dasgutmann's Precious Little Site!

Spent the remaining years in Liverpool, born in La Masia, forged in Bavaria, my favourite post-2012 Spanish midfielder, Thiago Alcântara. Its so sad to see one of your loved player retire. While he will likely succeed with Hansi Flick managing Barca, I will just type something to remember him. Theres more than one reason why he could be the best midfielder of his era, well lets say he just need to compete against his compatriot, Sergio Busquets. A rare breed, complete midfielder, offensively threatening and consistent defensive actions despite never really taking the ball out with the man. His passing level is close to Scholes (no pun intended), received the ball on the left flank near the leftback, then yank it to the unmarked right-winger, jog calmly and wait for rebound, or switchplay. When he cant pings the ball right and left, he would take that all by himself, carrying the ball with finest technique ranging from la croqueta, elastico, sombrero, Cruyff turn, Marseille/roulette turn, step-overs, rabona, you name it. Hell, he even created his own signature move: Thiago turn. And oh boy, he had that touch of silk and one of the sexiest body feint that has defenders praying on their knees. His passing range is unbelievable, he will either pass it short while tricking the other team, or attracting a masses (invite press) before showing tricks upon his sleeve (long range pass) before the crowds shout "O WHAT A BELTER?". I mean, hes Spanish and Brazilian, that fact alone is unfair, but makes sense knowing how great he is. Defensive wise, he wasa very Pirlo-esque, extremely reliant to scanning and game reading, never really there to tackle, but could force an error and intercept it, why he always slots in attacking, high defensive line team? because hes such an intellegent player, he could press and counterpress in autopilot, even when his physicality is his main weakness, the reason why he never really got the spotlight he deserved: injury prone, and now he retired at a considerably young age of 33. Still, I need to be grateful of enjoying such player in this modern age of football. Those who see Thiago plays, will always admire his wizardry, they knew it, and they love it. Gracias, Thiago.

21/07/24