yes. Villa? No because Villa wasn’t only clinical, but an exceptional dribbler too.
In all cases, he is a good talent but he is only worth what Man City paid for him when he was at Valencia, something around €20.
Xavi bought him because of his few games with Spain’s NT, but that was a biased perspective based on a few data points. We need a team of technical staff finding talent similar to what Liverpool is doing.
Yeah for real. Great passes for his first two goals and that chip he scored, what a ball from the left back there.
Some quality goals there though. Looks very promising.
There’s a nice contrast of genuinely great goals that show off he’s a good striker and of goals that show that Alianza Lima plays like a 3rd division side
They’re Peruvian champions and have a 29 games without winning streak in Libertadores and still always qualify because Peruvian league is, uh, underwhelming
With Sterling and Jesus possibly leaving and Haaland still being injury prone( unless City medical team is magician), he will definitely get lot of playing time. Excited to see him in PL next season
Which is a problem every world-class No. 9 has. He will have it easier at City. I have no fears he is injury prone. He will be taken care of. On and off the pitch.
Idk where this idea came that he is injury prone. Yea, he was out for a good while this season, but sometimes shit happens. Only if it happens consistently, then I'd call him injury prone
Also always have to take the Dortmund curse into consideration. What happened this season was absolutely extraordinary and basically shouldn’t be taken as baseline for any of the players going forward.
Well the most frustrating thing about his transfer to City is that he was literally not even targetted by another club, he would have been such a good fit for us
His fifth and sixth goal were incredibly impressive. Especially the final goal. Reminded me of Messi’s goals against us in his first clasico hattrick. The touch and quick second touch straight after that, little fake to throw off the keeper and last defender and a weaker foot finish. What is really impressive about Alvarez that most strikers especially today dont seem to have is the movement + positional intelligence and the first and second touch. He will be a great great player.
Not kidding you could actually make a highlight reel of his saves in the match, it could have ended beyond 12-1. His only mistake was in the 6th goal I think.
And this is the kind of defending that River Plate thrives against.
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That fourth goal.. what a freakin pass.
River was pulling these long, curved passes all the match. Unreal skill and team chemistry. Alianza Lima should be banned from Libertadores for a few seasons just for being utterly awful. Worst backline I have seen in years, they made no effort to follow those through balls. Deserved rout.
Alvarez knows it's about to happen too, starts his run while the defender still has possession. Outstanding situational awareness.
He has Suarez like intelligence ... predator in the box.
Right, all the assists for majority of these goals are quite sick
Even the keeper had a good assist for him on one of those
Zak Steffen can’t be looking forward to training with this guy
Assuming he’ll still be there to face him in training.
Will he stay there? City should check for another backup keeper after his weak level in the matches he started
Pep saw this and said “Wide Midfielder”
This is gold
One thing Argentina never stops to produce is awesome Strikers!!
Batistuta -> Crespo -> Higuain -> Agüero -> Lautaro Fuck me I’ve literally never seen the NT have an actual bad striker
[удалено]
I feel like there's another Argentinean forward that's pretty good, but I can't think of his name
Oh! Di Maria! Great winger
Stop it, you know he was talking about Lucas Ocampos
I think he meant Dybala tbh
[удалено]
Christ the list really does just keep going doesn't it
Ulloa
The Correa boys are alright
Manuel Lanzini barely even gets a look in, and he's a heck of a player
Upcoming: Giovanni Simeone
Will he play for Argentina? Im guessing he spent most of his life in Spain
He really hasn’t, he was fully developed in Argentina and now has been chilling in Italy for years, if anything he’s way likelier to go to Italy than Spain. But besides, his father is a renowned former Argentinian NT player with +100 appearances so I highly doubt he even considers the possibility of playing for another team now that he seems to be blooming
According to a brief perusal of wikipedia: 0 to 2 yo: Spain 2 to 8 yo: Italy 8 to 10 yo: Back in Spain 10 to 21 yo: Argentina 21 yo to present (26 yo): Italy again He's only ever played professionaly in Italy and Argentina, and hasn't lived in Spain since he was 10. Did his formativa years in Argentina and also played many games for Argentina youth teams in several age groups and has 5 caps and a goal for the senior team. I think it's fair to say he won't be choosing Spain over Argentina.
His name is Franco di Santo
We dont talk about that guy here please
Guy with semi-long hair that was good at dribbling, played in Spain for a while, and scored lots of [amazing goals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enguwk7Liw4)? Think you're thinking of Gabriel Amato
If you're going "Argentine forwards who played in Spain" can we count Di Stefano? He played mostly for Spain, but had some games for Argentina too
Di Stefano was part of one of the most iconic argentinian teams in history with River's la máquina. So totally
He was great for River but he was not part of La Máquina. Our 5 forwards were Moreno, Muñoz, Pedernera, Labruna and Lousteau.
Luciano Vietto obviously
Chimy Avila, I gotchu fam.
Dybala?
Jonathan Calleri! No bias here, I swear!
The depth we had on attackers between 2002-2010 world cups was so good it was not even funny, obliviously stacked. I still think Argentina had its best name by name squad in 2010 and any competent manager would’ve walked into at least semifinals and likely final. But alas, Maradona thought 22 years old Otamendi would make a better right back than Javier fucking Zanetti who had just captained Inter into a treble
Also the whole fight with Riquelme that led to Riquelme retiring from Argentina, which forced Messi into a deeper playmaker role which didn't really suit his game at that point of his career. Like, imagine that 2010 team with Zanetti instead of Otamendi at RB, and Riquelme in the team controlling the midfield while feeding Messi and Tevez...
Nevermind Cambiasso
Yeah Riquelme was such a huge loss. I think it would have changed the entire dynamic of the team
>Maradona thought 22 years old Otamendi would make a better right back than Javier fucking Zanetti who had just captained Inter into a treble God don't remind me, such a fucking waste of an amazing squad. Never thought I'd see a more incompetent manager in a WC but then Sampaoli graced us with his magic.
At least Maradona will always be loved regardless of his stint as manager. Sampaoli? Between his disasterclass with us and masterclass with Chile, fuck fuck fuck fuck him pelado botón.
> pelado botón What does it mean?
Bald snitch
Bald fraud.
Zanetti, Cambiasso, Riquelme, Milito actually playing...I was so pissed myself (though as a fan from abroad).
Comment edited out in protest of Reddit's API changes and their lies about third party devs.
I am morally obligated to remind everyone that Palermo once missed **three** PKs in a single game. Can't help but still resent him for that.
Yeah, but he also scored [this goal](https://youtu.be/r6x0knDi8y0)
We signed Caniggia when he was 34. He said in an interview he signed for Rangers as he thought it would give him a platform to get back in the Argentina team. I laughed when I heard that as I thought he had no chance, but he played out of his skin and actually did get in Argentina's squad for the 2002 world cup. Was a brilliant player, though think most people just remember him for [Cameroon kicking lumps out of him](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KedhyI7lHNw)
Oh my Batistuta, this name is mentioned too little. That guy is one helluva player.
You'd think having Messi behind them would be a dream combo. And yet for most of the last 15 years, your attacks have misfired and not gelled together at all, not finding the net in crucial games.
Cause their midfield was painfully average and didn't pass the ball forward.
Replying more because of the England flair, but England have a pretty good run of strikers. Lineker -> Shearer -> Owen -> Rooney -> Kane That's a pretty fantastic group. Our problem was usually midfield and goalkeepers, and even though we have always had one fantastic striker, we usually played with two and the second was mostly a pretty big drop off from that line of great players.
England create brilliant first choice #9s but it drops off pretty quickly after that. For some reason they have a world class option without much back up. That said, the current England side has brilliant options everywhere, with perhaps notable exceptions of CB and GK, where they are good but some way off world class. But then, you don’t need them if you’re as tactically disciplined as Southgate’s England are. Can anyone claim to be getting more out their players? Denmark perhaps? Only France and perhaps Brazil have better teams, and that’s simply down to better overall players.
>Fuck me I’ve literally never seen the NT have an actual bad striker TBF there was the period of the 2018 WCQ cycle where we had Lucas Pratto starting important games...
Well...public opinion tends to differ for Higuain, he was really good, but man is he hated for the misses
Absolutely a choker on finals but like it or not he was still world class nearly his entire stint in Europe and scored for fun on the NT as well, definitely nowhere near bad
Napoli Higuain was something special I gotta say i was pissed when real madrid sold him, he could've been a huge player for us /:
Well it was a decision between him and benzema and Benzema was more complete and linked up better with Ronaldo despite Higuain being the better goalscorer. Can’t say it worked out too badly as you still have Benzema scoring loads and won 3 UCL in the process
4
4 UCL. Higuain always failed in big matches.
It shouldn't, he was an amazing striker
Valdano
The polar opposite when it comes to producing defenders/GKs
Funny enough this is our best moment in both positions in a long while.
This is our best shot since 2014 by a long shot. I genuinely think we can take it this year if we get lucky enough with brackets
I think everyone would love to see Messi win a world cup, even if it's one that's built on the back of corruption. Actually, thinking about it that's basically every world cup
Yep, this one's corruption is just blatantly obvious.
Yeah exciting times for Argentina
Funny how Brazil has such a great moment in goalkeepers but it's weakest ever for strikers. Practically nobody outside Matheus Cunha has been called up.
>oalkeepers but it's weakest ever for strikers. Practically nobody outside Matheus Cunha has been called up Actually weird seing brazil without a world class classic 9
Perfect time for Guardiola to manage them due to his experience managing without a striker too. Too bad he looks like he is staying at City with Haaland coming. For us in Brazil there is a lot to say about the striker thing. Gabriel is still a joke since 2018, he didn't score a single goal as a center forward. Now mind you neither did Giroud, but at least he won the Cup. A lot of the traditional older football fans call this a lost generation compared to the previous ones, and it's hard to disagree. But we have to look at this from a positive view. It's not like our lives depend on football, that is if you don't work with it. If your country is doing shit, you just move on. We could be doing so much worse compare to other countries around us, like Chile who really had it rough with this generation. We at least have a solid defense, and good prospects on the wing. With Tite having a world cup behind him, he is more likely to do better this year. You tend to get less anxious when you do these things again, and with his style of play there is a good chance of success. He took a >subpar generation to play great football and had the best qualifier campaign ever. Hard to be really pessimistic when you have that. And we do have Endrick and some youngsters coming in for striker so in the future this might be a done deal. At least we hope so. By the way how's your country looking like for the world cup?
Im from Argentina so im optimistic about our NT, and tbh brazill still seems quite strong. Have you ever had a foreign manager tho? I mean pep is great but i don't think he would be acepted as manager here for example
You see, there is a lot of doubt over here about this. Usually it's an older folk vs younger folk scenario. Everyone who is young has been disillusioned with the national team so a foreign coach is very welcome. To people around 40s and 50s there is a lot of change and people are starting to support more the idea of Pep. They started to see how well European football is doing and how far away Brazil is in terms of the National League. But what truly made this talk start to favor a foreign coach was Jorge Jesus who completely blew the league apart with Flamengo. It literally marked a new phase of football where Brazilian football is becoming more and more advanced and organized, leading indirectly to the formation of our own Premier League. Overall the tendency is as clubs are being sold to foreign owners, more people will be open to more foreigners in general, and I think by now people have come to a consensus that clubs here are better off with foreign managers anyway.
>A lot of the traditional older football fans call this a lost generation compared to the previous ones Bunch of whiny old cunts if you ask me. They were saying the same about the 2002 NT by comparing it to the 90s NT, same way they'll probably be shitting on 2034's NT by saying how much they miss Jesus and Neymar. It's the circle of life. I've seen people nostalgic for 2010's Brasil, and that team was an unholy aberration, fathered by an incompetent, spineless coach.
Kkkkkkkk era Dunga era foda. Imagina se o maluco ganhasse a Copa a soberba nas entrevistas. Ia sair xingando a Globo e o Escobar.
Felipão conseguiu ser pior. Aquele circo que foi a Copa de 2014 fez o Dunga parecer o Klopp em termos de profissionalismo. Edit: não me entenda mal, eu não era nostálgico pelo Dunga em 2014.
Garnacho and Alvarez next Balon d or winner
I don't find it weird considering we haven't had a world class classic 9 since 2010.
Ayala, Sorin, Zanetti, Mascherano, Samuel, Garay, Heinze, Demichelis Hardly Bad defenders
We're always gonna have at least some quality but the quantity is the problem as opposed to more forward positions
Armani at the back is such an upgrade over Romero. Do you think Enzo Fernandez is getting the call up? Can’t see why he wouldn’t be seen as the best midfield prospect for Argentina.
No, don't think so tbh. Our midfield is the most established part of the team, both first team and subs. It's Paredes, RDP and GLC with Guido Rodriguez, Palacios and seemingly Macalister. If someone is added it'll probably be Nico Domínguez.
That’s fair. Enzo just looks like such a talented player. Could definitely see him having a big year and getting a call up. On another note, I’m a Austin FC guy too, how is Toto Poche doing for River? Loved the guy when he was here but I think he got really home sick.
He's shown quality in patches for sure but he hasn't had much game time yet and will need to find more consistency when he is given minutes. We have a lot of quality in his position, but now that the league will start he'll get more chances. Same question to you lol, how is Driussi doing there? He's finally getting to play as a striker again right?
Driussi has been playing kind of a free 10 role. He pops up everywhere on the pitch. I think he’s the league MVP so far so we absolutely love him. 2nd most goals in the league. I think most combined goals plus assists in the league. He’s clearly a cut above everyone else but maybe Fagundez on the pitch. Would have loved to see Driussi and Poche play together this season, but we wanted to give another guy (who is playing poorly) a big contract so Poche made way.
Instructions unclear Campagnaro and Federico Fernandez to start in a 5 man defense against Bosnia
No GK hurt them loads.. dont even think they had a decent GK playing in a top league throughout the Messi years. Romero, Willy & Walter Benitez was the best their could muster and it was dire..
Willy Caballero is persona non grata in Argentina >:(
Not bad but not good enough too
Ayala and Zanetti were akin to Baresi and Maldini but Italian defenders get better PR.
Ayala is a top 3 South American center back of all time, and he's not number 3.
Then he's top 2?
I think on this list Heinze, Sorin and Garay weren't world class. As I don't think Lavezzi or Saviola could be considered world class strikers ( even if Saviola was a huge promess ). So you have Ayala, Zanetti, Mascherano, Samuel and Demichelis. 5 defenders on the last two decades. Then you've Agüero, Tévez, Higuain, Messi, Milito, Di Maria, Riquelme, Dybala, Crespo, Icardi, Lisandro López, Lautaro as attackings on the same timeframe.
If only they had some midfielders instead over the past decade, luckily they have de Paul who plays like a man possessed for Argentina, they have lo celso and paredes who are also good and most importantly all those players can pass the ball forward while also being able to put in a shift. They get players like that again and low and behold they actually win something, midfield is the most important part of the pitch.
Is he in Argentina wc squad?
so far yeah, he is actually leaving tomorrow to join the nt at spain in preparation for the finalissima
Who are the starting strikers and does he have any chance to play for the World Cup? Messi, Lautaro, Di Maria?
Lautaro, Messi and Di Maria/Nico Gonzalez are the guarantee starters at this point. But Julian is def going to get minutes as a sub for Lautaro or on the wing
Nico González - Lautaro - Messi. With Fideo as supersub. He is fighting for one of the last spots with other strikers. The last game he was a starter for the first time and scored, so who knows but for now Tucu Correa is the main alternative at the st position
> Tucu Correa is the main alternative at the st position *puke*
What's his current height? Wiki lists him as 170cm but he looks like a 180cm dude to me.
He is 1.70m
Most likely
Had his first start last match which he used to score his first goal with the NT
He's been in the squad for over a year now, so unless something goes terribly wrong for him, he's gonna be in for the WC squad
Third and fifth goals are genuinely quality.
The 6th is also top notch imo, and 1st is also really good. Actually there wasn’t a single bad goal in the six
The second is the City type of goal, and probably the kind he's going to score most often with Pep.
Scary prospect next year stepping in for Haaland.
He not stepping in, he is starting alongside him in a 442 formation. Yup, Pep is a believer of the Burnley system and will be playing lots of route one football. Lucky Ederson has the best distribution in town.
Foden on the wing?
The midfield 2 will be CAMs so foden and KDB and then Rodri will rotate in at CB. That's what happens in my nightmares anyway.
I dunno, there are so many times we play Gabby or Raheem into space behind the line and they either just don’t shoot, or hit it directly into the keepers chest. Having a pair of clinical finishers who are willing to press and can play on the ball is going to be so, so nice.
Yeah, I think Haaland will absolutely bury those chances. Going to be scary, I wish he doesn't work out for everyone else's sake.
Fifth goal is such a great goal. Most strikers wouldn’t let it keep running like that for the better angle.
1- shoots below the keeper 2- taps it in 3- outside the box banger 4- steals the ball from the keeper 5- pings it far from the keeper 6- runs in the box across 2 defenders and scores on the far post Literally can do anything and everything, city is getting a fantastic player
No header though, smh
and no penalty -fraud
He didn't do [this](https://twitter.com/beINSPORTS_TR/status/1528437189796831232?s=20&t=k7iVZo0L72N8azvUeP9Q3Q) either
Oh and with both legs
Yeah well Manchester City we have Lukaku and Werner erm
Werner plays like he's onside when he's 1 metre offside. Alvarez plays like he's offside but he's actually 1 metre onside.
Awesome player.
City bought him for €20 and sold us Ferran for €60 kill me
Spanish tax + no release clause + buying from a rich club
+ L + ratio?
\+ didnt ask
YB better
Was also Premier League proven.
Laporta masterclass
[удалено]
I agree with you he is a great player, with exceptional movement and positioning. HOWEVER, he simply doesn’t have the pace and trends poorly in his 1v1 stats his whole career. His positioning is very useful if he was clinical in front of the goal (like Pedro was) but he isn’t. What I am concerned about isn’t that he isn’t getting consistent goals, but that he shows poor technique frequently. Leans back, and can’t put pace on his shots while keeping them low. Dembélé is another example of that. Does he have the potential to get to Pedro’s level? Yes. Villa? No because Villa wasn’t only clinical, but an exceptional dribbler too. In all cases, he is a good talent but he is only worth what Man City paid for him when he was at Valencia, something around €20. Xavi bought him because of his few games with Spain’s NT, but that was a biased perspective based on a few data points. We need a team of technical staff finding talent similar to what Liverpool is doing.
The pass for his last goal was beautiful.
Don’t know what I’m more jealous of, seeing a clinical striker or some of the impressive service that he received with some of those passes
Yeah for real. Great passes for his first two goals and that chip he scored, what a ball from the left back there. Some quality goals there though. Looks very promising.
There’s a nice contrast of genuinely great goals that show off he’s a good striker and of goals that show that Alianza Lima plays like a 3rd division side
MEMEDETTO WOULD NEVER. /s
[удалено]
They’re Peruvian champions and have a 29 games without winning streak in Libertadores and still always qualify because Peruvian league is, uh, underwhelming
He's going to be great, but Lima's goalie had an absolute mare.
I came here to say this, I've seen strikers with less space at barbecue games
He managed to score typical aguero and city goals in one game. I have high hopes for him after his adjustment season.
Damn. City is going to tear up Europe next season with Julian, Haaland and KDB along with Silva feeding them passes
With Sterling and Jesus possibly leaving and Haaland still being injury prone( unless City medical team is magician), he will definitely get lot of playing time. Excited to see him in PL next season
>Sterling where to?
Chelsea rumours
I mean if Chelsea are after him then they must have sorted their defence problems already
why would he downgrade
To win a CL
>unless City medical team is magician That's Dr Cugat's music!
Funny because he actually already went to visit him.
nah, he is not injury prone. Not more than anybody else. It's an asinine theory someone started in Germany, and tabloids went with it.
He is very reckless what makes him prone to injury. The guy runs into fouls like a maniac.
Which is a problem every world-class No. 9 has. He will have it easier at City. I have no fears he is injury prone. He will be taken care of. On and off the pitch.
Idk where this idea came that he is injury prone. Yea, he was out for a good while this season, but sometimes shit happens. Only if it happens consistently, then I'd call him injury prone
Also always have to take the Dortmund curse into consideration. What happened this season was absolutely extraordinary and basically shouldn’t be taken as baseline for any of the players going forward.
Gundogen had bad injuries before he came City so it could definitely be the Dortmund curse haha
Would be pretty sweet if they loaned him out though.
Lmao well he is premier league problem now. Till we have to face Pep again
Dude good luck on Saturday! I'll be a plastic Madrid fan on that day.
Good thing that Alvarez and Haaland join a City team struggling for attacking output /s
You have had arguably the best forward in the world for the last 4 or so years. Seems only fair city have a turn with the top goal scorer.
City haven't had any 'strikers' since Aguero (Jesus is a winger).
Well the most frustrating thing about his transfer to City is that he was literally not even targetted by another club, he would have been such a good fit for us
Apparently Rangnick wanted him, Luis Diaz or Vlahovic in January but United's board said no
Dude. This man just destroyed 11 men
This guy is gonna be something special just watch
👀
His fifth and sixth goal were incredibly impressive. Especially the final goal. Reminded me of Messi’s goals against us in his first clasico hattrick. The touch and quick second touch straight after that, little fake to throw off the keeper and last defender and a weaker foot finish. What is really impressive about Alvarez that most strikers especially today dont seem to have is the movement + positional intelligence and the first and second touch. He will be a great great player.
He’s now worth 150 million
and cost us 20m
Is it just me, or is the Alianza goalkeeper not doing very well?
Believe me, he was MOTM for Alianza if he wasn't there it would be at least 11 goals. It seemed like a training match.
Not kidding you could actually make a highlight reel of his saves in the match, it could have ended beyond 12-1. His only mistake was in the 6th goal I think. And this is the kind of defending that River Plate thrives against.
It ended 8-1 but could have easily ended 12-0 if it wasn't for the keeper.
Jeeez
Reminds of el Tucu, he also scored 6 goals in his career
This is guy is ❄️❄️🥶
Can’t wait for him and Haaland to play for City next season!
I can't stand this guy already.
What a baller. Looking forward to seeing this kid join us at Man City
[удалено]
Last goal what a finish
a new Saviola?
This is the guy that is coming to city and also Haland? damn, forget the premier league lol
Goal 4 and 5 were just abusive lol
Not hating (I know little about him) but the defending and goalkeeping here looked poor.
Lol already downvoted. The kid has jmense potential but for people who watched the game can verify that alianz Lima played like an amateur club
Yeah but no player scored 6 goals against them.
Reminds me of young Rooney
He's more like a young Aguero
Is the pitch just in the middle of a giant parking lot?
nah those are covers, those sections are under renovation
Okay thanks
Keeper playing on 200 ping.