Who is he? Where does he play?
He is a Dutch midfielder currently playing in the EreDivisie with Vitesse Arnhem. He is a box-to-box central midfielder with great energy and he bears an uncanny resemblance to the much-hated teen-pop sensation Justin Bieber.
He's more popular than Bieber though?
He is, already a regular in Vitesse's side at the age of 20 having played 41 times over the past year, scoring 12 goals thanks to his Frank Lampard-esque ability to time runs into the box to perfection. He was integral to the Netherlands under-21 side that went to this summer's European Championship in Israel and has 1 cap in Louis Van Gaal's senior team. If that isn't enough, he was also named the 2012-2013 Dutch Football Talent of the Year.
Ah! Pretty good then?
Yes he is, but those smart souls at Vitesse knew that 3 years before us as he was handed his debut in the side aged 17 in April 2010. 3 years later he has clocked over 100 appearances in the engine room for the Vitas and is ready to move on. His ambition is justified too, he boasts an armory of long range and short range passing which allows him to spread raking diagonal balls to stretch play, or even thread clinical through balls to the striker, such is his remarkable vision.
His brilliant control and deft touch means he can spread a pass immediately too, vital for when he is pressed hard by the opposition. His passing ability is indicated by his 1223 completed passes over the course of last season, he very rarely wastes a ball or gives it away.
You make a very good sale...
He's not half bad off the ball either, able to mix it up (to borrow Sunday League terminology) in the midfield with a good tackle, he doesn't back away from the fight. Winning the ball back to distribute it with intelligent vision and reading of the game is his style, though he can just as easily spring into a run forward to move the ball into the attack, he is best deployed in a double pivot system with somebody who can minimise his defensive contribution.
If he's that good, won't he be moving to a major club?
Well.... it's funny you should ask that because, with all due respect to Vitesse, he is on the shopping list of that handsome old ragamuffin Jose Mourinho who has seemingly convinced multi-quasi-ultra-huge billionaire Roman Abramovich to reach behind his sofa to find that spare £8 million to agree a deal with Vitesse. The player will join subject to a medical and will be signed, in all probability, to become a long-term replacement for Frank Lampard. A deep midfielder who can easily move forward, Van Ginkel will add a fresher, younger dimension to Chelsea's aging midfield. He will have to work on his strength though, as this literature points out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Il6Gximnw
Showing posts with label Jose Mourinho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jose Mourinho. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
ALVARO MORATA
Who is he? Where does he play?
Morata is a 20 year old striker currently playing for Real Madrid, or as the uniquely fangled way goes in Spain, the "B" team, home of the big team youngsters trying desperately to catch the eye of the club's manager by playing well in the lower leagues. It looks as though Morata may have done just that though by scoring the vital late winner in Madrid's 1-2 victory at Levante.
Go on.... use that cliche....
"The stuff dreams are made of"? Well, it definitely was for Morata, who was turned to by Mourinho like a weary poker player using his hand in one final act of desperation. With the league title slipping away, "the Special One", shorn of such luminaries as Higuain, Benzema and co. saw Levante's 1-1 and raised them a Morata, sitting quietly on the bench, who duly came on to head the winner with his first touch.
Great stuff! Everybody was happy?
Not really, the political circus of Madrid was never going to embrace the vital contribution of their youthful saviour though was it? Pepe decided to get himself into a fight which kind of marred proceedings, whilst Mourinho was forced to face volatile interrogation as to why he never trusted youth-teamers when one of them had just done such a wonderful thing for him.
We'll just focus on Morata?
We shall, it seems a shame his golden moment was overshadowed, but we'll point out that Morata was always a prolific scorer for the Madrid "Cantera", as they call their bunch of young lads, hitting 34 goals in one season for Madrid C, before his rise to the B team. Mourinho gave him a dabble in professional matches with a few substitute cameos. An injury to Higuain sparked rumours that Morata may be the first Cantera since Iker Casillas to make a breakthrough, but Mourinho shot that down, "he needs to grow up", he said. He hit 14 goals last year for the B team as they won the Segunda Division B title.
He's pretty prolific then?
He knows where the goal is, that's for sure, he was leading scorer in last year's Under-19 European Championships for Spain with 6. He has been compared with ex-Madrid goal-getter Fernando Morientes due to his ruthlessness in front of the onion-bag. His superb movement and ability in the air (as showcased in Levante) make him a nifty front-man with a potential to suggest he will go far, that is if Mourinho disavows his antipathy with the Cantera.
Will he leave Madrid if not?
So soon is unlikely, especially if he can carry the same impact he did on Sunday that has put him in such high regard with Madridistas already. Mourinho is short on attackers too, so Morata may stick it out, he has a chance to finally break the Cantera hoodoo. However, he's a striker, he's unproven in a senior realm, he's not English, he's young, so it has drawn imperative links with.... yes, you've guessed it.... ARSENAL!!!
Morata is a 20 year old striker currently playing for Real Madrid, or as the uniquely fangled way goes in Spain, the "B" team, home of the big team youngsters trying desperately to catch the eye of the club's manager by playing well in the lower leagues. It looks as though Morata may have done just that though by scoring the vital late winner in Madrid's 1-2 victory at Levante.
Go on.... use that cliche....
"The stuff dreams are made of"? Well, it definitely was for Morata, who was turned to by Mourinho like a weary poker player using his hand in one final act of desperation. With the league title slipping away, "the Special One", shorn of such luminaries as Higuain, Benzema and co. saw Levante's 1-1 and raised them a Morata, sitting quietly on the bench, who duly came on to head the winner with his first touch.
Great stuff! Everybody was happy?
Not really, the political circus of Madrid was never going to embrace the vital contribution of their youthful saviour though was it? Pepe decided to get himself into a fight which kind of marred proceedings, whilst Mourinho was forced to face volatile interrogation as to why he never trusted youth-teamers when one of them had just done such a wonderful thing for him.
We'll just focus on Morata?
We shall, it seems a shame his golden moment was overshadowed, but we'll point out that Morata was always a prolific scorer for the Madrid "Cantera", as they call their bunch of young lads, hitting 34 goals in one season for Madrid C, before his rise to the B team. Mourinho gave him a dabble in professional matches with a few substitute cameos. An injury to Higuain sparked rumours that Morata may be the first Cantera since Iker Casillas to make a breakthrough, but Mourinho shot that down, "he needs to grow up", he said. He hit 14 goals last year for the B team as they won the Segunda Division B title.
He's pretty prolific then?
He knows where the goal is, that's for sure, he was leading scorer in last year's Under-19 European Championships for Spain with 6. He has been compared with ex-Madrid goal-getter Fernando Morientes due to his ruthlessness in front of the onion-bag. His superb movement and ability in the air (as showcased in Levante) make him a nifty front-man with a potential to suggest he will go far, that is if Mourinho disavows his antipathy with the Cantera.
Will he leave Madrid if not?
So soon is unlikely, especially if he can carry the same impact he did on Sunday that has put him in such high regard with Madridistas already. Mourinho is short on attackers too, so Morata may stick it out, he has a chance to finally break the Cantera hoodoo. However, he's a striker, he's unproven in a senior realm, he's not English, he's young, so it has drawn imperative links with.... yes, you've guessed it.... ARSENAL!!!
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