Posts
If
I could create a footballer...
Head: Cristiano
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
may not be the most likeable of footballers, and his heading ability maybe
isn’t his best asset, but his quality in the air can be staggering at times. He’s
not only got an impressive leap; the power that the Real Madrid forward can put
into his headers is astounding. Ronaldo can run into the box from either wing
and slam home a header or ingeniously flick a header past a flapping goalkeeper
– one of the best header-ers of a football you will ever see.
Brain: Filippo Inzaghi
287 goals in 614 club appearances over a career
spanning twenty years, and still going – Pippo Inzaghi should be showcased as
one of the greats of the modern era. His killer instinct is second-to-none; it
is said that that somewhat-frustrating (for the opposition) ability to be in
the right place at the right time cannot be taught, it is natural. He may have
been born offside, but Inzaghi could read a football match - at least in an
attacking sense - like a book. And a relatively simple book at that.
Eyes:
Xavi
This man gets a lot of plaudits, and rightly so. His
passing is supreme and, with that, his vision to make that pass is, at times,
quite unbelievable. Clearly the Spanish midfielder needs the movement of others
around him to allow him to pick the pass, but it’s the way in which he is
always looking, eyes darting everywhere to try and find a player in space or,
if not, space for him to run into that always amazes me. He does most
football-y things better than most – and using his eyes is certainly one of
them.
Lungs:
Ji Sung Park
Pretty simple this one (and quite a popular choice,
I would imagine) – he’s not called ‘three lungs’ for nothing ya’know. Park just
runs and runs and runs and runs and.. well you get the picture. The South
Korean’s stamina is just incredible and, while his quality was doubted in his
early Manchester United days, he is now seen as a valuable asset to the squad. And
his lungs will be a valuable asset to my perfect player.
Mouth:
David Beckham
I was unsure for who to pick for this body part, so
here’s my thinking: what do you want from a footballer’s mouth, or rather how
would you prefer the player to use his mouth? Loud, abusive and ‘passionate’ to
strike fear into the hearts of the opposition? Or perhaps a quiet player who
reserves judgement unless it is needed, showing respect for his fellow
professionals and generally getting on with his job without mouthing off? To be
honest, I wish that footballers would shut up most of the time, both on and off
the pitch. So I’ve gone with someone who always seems to say the right things
and, although it’s probably all PR-peddled rubbish, at least he’s not a
loudmouth. David Beckham – not a loudmouth.
Left
foot: Alvaro Recoba
I used to love this man growing up and I can still
sit and watch him on YouTube for hours. A deadball
specialist but much more than that, the attacking midfielder
has an absolute wand of a left foot. In fact, that doesn’t do it justice.
What’s better than a wand? A lightsaber? Alvaro Recoba has a lightsaber of a
left foot. This video sums the man up better than I can ever wish to.
Right
foot: Juninho Pernambucano
You
can have your delicately curled free-kicks into the top corner from a certain former-England
captain who isn’t a loudmouth – I’ll take 30-yard-plus rockets into the top
corner every time. Juninho can hit freekicks from anywhere and indeed everywhere.
There are so many highlight reels of the Brazilians’ freekicks you’d think it
would have become tiresome by now – but it hasn’t, and it never will. Here’s
the best one. Smack!
So,
my perfect player would consist of the head of Ronaldo, the brain of Inzaghi,
the eyes of Xavi, the lungs of Park, the mouth of Beckham, the left foot of
Recoba and the right foot of Juninho.
This
piece was originally published on Chronicles of Almunia.
http://15yearoldgooner.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/my-perfect-player-15/
