EPL Talk » Bundesliga

Are the Best Young Players in the World Shunning the EPL?

Sebastian Shepard — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:42:24 +0000

Who are the very best young players in the world? For the purposes of this article, “young players” are those no older than 22.

First there are the obvious: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Alexandre Pato, Francesc Fabregas, Karim Benzema, etc. Their class has been established before this mysterious “young” label vanished, and subsequently they command enormous transfer fees, if their clubs are even willing to part with them. They often aren’t and for good reason. These are players who will win Ballon d’Ors, change Champions League finals in a single play, and will also sell shirts.

Then there is a second tier of young players who might becomes world class, but aren’t quite there yet: Chelsea’s Mikel, Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi, Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil, Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain, etc. Another way of saying this is, although they wouldn’t be guaranteed a starting position on a Champions League final team, they’d at least be on the bench.

Then there’s a third tier of players who are still unpolished and generally unproven, though many people believe they have the quality to go on a to great things. These are players like Inter’s Santon, Everton’s Rodwell, AZ’s Dembele, Palermo’s Pastore, Bayern Munich’s Kroos, or Athletic Bilbao’s Muniain (the new youngest La Liga goalscorer, or “the Spanish Wayne Rooney”).

What strikes me from these lists, which are meant to be totally cursory and by no means inclusive, is the lack of EPL representation. Considering the league has come under fire for “luring youngsters away from the academies that developed them”, why do football’s future luminaries seem to ply their trade on the continent?

Some might say they don’t, and that the best youth in the EPL could easily match Serie A and La Liga’s best young players. Aaron Lennon, Fellaini, Agbonglahor et al, the argument goes, have just as much class.

Teams like Arsenal, Everton, West Ham, and Manchester United have fine traditions of developing youth players into great players. These traditions, especially at Everton currently, look like they’ll continue.

Yet despite Arsenal’s policy of youth, I see few players who will go on to be world class. Fabregas already is, Nasri has a great chance of becoming, and for Jack Wilshire and Aaron Ramsey, it’s too early to tell. But can anyone see Bendtner as Ibrahimovic’s heir, or Denilson as a second Fabregas (or a defensive midfielder, or whatever they want to make him these days)?

In La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, the Eredivisie, and the Bundesliga, these young players have a greater chance of getting lots of playing time and actually being stars.

Would Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic (in my opinion the second best teenager in the world, behind only Pato), have started for Liverpool in the match in which he scored against them?

Probably not, likely because he isn’t good enough to do so. As exciting a prospect as Jovetic, he still could not have replaced Gerrard, Torres, Benayoun, Riera, or Kuyt because he isn’t a better player than any of them. He does, however, have the potential to be better than the last three especially. Yet in Liverpool he would ride the bench this season, just as he would at Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, or Manchester City. He would get chances at smaller clubs, but he wouldn’t taste Champions League football like he does now at Fiorentina.

At the best clubs in the EPL, the competition is too great for young stars to truly break through, it seems. I don’t mean seeing the least four minutes ten games per season, but rather the chance to play 90 minutes regularly.

With the exception of the “predestined” youngsters – the Fabregases and Messis and Rooneys and Ronaldos – the Serie A, La Liga, Eredivisie, and the Bundesliga provide better opportunities.

It seems the youngsters and their agents realize this too. Javier Pastore, Palermo’s 20 year old midfielder, was hesitant to join Manchester United when the rumors were flying because of the lack of minutes. Instead, he opted to join Serie A’s 8th place Palermo. He might have joined a team in the Champions League, but now he gets to play about 30+ games per season, ninety minutes each. His contract lasts until he’s 25, when by then, he could be one of the premier playmakers in the world.

When the “Big Four” come knocking, the theory goes, you don’t turn down the golden opportunity in your career. It’s supposed to be your big chance to break into the national team, to win trophies, and become an elite player. This doesn’t seem to be the case in the EPL, with the exception of the truly greatest.

For simply the good players, let Chelsea’s Saloman Kalou be a warning. When the Blues signed him in 2006, it seemed like the 21-year old could be Chelsea’s Cristiano Ronaldo – a winger who could score lots of goals and dribble past opponents. Instead, he’s gone from promising star to inconsistent substitute, age 24. One can’t help but wonder what might have happened if the Ivorian had opted to join a German, Italian, or Spanish club instead of one of the EPL’s elite and hyper competitive giants. Would the consistent minutes have made him a better player? It’s very possible.

Why The Bundesliga Is Better Than The Premier League

The Gaffer — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:04:47 +0000

Find out why the Bundesliga is better than the Premier League according to blogger Double Pivot, as well as several other interesting articles I’m reading right now. Enjoy.

7 Reasons Why The Bundesliga Is Better Than The EPL (Bundesliga Talk)
Champions League Group Previews: Group A and Group B (Champions League Talk)
How The US Can Learn From Sven (Major League Soccer Talk)
Roma’s Aquilani Joins Forces With Nike (Serie A Talk)
Cuba Outplays US In Havana (World Cup Buzz)
Mickey Thomas: A Cautionary Tale From A Welsh Wizard (The Telegraph)

GolTV Tells Dish Network Customers To Switch

The Gaffer — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:20 +0000

DISH customers can practically kiss their chances goodbye of seeing GolTV back on their satellite provider.

The 24/7 soccer network says that it doesn’t see any compromise with DISH being reached in the near future and is recommending that DISH customers select an alternate source such as DirecTV.

On August 1st, DISH Network dumped GolTV from its lineup after a contract dispute. DISH Network wanted to reduce the amount of money it paid GolTV based on the per subscriber fee. GolTV rightly balked, but due to no agreement being made, the network is still not available on the satellite provider.

Between August 1st and now, plenty of soccer fans nationwide have cancelled their DISH Network subscriptions and signed up with DirecTV instead. Now that both the new La Liga and Bundesliga seasons have kicked off, expect more DISH customers to make the switch to DirecTV.

GolTV leaves open the possibility of a deal being reached with DISH Network to bring the network back to its lineup, but the ball seems to be in DISH’s court. By the time an agreement is reached, if any, the concern will be that the die-hard soccer fans will have already left the network.

Latest League News From U.S., England, Germany, Italy and Europe

The Gaffer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:40:54 +0000

Be sure to visit the whole network of our sites. Some of the interesting topics include:

Kartik Krishnaiyer over at Major League Soccer Talk takes on a controversial topic that very few journalists are brave enough to write about and that’s the cozy relationship between the Mexican Federation and Major League Soccer. Krishnaiyer also discusses U.S. Soccer’s relationship with MLS. Very revealing indeed.
Over at Champions League Talk, Lonnie Smetana has a roundup of the Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifying matches.
Shakira Graham at Championship Talk has an article on the draw for the second round of the Carling Cup.
At Bundesliga Talk, new columnist Double Pivot dissects his predictions for the Bundesliga season and surprises many by what team he’s picking for a third place finish.
Kevin Walker at Serie A Talk discusses The Beast’s move to Roma. The Beast? — better known as Julio Baptista.
What are the chances of HD coming to Fox Soccer Channel anytime soon? Ian Cahir at Soccer On Dish discusses the topic.

GolTV Removed From DISH Network

The Gaffer — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:43:00 +0000

As of August 1, GolTV – the 24/7 soccer network – has been removed from DISH Network due to a contract dispute.

According to GolTV, “this occurs despite efforts to continue GolTV’s availability to Dish customers.” DISH Network, in retort, inserted this message when you hit the INFO button where GolTV’s channel used to be: “GolTV has removed this channel after asking for unreasonable terms to renew the contract and we’re working to solve the problem.”

In the meantime, DISH Network is offering free previews of both Setanta Sports and Fox Sports Espanol to its customers. However, even if DISH Network customers subscribed to Setanta and Fox Sports Espanol, that won’t replace the void that’s left with GolTV gone because GolTV has exclusive license rights in the United States to La Liga and Bundesliga, as well as many 2010 World Cup qualifiers and this weekend’s Emirates Cup featuring Real Madrid, Hamburg, Juventus and Arsenal.

For DISH Network, the decision to remove GolTV is idiotic. Hopefully this a short-term disagreement between GolTV and DISH Network that will be resolved soon, but the timing couldn’t be worse and soccer fans will want to make a decision soon whether to leave DISH Network before the new seasons begin. My gut instinct says that this issue won’t be resolved soon especially when GolTV tells readers on its homepage that “You can find GolTV on our current distribution partners,” which includes DirecTV.

If you love GolTV, my recommendation would be to simply cancel your DISH Network subscription and move to DirecTV where you get GolTV there instead. If you’re upset about the situtation, vote with your dollars by leaving DISH but don’t forget to send them an e-mail too to let them know why you’re cancelling and moving to their biggest competitor.

DISH Network can be contacted here.