ISSUE ONE - Get French Football News

THE MODERNFOOTBALLERT H E G E T F O O T B A L L P E R I O D I C A L

ISSUE ONE

6 - UP FRONT: A selection of stories fromaround the leagues, in brief.

CONTENTS

18 - Velodrome: Mohammed Ali on FFP issuesfor AVB’s resurgent Marseille.

21 - Il Biscione: Richard Hall talks Inter’srevolution under new ownership.

24 - Dream Team: Adam White compares thesackings of Valverde and Robson.

28 - San Paolo: Raphaël Jucobin worries aboutGattuso's Napoli.

31 - 1970: Adam White hails Leonardo’s returnto PSG as sporting director.

34 - Säbener Strasse: Daniel Pinder champions Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski.

38 - The Old Lady: Sam Brookes sees anopportunity for Matthijs de Ligt.

42 - Galacticos: Kieran Quaile looks atZidane’s second (or third) coming in Madrid.

47 - Yellow Wall: Axel Falk sees issues aheadfor Lucien Favre and Dortmund.

50 - Gerland: Eric Devin is excited aboutLyon’s teenage stars.

58 - Adam White recounts Gary Lineker'sBarcelona days.

54 - Drew Thompson highlights the importanceof Sebastian Deisler.

67 - Adam White on Toulouse's great escapeunder Pascal Dupraz.

63 - Tom Scholes looks back at Calciopoli.

76 - Tom Wiseman confesses his love forAngers and Baptiste Santamaria.

73 - Tom Fenton on the rise of Suat Serdar.

82 - Ryan Plant talks Fede Valverde'sdramatic breakout season.

79 - Sam Brookes profiles Juve new boy DejanKulusevski.

88 - Tom Fenton is in awe of Erling Haaland.

85 - Rich Allen looks back at EduardoCamavinga’s spectacular year.

94 - Kaustubh Pandey compares Sandro Tonalito a couple of AC Milan greats.

91 - Tom Canton evaluates Ferran Torres'chances of a Spain call up.

100 - Kaustubh Pandey likes Marcus Thuram’sattitude, and his celebration.

97 - Cameron O’Mara considers giving JulianBrandt the benefit of the doubt.

103 - WRITERS: A look at every journalist whocontributed this issue. Give them a follow.

A selection of stories from around the

leagues, in brief. Featuring: Chimy,

Rennes, Iličić, Hansi, Getafe, Ferri, Zlatan,

Eintracht, Simeone, Reims, Eriksen,

Rheinderby, Copa del Rey, DF1 & Monaco.

UP FRONT

HEARTBREAK FOR CHIMY ÁVILAHaving signed the Argentine strikerfrom San Lorenzo in the summerof 2019, Osasuna’s Ezequiel ‘Chimy’Ávila has been one of the playersof the season in La Liga. Ávila grewup in Empalme Graneros, a poorneighbourhood in Rosario, aninland port city and home of LionelMessi. The 25-year-old would ridea horse to get to football trainingso his mother could use his busfare to buy food for a family ofnine. Loaned to Segunda Divisionside Huesca from San Lorenzo in2017, he helped the club achievepromotion to the Spanish PrimeraDivision. After swearing that hewould stay on if promotion was

6

secured, San Lorenzo agreed toextend his loan. A host ofspectacular goals and assists madehim a local hero in the northerncity of Huesca and he quicklycaught the eye of Osasuna, earninga €2.7m move. Osasuna sportingdirector, Braulio Vázquez, said:“Chimy was born to play forOsasuna.” A low centre of gravityand thick-set thighs that make himexplosive; he leads the line bypressing hard. In 2019/20 he hasnotched 11 goals, nine in theleague and two in the Copa delRey. That goal-scoring run endedabruptly however when heruptured his ACL in a league matchwith Levante in January.

Disappointingly for Chimy, thatsame week his agent Jorge Bilicichwas in the Camp Nou offices,speaking to club representativesabout a potential €25m move toBarcelona to play alongside hiscompatriot Messi.

Kieran Quaile@kquaile90

RENNES FIND BALANCETwo injury time goals for Rennesgave them a dramatic win in theBreton Derby against rivals Nantesat the end of January. The victoryensured Rennes maintained theirposition in third place after animpressive run of form. After thederby win, Julien Stéphan's sidehad lost just twice in their previous12 Ligue 1 games, winning nine, asthey took the lead in the race tokeep pace with Marseille insecond. Despite the surprise dismissal ofclub president Olivier Létang inFebruary, Stéphan looks to betaking great strides in his push totake the team forwards, havingbeen in the job just over a year.Building on last season’s Coupe deFrance win, the squad has beenmoulded carefully to reap thebenefits of the famous Rennesacademy. Of the 14 players who

were involved in a recent gameaway at Nice, eight were academyplayers. Eduardo Camavinga hasobviously taken the plaudits thisseason, but the likes of AdrienHunou and Yann Gboho havemade their marks too. Stéphan hasbeen all too aware of the need toadd experience to this group oftalented youngsters. DefendersDamian Da Silva and Jérémy Morelplus recent loan signing and WorldCup winner Steven Nzonzi certainlyadd that. When mixed with otherestablished players such asBenjamin Bourigeaud, M’BayeNiang and Édouard Mendy, it lookslike a squad in good shape. Vital toany coach is an element of goodfortune and with goals in the 93rdand 97th minute against Nantes, togo with late winners againstToulouse, Saint-Étienne and Lyonrecently, it is clear Stéphan hasmanaged to keep luck on his side.Whilst performances might nothave been at the absolute top levelyet, Rennes results have been onthe whole more consistent thanmost and, although Monaco andLille are right with them, therealistic reward of Champions'League football is looking less andless of a pipe dream for the Bretonside.

Rich Allen@rich_allen85

7

up front

ILIČIĆ FINALLY GETS CREDITAtalanta have been the feel goodstory of Italian football in recenttimes. A relatively small club thathas shot to prominence playing abrand of attacking football that canonly be admired. At the heart oftheir rise has been Josip Iličić. Theforward arrived in Bergamo in thesummer of 2017 having impressedat Fiorentina and Palermo. Yetthere were still questions aboutwhether he could find theconsistency to take his game to thenext level. He has answeredemphatically. It is not easy to stand out in thisAtalanta side. With AlejandroGómez shining on the left wing andDuván Zapata becoming a goalscoring machine since joining in2018, Iličić could be forgiven forstruggling to make his mark. Thathas not been the case at allthough. Having scored 11 goals in hismaiden Serie A campaign forAtalanta, he followed that up with afurther 12 last season, and at timeof writing already has 14 goals with16 games remaining this year.When Zapata was forced to sit onthe sidelines for three monthsthrough injury, Iličić stepped up,ensuring that Atalanta remainedfirmly in the hunt for a Champions'

League places once more. Hisrecent hat-trick against Torino in a7-0 win drew widespread attentionas he netted a free-kick from thehalfway line. An extraordinary pieceof improvisation, but that is simplywhat Iličić does, and more andmore people are starting to takenotice. As a 32-year-old, Iličić isfinally starting to get the plauditsthat his undoubted talent has longdeserved.

Sam Brookes

@FRcalcioSam HANSI HERE TO STAY?“We have a good relationship withhim, his tactical and footballingknowledge is at a high level and, in ashort time, he has shown us what wecan do to improve our play,” saidRobert Lewandowski about HansiFlick when he took interim chargeof Bayern Munich. Germany’sformer assistant coach hascertainly earned the respect ofBayern Munich players during hisshort tenure in charge of theBundesliga club and it wouldn’t betoo far-fetched to say he couldoversee the club beyond thisseason. The 54-year-old lost just two of hisfirst 15 games in charge of Munichin all competitions whilst he’s re-energised this side who looked lost

8

THE MODERN FOOTBALLER: ISSUE ONE

under former coach Niko Kovač.Flick has established a possessionbased game, re-installing a Mia SanMia (the club motto, meaning: ‘weare who we are’) mentality backinto the squad. Bayern’s compactmidfield of Joshua Kimmich, ThiagoAlcântara and a fit again LeonGoretzka has allowed AlphonsoDavies to flourish at left-back -another master stroke from Flick.He’s getting the best out ofThomas Müller too, somethingKovač failed to achieve. Under Flick, Bayern haven’tstruggled to find the net and thegoals are shared across the teamdespite what Lewandowski’s tallythis season may suggest. Over thecourse of Flick’s first 15 games,Bayern found the net on 48occasions, beginning Flick's tenurewith four consecutive clean sheets– including a 4-0 win over DerKlassiker rivals Borussia Dortmund.Flick’s Bayern are on the chargeonce more.

Daniel Pinder@DanielJPinder

GETAFE CONTINUE TO SHOCKHaving won the Segunda division in2016 and returned Alavés to thePrimera for the first time in tenseasons, José Bordalás was sackedamid tension with the club's board.

Having not previously managed inLa Liga, Bordalás developed areputation as a second tierspecialist. Four years later, havingrepeated the feat with Getafe -returning the Madrid outfit to LaLiga at the first attempt - theChampions' League now awaits. When Bordalás took charge inSeptember 2016, the Madrid clubwere second bottom of the seconddivision but, incredibly, at the startof February this year Bordalás’band of misfits and unwantedjourneymen sat third in La Liga.This was no fluke. On the final dayof last season the unfashionableGetafe spent 20 glorious minutesinside the top four. AlthoughValencia eventually squeezed themout, this season their form hascontinued unchecked despitejuggling a successful EuropaLeague campaign. Although Getafe are accused ofbeing an overly aggressive,streetwise and fiercely functionalunit, their results are astonishing.Especially when considering they’veachieved their success with the16th biggest budget in La Liga (asof last season) and with the mosteclectic group of players.Uruguayan midfielder MauroArambarri was unwanted byBordeaux but is now an ever

9

up front

CLUBS

MARSEILLE

INTER

BARCELONA

NAPOLI

PSG

JUVENTUS

BAYERN MUNICH

REAL MADRID

DORTMUND

LYON

18

21

24

28

31

34

38

42

47

50

INTER'S old President MassimoMoratti, either got it wrong orcould not afford to address thefacts. Inter’s treble winning team of2010 was the end of an era, notthe beginning. A decade on fromthose incredible scenes in Madrid,it is only now that the Nerazzurrifinally believe they can breakJuventus’ stranglehold on Serie A.Even more than this, they havefaith, that, with one or two moretransfer windows, they could evenpush deep into Europe’s elitecompetition. What has changed?Arguably, everything. Ownership of a club can only affectso much. When Moratti eventuallyparted with his family club in 2013- his father was president between1955 and 1968 - the Indonesianbusinessman Erick Thohir, tried tobuild a club of the future but failed.His choice in sporting directors andcoaches as well as his transfer

policy all failed and produced someof the worst Inter teams in recentyears. Eventually, Suning Holdings Groupand Chairman Steven Zhang, tookcontrol of the club. The marketing,PR and structure improved, theyhad to battle financial fair play yetthey knew, if they succeeded, theeconomic power behind the groupwas immense. Perhaps theshrewdest move came when Zhanghired Beppe Marotta as CEO forsport. The ex-Juventus executiveknew how to win - he had theblueprint. Moratta only wanted one man.Whilst Luciano Spalletti had donean incredible job by getting Interinto the Champions' League, hehad run out of ideas and oversaw adisunited and fractious squad.Enter stage left, Antonio Conte. Theserial Serie A winner and champion

21

IL BISCIONEInter Milan have been reborn. An arduous

decade has culminated in a new and exciting

side, a revamped project and a promising future.

RICHARD HALL: INTER'S NEW DAWN

of the Premier League, adisciplinarian with a clear idea ofhow to play and how to act. The change was immediate. Allteams, from the primavera to thefirst team to the kids, would all playa version of his iconic 3-5-2. Contetoo immediately identified the ‘badapples’ and axed the likes of IvanPerišić and Mauro Icardi. Bothwere exiled on loan, despite beingtwo of the club’s best players, buthe didn’t care and Marotta wasright behind him. Now Conte wasable to recruit players with tacticalknowledge, intensity and work rate.The results have spoken forthemselves. There was one more thing thatConte and his team wanted tochange. The culture of the club.Inter have been walking out to thesong ‘Pazza Inter Amala’ for years.Conte wanted to take the crazy outof the Nerazzurri. After all, theMilanese’s best periods in theirhistory have come when they havebeen organised and efficient. Thereigns of Helenio Herrera, GiovanniTrapattoni, and José Mourinho aretestament to this. No longer wouldMoratti be splashing money onexciting front men whilst neglectingthe back. That was the old Inter,the new one will be modern,exciting and they would fight. The

proof of this was in rocketingattendances. A corner had beenturned. Recruitment as mentioned, hasalso been improved. RomeluLukaku perhaps being the symbolof this. Reborn under Conte, hisrelationship with Lautaro Martínezis an extra benefit that has broughtgoals. Loan deals and big moneyhave brought in quality. AlexisSánchez, Nicolò Barella, ChristianEriksen, Stefano Sensi and DiegoGodín are just some of the arrivalsthat have impressed. Conte hasbeen vocal about a deep squadand even Ashley Young and VictorMoses have been brought in asback up in January and have lookedimpressive early on. Now they areclose on the heels of Juventus andare putting up a serious fight forthe Scudetto. The Marotta blueprint has put theNerazzurri into overdrive. Aninteresting element for this newInter is that Suning were rankedsecond among China's top 500private enterprises in 2018. Thismeant that they had an annualrevenue of ¥557.875bn(approximately €77bn). As a resultthe Milanese will be able tocompete with anyone in Serie A,and most foreign clubs, in thetransfer market.

22


The future is bright. Thetransformation has been longawaited and you can sense theexcitement in the city. Football isfashionable again, Inter are on the

verge of becoming a European eliteclub once more and a decade ofdiscontent may soon be forgotten.

Richard Hall@RichHall80

23

Inter Milan Seasons Since 2010 Treble

SEASON

10/11

11/12

12/13

13/14

14/15

15/16

16/17

17/18

18/19

SERIE A

2nd

6th

9th

5th

8th

4th

7th

4th

4th

POINTS

76

58

54

60

55

67

62

72

69

COPPA

WINNERS

QF

SF

R16

QF

SF

QF

QF

QF

EUROPE

CL - QF

CL - R16

EL - R16

-

EL - R16

-

EL - GROUPS

-

CL - GROUPS

RICHARD HALL: INTER'S NEW DAWN

"FOR the worst coach in the world,it’s going really well.” Whistles after6-0 wins, constant criticism fromthe press over a lack of identityand his sarcasm aside, BobbyRobson was right. It was going well.The English coach secured a CupWinners’ Cup triumph, won theSpanish Super Cup and ledBarcelona to one of their greatestever victories - at least in anemotional sense - as they lifted theCopa del Rey at the Bernabeu. TheCatalan club’s famous anthemblared over the speakers at thehome of their eternal rivals amidwild celebrations. But Robsonsurvived just one season as Barçamanager. The problem wasobvious - he wasn’t Johan Cruyff. With Louis Van Gaal hovering andthe club’s intention to shuffleRobson upstairs after the 1996/97campaign a long-standing one, theEnglishman’s ousting was public,

brash and rather disrespectful.Robson’s success had becomeirrelevant, it was the method ofthat success that proved pivotal.Building on his spell as a Barcelonaplayer in the 70's under thesimilarly influential Dutch coachRinus Michels, Cruyff’s playing styleproved revolutionary as his ‘DreamTeam’ won the club’s firstEuropean Cup in 1992. DuringCruyff’s eight year reign as coach,Barcelona’s identity becameevermore fiercely entrenched andintrinsic to the club's ideology.Although Barça were trophy-lessfor the final two years of Cruyff'sreign, Robson - perceived as oldfashioned in Spain - could neverstand up to Cruyff’s legend. Although Robson was regarded asa father figure by many of hisplayers - including Ronaldo Nazário- liked by those at the club andhandled himself with dignity

24

DREAM TEAMAlthough more than two decades apart, the

sackings of Ernesto Valverde and Bobby Robson

raised many of the same questions at Barcelona.


throughout, he simply becamecollateral damage in the Barcelonahierarchy's desperate search for anideological successor to Cruyff.Although often at odds personallywith Cruyff, Van Gaal’s style wasmore suited to Barcelona’s identitybut, despite claiming the next twoleague titles - although neitherpoints total came close to the 90point haul under Robson - furtherChampions' League success wasnot forthcoming. The droughteventually lasted fourteen yearsand eight further managerialappointments. More than two decades later,Barcelona found themselves at asimilar crossroads. A successful,dignified coach, adored by many ofhis players but berated for a lack ofphilosophy by fans and media,unceremoniously and publiclysacked with his team leading LaLiga. Ernesto Valverde’s finaltraining session must have been asurreal experience. He, like hisplayers and the rest of the world,knew that Xavi Hernández - theembodiment of the philosophy ofPep Guardiola, Cruyff’s truesuccessor - had refused thechance to replace him. Valverdealso knew Netherlands coachRonald Koeman - iconic scorer ofthe only goal in the 92 final andCruyffian disciple - had also said no

with Euro 2020 on the horizon.And he knew that third choiceQuique Setién was all butconfirmed as his sucessor. After two disastrous Champions'League collapses to Roma andLiverpool, the 3-2 Spanish SuperCup semi-final loss (Barça had led2-1 with ten minutes left) toAtlético Madrid accelerated theclub’s plans to replace Valverdenext summer. Although he hadsomewhat miraculously survivedthe last off-season, Valverde, likeRobson, had always been on theedge. He too has long beencriticised by more puritanical fansand journalists for not strictlyadhering to that intrinsic Cruyffianphilosophy despite capturing thelast two La Liga titles. Valverde’smain problem? He wasn’t PepGuardiola. Nearly twenty three years apart,the dismissals of Valverde andRobson raise the same question.What’s more important; winning orplaying well? Despite being a coachwho failed with mid-table Real Betislast term, Setién's style of play hasled many a Barcelona traditionalistto champion him for some time.Perhaps illustrating that winning isless important than widespread ireover a lack of recent Europeansuccess had suggested.

25

ADAM WHITE: VALVERDE AND ROBSON

Transversely, despite the Messi-Suárez-Neymar trio hitting formplus the likes of Andrés Iniesta andSergio Busquests in their prime,Luis Enrique was also painted as amore direct, vertical and pragmaticcoach but his first season treble in2015 bought him time and capitalhe likely wouldn’t have beenafforded otherwise. Although it may be perfectlyunderstandable for a club likeBarcelona to demand both styleand success, there has to be someelasticity between the two andsome recognition that both canrely on factors besides managerialgenius. For example, although theirpioneering status is undeniable,Cruyff and Guardiola both enjoyedoutstanding generations of players;Koeman, Laudrup, Stoichkov andGuardiola (the player) versus

Messi, Iniesta, Piqué and Xavi.Valverde meanwhile has sufferedwith frustrating returns from threenine figure signings; OusmaneDembélé, Philippe Coutinho and, tosome extent, Antoine Griezmann.Not to mention the decline ofIniesta, Luis Suárez and Busquets.The extent to which Robson’ssuccess (and also, intriguingly, perhaps even his lack of style) isdown to translator/assistant coachJosé Mourinho’s embellishment ofhis instructions when relayingthem to his players is also open todebate. Although Barcelona’s labyrinthinemesh of political, sporting andideological motivations beyond therelative status of Cruyff andGuardiola, such as Madrid’s relativeEuropean success, contributed to

26

'More than two decades later, Barcelona

found themselves at a similar crossroads.

A successful, dignified coach, adored by

many of his players but berated for a lack

of philosophy by fans and media,

unceremoniously and publicly sacked.'


both dismissals to varying degrees,the worst thing that happened toValverde and, earlier, Robson wasstill Guardiola and Cruyff. AlthoughRobson boldly stated at his firstBarcelona press conference: “I amnot afraid to follow him. When thepresident of the United States leaves,they have to get another president ofthe United States.” he later wrotethat Cruyff still “haunted my earlydays” at the Nou Camp. Future Barcelona coaches will feelthe same pressure. Although thatdevotion to style is admirable andinexorably linked to the club, thesuccesses of the likes of Robson

and Valverde shouldn’t be soswiftly dismissed in favour of amaniacal search for the nextGuardiola or Cruyff. Although manyBarça fans celebrated the exit ofValverde, he came closer than theyseem to recall to UCL success. Asimple square ball from Dembéléto Messi in the final seconds of thefirst leg of last year's ChampionsLeague semi-final and Barcelonawould have gone to Anfield with a4-0 advantage. Psychologically aninsurmountable lead? Maybe. Whatis for sure is that another fourteenyear wait would be a disaster.

Adam White@_Adam_White_

27

Select Barcelona Coaches

MANAGER

Cruyff

Robson

Guardiola

Valverde

GAMES

430

60

247

145

WIN %

58.1

65

72.5

66.9

TROPHIES

11

3

14

4

LIGAs

4

0

3

2

Trophies include Super Cups.

ADAM WHITE: VALVERDE AND ROBSON

THE MODERN FOOTBALLERTHE GET FOOTBALL PERIODICAL - ISSUE ONE

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OVER 100 PAGES

DEDICATED CLUB COLUMNS

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DIESLER AND DESPRESSION

LINEKER AT BARCELONA

CALCIOPOLI, 14 YEARS ON

TOULOUSE'S GREAT ESCAPE

FEATURES

54

58

63

67

More Than

A Distant

Memory

WHAT FOOTBALL CAN LEARN FROM the story of SEBASTIAN DEISLER.

THE annals of football history arelittered with stories of what couldhave been. We can all cite formerplayers who showed powersbeyond understanding, but neverquite made it for one reason oranother. Everyone remembersDenílson during his time at RealBetis; how he dazzled with hissheer mastery of a football. Therewas also Ricardo Quaresma, whosome thought to possess evengreater potential than CristianoRonaldo. There are other names aswell, both in recent memory andfrom days gone by, but one inparticular will be remembered inGermany rather well; SebastianDeisler. Born in the foothills of the Black

Forest in the small city of Lörrach,Deisler began his footballingeducation like most other kids, fora small local side (FV Tumringen) atthe age of five. After further stintswith TuS Stetten and FV Lörrach,Deisler signed with BorussiaMönchengladbach when he was15. His introduction to top levelfootball came at the age of 18,when Deisler made his debut forGladbach in 1998. After makingseventeen appearances andbagging one goal in the process, hewould move on to Hertha Berlinthe following summer afterGladbach failed to avoid relegation.Unknowingly, his second season ofprofessional football would be a

54


harbinger of things to come. As his reputation in Germanfootball continued to grow - asevidenced by being capped at allGerman youth levels by 1999 -Deisler was hit with his first seriousinjury; a cruciate ligament rupture.It would not be the last time hewould lay on a treatment table. Justa year later, Deisler tore musclefiber in his knee during the2000/01 ruckrunde, leading to oneof the most turbulent periods ofhis career the following season. By now he was being hailed as oneof a new generation of Germanfootballers; players who weremeant to push the nation forwardin the new millennium. It was thispotential and subsequentexpectations and pressure placedon him that he would struggle withdown the road. In October 2001 he suffered acapsular tear that would keep himout of contention for 25 matchesfor Hertha until March of 2002.After recovering, disaster wouldbefall him yet again; this time,damaged cartilage would result inDeisler being sidelined for thelongest single period in his career. Despite being injured, it would notstop him from completing a move

to Bayern Munich in the Summerof 2002. Even if, once recovered, itwas presumed that he would notbe able to reach his full potentialwhile with the Bavarians. 259 dayslater, and now a Bayern player,Deisler was finally able to try andestablish himself and make goodon his potential. He would neverbe successful in this endeavour. The following season he yet againtore muscle fibers and, despitebeing unavailable for only four ofBayern’s fixtures, the mental andemotional strain he began to sufferon account of these recurringinjuries and being under pressureto deliver as a player began tomanifest itself in a serious strugglewith depression that wouldeventually spell the end of hiscareer. After months of treatment, hewould yet again return to playingduties for Bayern. But the storylinewould only read more heartbreakas he - yet again - suffered anotherserious knee injury, making himunavailable for over 240 days. Onemonth after finally recovering, afinal muscle tear would be the lasthe would allow himself to suffer. Atjust 27 years of age, during hisprime playing years, SebastianDeisler retired from football in2007. Citing exhaustion and not

55

DREW THOMPSON: DEISLER AND DEPRESSION

being able regain confidence in hisability to stay fit, Deisler onlylogged 195 appearances in acareer that spanned nine seasons. Two years later, Hannover 96 andGerman international keeperRobert Enke committed suicide.His wife later confirmed that he toohad been suffering fromdepression ever since the death ofhis daughter three years prior.Though not tied to football, Enke’sdeath was not taken lightly; theseriousness of depression amongprofessional footballers was soonto come to the fore. Many other high-profile footballershave come out about theirstruggles with mental health in theyears since. Gianluigi Buffon, AaronLennon, Andrés Iniesta, DannyRose, Michael Carrick, EmmanuelEboué, and Francesco Acerbi arejust a handful of footballers at thehighest level that have spokenabout depression and mentalhealth awareness. Some havesuffered because of injuries, othersbecause of personal issues and theloss of family, but all cases arecompounded by the pressures offootball at the top level. Paul Merson and Paul Gascoignemeanwhile, two iconic Englishfootballers of decades past, both

struggled with depression andalcoholism that took years tocontrol, if it could be controlled atall. And of course, the tragic deathof Gary Speed just two years afterEnke’s. Deisler is lucky, but also deservesan enormous amount of credit forputting his well-being before asense of service that many playershave regarding their club and it’ssupporters. He would later remark;“I always repressed things andthought: ‘the club needs me toperform.’ It could not continue likethis.” During his ascendancy, the littletime that we were graced byDeisler’s presence on the pitch wasexciting. Supremely gifted on theball, ahead of his time, and hypedto the point where he was dubbedthe saviour of German football,Deisler's is a cautionary tale of thepressures of the modern game. He would later reflect upon hismove from Hertha to Bayern, andhow he was not shielded fromtargeted abuse while highlightingthe role of Bayern director UliHoeneß. “Instead he [Hoeneß] stoodby and watched as I was houndedout of Berlin. That’s what began tospoil my view of football. That wasmy shot in the neck. I know today

56


that that’s the point at which I shouldhave stopped.” Supporters and clubs alike so oftenforget that, though they appear tobe superheroes to young and old,footballers are very much human.The constant spotlight, theconstant attention, and neverhaving a moment's peace -whether you are performing or not- has been an issue for decades.Deisler’s tale was one of the first totruly bring these issues to light. After Deisler’s retirement, Hoeneß,the man who failed to protect oneof his own, would remember anopportunity missed; “He is one ofthe best players Germany has everproduced and therefore it is sodifficult to comprehend. However, wehave lost this battle.” FranzBeckenbauer would also weigh inin the wake of Deisler’s decision tohang up his boots, commenting onhis personality as a potential cause;“Deisler came to our club anextremely introverted person. Butnobody could have predicted that itwould have turned out to be apsychological problem.” But this isn’t just a tale of despair,disappointment, and pain. Whenthinking of Sebastian Deisler,consider just how gifted he was.Once described as “physically and

technically the best player inGermany” by Beckenbauer, and byRudi Völler as a player who “wouldbe influential for Germany for tenyears,” Deisler’s career path shouldbe celebrated all the same. Though he may not have reachedthe dizzying heights that many hadpredicted him to hit, SebastianDeisler remains one of the mostinfluential footballers of hisgeneration. He showed what couldbe possible in a period of footballthat was in desperate need of arefit. He showed us all what was tocome.

Drew Thompson@FMLehrer

57

DREW THOMPSON: DEISLER AND DEPRESSION

PROFILES

SERDAR

SANTAMARIA

KULUSEVSKI

VALVERDE

CAMAVINGA

HAALAND

TORRES

TONALI

BRANDT

THURAM

73

76

79

82

85

88

91

94

97

100

ANGERS are known as a club that,using their specialised andsophisticated scouting network,have have an impressive recordrecruit talented players fromFrench lower league clubs. Thesetalents nestle under the wing ofmanager Stéphane Moulin whoseexperience in developing youngplayers is similarly highly regarded.The club has a profile based oncontinuity in almost every aspectfrom coach Moulin, a formerplayer, who has been back at theclub since 2005 and the first teamcoach since 2011, to GeneralManager, Olivier Pickeu, also at thehelm since 2005, and his brother,Benoît, serving as fitness coach foralmost as long. This continuity trope permeatesinto the squad as well. The currentstarting defence and goalkeeperhas cost the club a grand total ofzero in transfer fees and all, apartfrom 18-year-old academy gradRayan Aït Nouri, started in the 2-0victory in round one of the2015/16 season, the club’s first

game back in France’s top flight fortwo decades. This is a rareachievement in modern footballbut cannot be sustained forever.While Moulin’s tactics and setupcan mask some of the individualdeficiencies of the defenders,Baptiste Santamaria is the primaryreason that the defence hasenjoyed such longevity. Operating as the midfield pivot in a4-1-4-1, Santamaria is the sentinelin black and white. The 24-year-oldis one of the best midfielders inFrance, his athletic endurancealone has earned him thenickname “4X4”. With a passion forhorse riding, Santamaria’s staminaand endurance levels must havebeen inspired by his own racehorse, Déesse de Bouillon. In the2018/19 season, no player coveredmore distance than the Frenchmanas he averaged 11.65km per matchand this season he continued inthat same trend. A hard working and organised side,Angers players are always high in

BaptisteSantamaria

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these types of athletic rankings butSantamaria is the jewel in theircrown. However, it is not allmindless chasing of the ball. Whilehe can be bettered in a one on onetake on it is his ability to makerecovering tackles and snuff outdanger that protects the defence.His defensive role is primarily tostop incoming attacks but he tendsnot to overly commit and becaught out of place or give away afoul in the defensive half. Acrosshis four seasons with Angers hehas fouled less often than he hasbeen fouled (1.3 per 90 minutes to1.4), he has never received a redcard and only been handed 11yellow cards. It is not only his defensive andathletic abilities that continue toimprove, Santamaria’s passing hasalways been centred aroundkeeping the flow of possessionsmooth and comfortable. He haskept these principles whiledeveloping into an astute longpasser of the ball, able to switchplay with ease and when underpressure. Santamaria has becomethe prime source of distribution ina double pivot alongside veteranmidfielder, Thomas Mangani. Even as a defensive midfielder,there have been times whereSantamaria takes it upon himself to

drive up field with the ball at hisfeet and draw players towards him.Previously used as a winger beforejoining the western outfit fromTours, his solid dribbling ability haslent itself well to this task. Now, asa concrete tackler, he knows howto read defensive actions andmakes himself difficult todispossess without being cutdown. There is almost never a drop inperformance from game to gamefrom Santamaria, his consistency isone of his assets that people tendto forget about. Since joining theclub in the summer of 2016 he hasonly missed seven league games.No outfield player in Ligue 1 hasmissed fewer in that time. Despiteall the incomings and sales atAngers over the years, he hasremained the cornerstone of theclub’s over-performance. There was interest in the summerfrom a host of clubs. Aston Villamade a €10m bid and offered fourtimes his current wage, but Angersrejected this wanting more. Napoliwere also reportedly an interestedparty. It is common to see aplayer’s performances and theirintensity drop after failing to gettheir desired transfer but there hasbeen no sign of this whatsoever.Still, this will almost certainly be his

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TOM WISEMAN: BAPTISTE SANTAMARIA

last season at the club, withSantamaria stating in recentinterviews that he would like toplay at a higher level. Recent interest from Atalantareflects the notion that the 24-year-old deserves to be playingwith a club in either Europeancompetition. Angers will most likelyaim to receive around €16m forhim, a very reasonable fee for aplayer who has never had any

injury problems and has gainedfour full seasons of experience inthe French top flight, developinginto one of the most underratedmidfielders across the continent.Replacing him will be a hard taskfor Moulin, Pickeu and therecruitment team. But if anyonecan do it, Les Scoistes can.

Thomas Wiseman@WYSAF1

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"It is true that it was aspecial period and I waswell highlighted in the

transfer market, but I wasnot destabilised. Quite thecontrary. It motivated meto keep giving my best."

- Baptiste Santamaria on his good formresulting in links to the Premier League.


NO matter the size of theachievement, there will always bedetractors. Score 12 league goalsin 25 games as a 17-year-old? Wellit’s only the Norwegian league.Score nine goals in one game? It’sonly the Under 20 World Cup.Become the third youngest playerto score a Champions' League hat-trick? It's only against Genk. Nowthough, the penny finally seems tohave dropped. As Erling BrautHaaland tore his way through hisfirst four opponents in Germany,scoring eight times in the process,few were doubting the talent theywere witnessing this time. It seems safe to suggest thatHaaland really isn’t your average19-year-old. Here stands a forward,who is not only 6’4, but is alsostrong as an ox and can beat adefender for pace. Such is his size,that former team-mates dubbedHaaland the 'man-child'; notmaliciously, but because he wasbaby-faced with the accompanyingframe of a comic book villain. Whena teenage striker is blessed with

just about every physical attributeyou could hope for, big things arealways going to be expected of himfrom the outset. This is especiallytrue, given that Erling is the son offormer Leeds United defender Alf-Inge Haaland. The Dortmund starwas actually born in the city ofLeeds in 2000 - but it was back inhis father’s native country ofNorway that the younger Haalandtook his first tentative steps intothe professional ranks. He started out at the relativelysmall Bryne FK, a second divisionside, where he would feature 16times for the senior team withoutregistering a goal. It’s interesting tonote that, despite being earmarkedfor the top from an early age,Haaland wasn’t especially prolificduring the early years of his career.A £100k move to Norwegian giantsMolde FK followed in 2017, wherehe would again make a modeststart, scoring twice in 14 leagueappearances. It wasn’t long beforeHaaland would announce himselfhowever, with the following season

ErlingHaaland

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proving to be a defining one.Under the stewardship of managerand childhood hero Ole GunnarSolskjær, Haaland took the leagueby storm, scoring 12 times in 25Eliteserien games. A record likethat, from a player yet to celebratehis 18th birthday, hadn’t goneunnoticed – the notoriouslyshrewd RB Salzburg were alreadywaiting in the wings. The decision to join RB Salzburgwas, on the face of it, a simple one.Few clubs are capable of honingyoung talent better than theAustrian outfit, who in recent yearsalone have developed the likes ofSadio Mané, Naby Keïta, MarcelSabitzer, Dayot Upamecano andmany more. They are the mastersof signing promising young playersfrom foreign academies anddeveloping them, before finallyselling them on for a hefty fee afew years down the line. Haalandwas the latest low risk gamblemade by RB, who paid €8m for theyoung forward – a relatively smalloutlay, if the move panned out asexpected. Once again, Haaland got off to asolid, but ultimately modest, startto life in Austria. He played just fivetimes in his first six months at theclub, in large part, due to the formof regular forwards, Hee-Chan

Hwang and Moanes Dabour. Hewas going to have to bide his time.Then, in the summer of 2019,came the perfect opportunity forthe 18-year-old to showcase histalent to the RB hierarchy, andindeed to the wider world. TheUnder 20 World Cup gave him achance to follow in the footsteps ofPaul Pogba, Riccardo Orsolini andFikayo Tomori, who all used thestage to their advantage inprevious editions. While his Norwegian side largelyfailed to impress, Haaland mostcertainly lays claim to thecompetition's most memorablemoment. In the history books,Haaland is listed as the 2019 topscorer, what that neglects tomention though is that all nine ofhis goals came in just one game,against Honduras - his ruthlessfinishing ability and razor sharppenalty box instincts going intooverdrive. He returned to RB following thathistoric summer for what wouldprove to be another ground-breaking campaign. His leagueform was imperious, with 16 goalsin 14 Austrian league appearances,a staggering record for even themost seasoned forwards. But itwas Haaland’s Champions' Leagueform that would truly astound

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TOM FENTON: ERLING HAALAND

onlookers. Eight goals in fourgames, including a superb hat-trickagainst Genk, caught the attentionof the entire footballing world. Hebecame the third youngest playerin Champions League history (afterRaúl González and Wayne Rooney)to score three in one game. Bynow, the jury was in. Haaland was astar in the making. Before long, Europe’s biggest clubswere beating a path to agent MinoRaiola’s door. It may be Haaland’sultimate dream to win the PremierLeague one day, but he resistedadvances from England in favour ofthe club most likely to take hisgame to the next level – BorussiaDortmund. Signing for €20m at theend of December, it is a deal thathas the potential to radically alterthe futures of both player and club.For Dortmund, he may finally be anumber nine capable of emulatingthe likes of Robert Lewandowskiand Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.Haaland meanwhile gets to play fora club with a remarkable trackrecord of turning raw potential intoworld class ability - Jadon Sanchobeing just the latest example.

Haaland possesses just aboutevery attribute needed to succeedat the highest level. As we’vealready seen in his opening BVBsalvo, he’s powerful, quick, has aneye for goal, and makes intelligentruns between the posts. In hisleague debut at Augsburg, Haalandprovided a stunning late cameo,the young Norwegian internationalscoring a rapid fire, counterattacking hat-trick. Contrastingly, a week later at homeagainst Union Berlin, the strikerproved to be just as effectiveagainst a low block defence. Theearly signs are ominous – nomatter the scenario, he alwaysscores. Weaknesses remain, as hestill plays with the degree ofrawness one might expect from a19-year-old but if he continues toimprove at the current rate, the skyreally is the limit for the Leeds bornsensation. The future is bright forHaaland – and, for now at least, thefuture is yellow.

Tom Fenton@Tomfenton11

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"It's f****** boring. I'm bored now.How bored on a scale of 1 to 10? 9.9."

- Erling Haaland on tiresome transfer rumours.


WRITERSAdam White is a European football writer, covers French football for theGuardian, is Chief Features Writer at Get French Football News, FootballRadar's Senior Ligue 1 Analyst and editor/designer of this publication.@_Adam_White_

Mohammed Ali is a freelance writer for several publications includingGoal, GFFN and the Evening Standard among others. @mohammedali_93

Raphaël Jucobin is an aspiring journalist currently based in London,studying a degree in modern languages and writing about Europeanfootball. @rafajuc

Cameron O'Mara is a neutral Bundesliga fan, although admittedlycharmed by the Black and Yellow Wall, hoping to bring the latest Germanfootball news to fans around Europe. @Cameron_OMara

Kieran Quaile is Editor-in-Chief at Get Spanish Football News. A fan ofSpanish football, he is based in Madrid and regularly attends La Ligamatches. @kquaile90

Ryan Plant has followed La Liga since being inspired by Real Madrid'sGalácticos. He has watched and reported on football around Europe forsome of the UK's biggest outlets and clubs, and has a rapidly-growingfootball shirt collection which includes both Barcelona and Real MadridRonaldo strips. @ryanplant1998

Sam Brookes is a senior football analyst, whose focus is on Italy's topdivision, Serie A. He has covered the league since June 2017. @FRcalcioSam

Tom Fenton is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor at GetGerman Football News. He also writes for the likes of ESPN FC, AVTP andThe Video Analyst. @Tomfenton11

Eric Devin has been writing about French football for the better part of adecade. His work can be found regularly on the Guardian, Get FrenchFootball News, and WhoScored.com. @ericdevin_

Richard Hall is Chief Correspondent for Football Italia and creator of TheGentleman Ultra. @RichHall80

Tom Wiseman's footballing interest began with a passion for Africanfootballers. Following the legend of Cheikh Ndoye to Angers he quickly fellin love with the club and gained a greater appreciation for the Frenchgame. Don't be surprised to find him attempting to push Angers into thespotlight as one of the very few English supporters. @WYSAF1

Drew Thompson is a native New Yorker who has been football-crazedsince childhood. He supports Arsenal, holds German football close to hisheart, and continues to dispel the notion that Americans have no place inthe football community. A seasoned coach at U14 to U18 level, you canfind him chatting on Twitter or read his work on GGFN and You Are MyArsenal. @FMLehrer

Rich Allen is a writer and podcaster for Get French Football News. Havingbegun covering the French top flight in 2013, Rich has made appearancesfor many outlets including Sirius XMFC, BBC Nottingham and the LiverpoolEcho amongst others. @rich_allen85

Kaustubh Pandey is a freelance football writer. Published at GGFN, GFFNand GIFN. He has also had bylines at the Times, Manchester Evening News,Man Utd, Calciomercato and more. @Kaus_Pandey17

Tom Canton is a writer and broadcaster, host of the successful analyticalArsenal-specific YouTube channel The Gooner Talk and contributor tomany fields surrounding European football. @TheGoonerTalkTv

Daniel Pinder is the editor-in-chief of Get German Football News. With akeen interest in fan culture, Daniel attends several Bundesliga andChampions' League games throughout the year and has had workpublished in Deutsche Welle and FourFourTwo among others.@DanielJPinder

Pierre-Paul Bermingham is a student of Political Science at ColumbiaUniversity and an orphaned fan of Évian-Thonon-Gaillard. He joined GFFNin 2018 and hosts the GFFN Show. @PPBermingham

Axel Falk is a Swedish sports writer with a love for German football as wellas a passion for the philosophical side of the game. @Falkfurt

Tom Scholes is a social media producer for the UK radio stationtalkSPORT & is also a published author with his book 'Stateside Soccer'.@_TomScholes

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