Did you notice Superman flying out of the window one day?
Have you ever seen iron man dancing in public place while everyone was cheering for him?
Sounds like Weird questions right?
After all this might go a long way to say that super Heroes only exist in movies, but I can tell you I have seen Zidane do wonderful things with the ball on his feet. I have also seen Roberto Carlos score some impossible free kicks, and Brazilian super star Ronaldo score some classic goals.
That's to say that Super heroes do actually exist.
In July 2000,when Florentino Pérez was elected club president of Real Marid, he promised to sign all the super heroes he could lay his hands on. And he actually did with the signing of Luis Figo, Zinedane Zidane, David Beckham, Ronaldo, Micheal Owen from 2000- 2006.
Since then Real Madrid has been referred to as the Galácticos.
Real Madrid have tried to maintain that standard. Since then they have purchased the likes of Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Di Maria, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Marcelo who claims to be the best right back in the world, FIFA world player of the year 2007, Ricardo Kaka. And also made former Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo the most expensive player in the world when they paid £80Million for his services in 2008.
With all this beautiful and well assembled set of super heroes in the club, one does not need to search to hard to discover a lot of other super heroes who play for other clubs and other leagues around the world.
Soccer4life takes a look at ten players who are super heroes if not better super heroes than those at Madrid at the moment.
10. KUN AGUERO(MAN CITY)
Agüero is a striker and is regarded as an all-out centre forward, but can also play as a second striker off another striker, which he often did at Atlético Madrid with Diego Forlán. Agüero has a diminutive figure with a stocky build, which has led to comparisons with fellow Manchester City striker Carlos Tévez and past strikers such as Romário and Diego Maradona. Some pundits go as far to say Agüero is Tévez's heir apparent at City and is superior to Tévez. His manager at Manchester City, Roberto Mancini, has compared Agüero to former Brazilian striker, Romário.
Agüero is characterised by agility, acceleration and strength, being described as "sharp and clever" by former Argentine player Osvaldo Ardiles. A view which is shared by his international captain Lionel Messi, who believes Agüero possesses "immense power, strength and an incredible work ethic. Combined with his close control and strength to keep the ball, he is described as a menace in the box. And is currently one of the super heroes not in the Real Madrid camp although he came from the same city to join the blue half of manchester.
9. FABREGAS(BARCELONA)
Originally brought to Arsenal as a youth to slowly develop via the League Cup, Fàbregas was unexpectedly deployed as Arsenal's starting central midfielder following injuries to fellow midfielders Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu during the 2004–05 season. While Vieira served as his role model and mentor, he styled his game after his childhood hero and compatriot Josep Guardiola. Because he was of a different mould from his Arsenal predecessors who played in the same position, this led to criticisms of his lightweight frame and less aggressive style of play, with former teammate Ashley Cole criticising the Spaniard as "an unproven featherweight" in his autobiography.
However, it did not take long for Fàbregas to become one of the most coveted and celebrated young talents in the game with his success at Arsenal. Functioning mostly as a playmaker and renowned for his passing range, he was described as the general of Arsenal's first team, bringing vision, creativity, and an innate understanding of timing and space to Arsenal's intricate passing game, displaying maturity that belied his age. He was the main creative force when he was at Arsenal, as exemplified by his 16 assists in all competitions in the 2006–07 season. Between 2006–07 and 2010–11, Fàbregas created the most chances in the top-division leagues of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
At Arsenal, Fàbregas also often assumed responsibility for set pieces, taking corners, free kicks and penalties. By his own admission, scoring was a weaker part of his game in his first few seasons at Arsenal; wasteful finishing also being symptomatic of the larger problem surrounding Arsenal in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. This changed initially in the 2007–08 season when he scored 11 goals in his first 16 games, and Arsenal manager Wenger claimed that the Spaniard's previous inability to score was down to a mental state, and even compared the Spaniard to Michel Platini, a French midfielder renowned for scoring. There were also concerns raised over the large number of games Fàbregas was playing for club and country at such a young age,but while he initially avoided long spells on the sidelines, he played significantly fewer games due to injury in his last three seasons with Arsenal. At Barcelona he is sometimes deployed as a second striker.
As a super Hero his strength lies in his ability to lay a defence spiliting pass into any defence.
8. MARIO GOMEZ (BAYERN)
Gómez can shoot with both feet, and is considered to be an aerial threat. His best ability however remains his ability to anticipate crosses and passes, and position himself to shoot. Arsène Wenger described him as "a great finisher who is often in the right place to finish off moves."[28] Moreover, his body balance and ability to hold up the ball often creates trouble for defenders. During his time at Bayern, his ability to appear "at the right place at the right time" proved to be one of Bayern's most lethal attacking weapons as Ribéry and Robben can often outrun defenders and provide a cross for Gómez.
Its important to note that Mario Gomez Super natural power is His abilty to put all balls crossing in front of goal into the net.
7. FRANCK RIBERY(BAYERN)
Ribéry primarily plays as a winger and is described as a player who is "fast, tricky, and an excellent dribbler who has great control with the ball at his feet".Despite being predominantly right-footed and utilized as a right-sided midfielder during his development years in France, since establishing himself as an international and at Bayern, Ribéry has personally admitted that his preference is to play on the left wing even going as far as to state "My place is on the left" when asked at a February 2010 media session while on international duty. Though, he is often played on the left wing domestically, Ribéry has struggled to establish himself as a left winger at international level with France due to the presence of left-footed dominant players such as Florent Malouda. Ribéry has declared that he is best utilized on the left side because "that is where I am most free and I am the best in my head". Playing on the left also allows Ribéry to use his "bursts of acceleration and weaving runs" to effectively cut inside, which gives him the options of either shooting or delivering a decisive pass. Ribéry is also capable of playing in the center of the field as an attacking midfielder where his vision and playmaking skills are best exhibited. Despite predominantly playing on the wing, he has averaged double-digits in assists every year beginning with his final season at Marseille.
Ribéry has been described as a provocateur on the field of play with UEFA describing him as "a crowd-pleaser – one of those rare breed of footballer capable of enjoying his talents while expressing them". During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was mentored by national team play-maker Zinedine Zidane. While boasting him as "the jewel of French football", Zidane has also praised Ribéry as a person declaring "Franck just loves life. He’s the kind of player that makes an impression every time he plays. He’s bound to become an important figure in the world of football". Ribéry's on-field personality is often matched off-field as he is often referred to as a "joker" and "prankster" by club and international teammates. The midfielder has stated that humour is very important admitting "It's important to always be smiling, to wake up and feel good. We (footballers) have a great job, we like what we do and we have fun. His more notable stunts include driving a tractor on field during one of his last matches with Marseille, in his debut season with Bayern, emptying a bucket of water over former club goalkeeper Oliver Kahn from the roof of the club's training centre, and, during the 2008–09 winter break, commandeering the team bus while in Dubai and crashing it.
Commandeering a bus may not be one of his super natural qualities but "Speed" is certainly one.
6. ROBIN VAN PERSIE(MAN UTD)
Van Persie started his senior club career as a left winger and possessed exceptional dribbling skills and was also a talented striker of the ball. He was bought by Arsenal as a long term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp. Manager Arsène Wenger planned to convert Van Persie from a left winger to a centre forward as he had successfully done with star player Thierry Henry. He was at first mostly deployed as a second striker in League Cup and FA Cup matches. Due to the retirement of Bergkamp and departure of Fredrik Ljungberg, Van Persie was given a starting role to play alongside Henry as a second striker. Van Persie impressed in this position, having many assists and goals to his name. Van Persie is described by Wenger as Bergkamp with goals. Van Persie is highly regarded for his dribbling and shooting technique, but has become prone to injury. Van Persie has become a pivotal figure for club and country and this was recognized when he was named Arsenal Player of The Season for the 2008–09 season. Van Persie's 50th Premier League strike made him only the fourth Dutchman to reach 50 goals in England's top division, along with Dennis Bergkamp, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
The departure of Emmanuel Adebayor and Henry meant the Dutchman was now the main striker in Wenger's 4–3–3 system, though Van Persie often dropped in the midfield to use his vision and passing skills to create chances for other attacking players in the midfield such as Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott. Van Persie topped the goal assists leader board with 11 assists in the 2008–09 Premier League season. Van Persie is also a set piece specialist and a vast number of his assists come from both corners and freekicks. He is also a proven direct freekick taker scoring regularly for his club and country.
Van persie super natural powers are his insict in the penalty area and his thuderous left foot.
5. TEVEZ(MAN CITY)
Tévez has a distinctive burn scar that runs down his neck from his right ear to his chest. He was accidentally scalded with boiling water as a child, which caused third-degree burns and kept him hospitalised in intensive care for nearly two months. After joining Boca Juniors, Tévez refused an offer from the club to have them cosmetically improved, saying that the scars were a part of who he was in the past and who he is today.
Tevez not only have a resemblence with the Incredible Hulk but he also has its strenght and ability to push down anything in his front.
Tevez is a typical proof that super heros do exist.
4. IBRAHIMOVIC(PSG)
Ibrahimović has been described as being "strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts some of the best finishing and ball control around." Once criticised for "his work-rate in the big matches", Ibrahimović silenced his critics by scoring and dominating in some of the biggest matches in football including the Milan Derby, the El Clásico and in ties from the Champions League and UEFA Euro against some of the strongest opponents in football.Ibrahimović is the only player to have scored for six different clubs in the Champions League.
The latest proof of his Supernatural powers is His fourth goal against England in their International friendly in Sweden in November 2012.
The next three on the list have not only proven to be super heroes but have also shown us that gods have come to dwell among men.
3. XAVI(BARCELONA)
The claim that Xavi is one of the best midfielders of his generation and perhaps all time relies largely on his ability to find and exploit space. As he said: "That's what I do: look for spaces. All day. I'm always looking". Xavi's abnormally good vision, pinpoint accurate passing and world class ball control allow him to dictate the flow of play whilst rarely relinquishing possession. His ability to completely control some matches has earned him the sobriquet, "The Puppet Master".
2. INIESTA(BARCELONA)
The name Xavi cannot be mention without the name Iniesta. Like fellow La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas, Iniesta originally started as a defensive midfielder but his balance, ball control and agility allied with his skill on the ball saw him make progress as an attacking midfielder. Beyond his raw talent that was spotted at a young age by FC Barcelona's scouts, it was his great versatility, work ethic and inventiveness that allowed him to stake a claim on a first-team place at the age of 18. Vicente del Bosque described him as "the complete footballer. He can attack and defend, he creates and scores," and Frank Rijkaard said "I played him as a false winger, central midfielder, deep midfielder and just behind the striker and he was always excellent." He was used initially as a wide-forward in the absence of Juan Roman Riquelme and Ronaldinho by Louis van Gaal and Rijkaard respectively, but made his name as a world-class player in central midfield alongside or in lieu of Xavi, at both club and international level. As FIFA.com says, "It is in this position that his direct style and quick feet can be used to full effect, with the ball seeming glued to his toes as he races into threatening positions. Iniesta is a player known for his passing, dribbling, vision and movement." Much like other Barcelona youth products such as Guardiola, Xavi and Iván de la Peña, Iniesta relies on exceptional creative passing, intuition and inventiveness to control the midfield and dictate the ebb and flow of play.Iniesta has been praised for his understanding and interplay with Xavi; former Barcelona teammate Giovanni van Bronckhorst saying "They have a special relationship, they always have, they just seem to know where the other one is". During his maturation as a player, he has gained a reputation for playing a part in important goals for club and country, specifically playing a leading role in the 2006, 2009 and 2011 UEFA Champions League finals, as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final and 2008–09 UEFA Champions League and Euro 2008 semi-finals.
His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista (The Illusionist), El Cerebro (The Brain), El Anti-Galáctico (a pun on Real Madrid players' nickname Los Galácticos), El Caballero Pálido (The Pale Knight)and most recently Don Andrés from the Spanish press
1. MESSI(BARCELONA)
I wonder if there is any one more super hero than this man from Argentina.
Messi has been compared to compatriot Diego Maradona, due to their similar playing style and stature,which gives him a lower centre of gravity than most players, allowing him to be more agile and change direction more quickly, helping him to evade tackles.His short, strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of acceleration and his quick feet allow him to keep control of the ball when dribbling at speed.His former FC Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, once stated: “Messi is the only player that runs faster with the ball than he does without it.”Like Maradona before him, Messi is dominantly a left footed player.With the outside of his left foot, he usually begins dribbling runs, whilst he uses the inside of his foot to finish and provide passes and assists to team mates.
Messi often undertakes individual dribbling runs towards goal, in particular during counterattacks, usually starting from the halfway line, or the right side of the pitch, although he has also been described as a versatile team player, with good vision, known for his passing and his creative combinations, in particular with Barcelona team mates Xavi and Iniesta. He is also an accurate set piece and penalty kick taker. With regards to his dribbling ability, Maradona has said of Messi: "The ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen anyone with Messi's ball control." Maradona has stated that he believes Messi to currently be the greatest player in the world.
Tactically, Messi plays a free attacking and occasionally a playmaking role, known for his finishing, pace, dribbling, balance, positioning, vision and passing ability. He is comfortable attacking on either wing or through the centre of the pitch.
His Super Heroic abilities are a combination of all the abilities the other four players possesses.
If you have ever doubted the existence of super Heroes I guess you need to watch his players do what they know how to do best.
No comments:
Post a Comment