Its something I think we have all noticed with our Spanish boys, they seem to take no **** what so ever!! our media always seem to think(wrongly) that in British football the Passion is what sets our players apart, how many times do we hear the same old crap spouted by rubbish journalists ? "he is a skilful player with flare but how will he cope on a cold Tuesday night away at Sunderland or Stoke " well, just fine I think mate ! There always seems to be this mis conception that because certain players arnt British they don't know what fight and passion is because they have technical skills instead,they don't need to do the graft and dirty work etc, what a load of bollocks that is, I sometimes think the media in this country have never watched the hatchet men of Brazilian football or La liga ! there are players in those leagues that would murder the likes of Joey Barton within 20mins ! Our Spanish boys have a hard streak I aint seen since Bodde in his pomp, they also have all the skills as well, making them pretty much perfect for premier league football. Chico, Amat, Canas and Michu are 4 players that seem to let the emotion and passion fire them when playing, I love seeing it, i love watching Michu smash **** out of the advertising barriers,it shows he cares passionately ! I love to see Canas go in 100% in the tackle, there is something wonderful about watching cultured players look like they would die for the cause on the football field, the Spanish flare and passion is a deadly and intoxicating mixture down at the Liberty and it does breed a strong bond between player and fans. Strange how we/the media perceive players from abroad isn't it? we have often thought about them being skilful and cultured but often without the dog/graft and hard work..how wrong that assumption is,at least with our boys. There is a serious will to win being bred down the Swans since the influx of our Spanish boys, I knew we would import fine technique and skills I never thought we would import something that most British players lost when they became multi millionaire prem footballers,the will to win and put your body on the line . Laudrup always talked about the right fit and character when signing players for us , are these boys chosen because they don't mind a bit of rough and tumble ? Canas looks a nutter on and off the field! Amat is like Chico mk2 and Michu goes from gentle soul pre kick off to monster during the 90mins of a game! is it in the blood or is it something that Laudrup identified when signing them ? What are your thoughts on these boys when the blood is pumping? reckless? passionate? controlled? all action? or are we just watching will to win in all its glory ? What ever it is I just love watching it, I love our Spanish boys to bits, proper footballers and perfect gents off the field !
I agree, though if you've travelled around Europe, you'll know there's plenty of passion in France Italy ans Spain, but I do think that with the Welsh and Catalan cultures, there are some parallels that give more emphasis to the passion, certainly here in Wales, our Spanish lads know from the start how passionate the Welsh are, and I'm sure they pick that up at the club, with the atmosphere in training etc. Just to emphasis this point on passion, just look at Borini at Wembley, you couldn't get a more passionate player than him on that day, and it's down to the club philosophy and passion for the game that brings out the right emotions, though it doesn't always work, just look at Moore, you couldn't get a more passionate-less player if you tried, but it's fair to say that with our Spanish boys, Swansea has the right ingredients for them to flourish, as the Italians would say the welsh have 'Simpatico' or are of similar temperament....... ....
I was thinking it's all the other way around: that UK players in general don't thrive abroad: only very few players have been successful in the continent...
I remember Borini going mental Dragon, that's the kind of thing that's always great to see, the blood vessels bursting with raw passion !! I know people celebrate in different ways but watching Borini at that moment you knew exactly what it meant to him..and it wasn't even his team ! he was already off to Parma! Im not saying other countries don't have passionate players though, im just saying that those 4 stand out for us as winners, by hook or by crook in some cases! I wonder if that's a trait Laudrup/Larsen singled out as a good fit for prem football ? The likes of Amat for example, his first game was very impressive IMO, he made some errors but you could see his mentality was that no ****er is getting past him no matter what,he was totally uncompromising in the tackle too. Canas in pre-season was like a lunatic around the field he and michu were putting in 110% tackles against Yeovil and Exeter like it was a cup final! maybe these lads have to get the blood umping through the veins to motivate themselves ? Michu definatly has a way of winding himself up in the game, he needs to get angry to get his A game flowing,his goals are normally a release of that aggression in the celebration imo. Every player has a different way of getting into his "zone" I sometimes think some of our players have a body language that projects low confidence,you mention Moore and he is a good example but the likes of Dyer do it sometimes too, shrugging the shoulders and throwing the arms up in the air, I sometimes get the feeling ash is off his game by some basic things that he does, its intresting to see how different guys get themselves wound up for matches but I think the Spanish lads tend to wear the heart on the sleeve a bit more and in turn they embrace the love of the crowd a lot faster. sbulby, thanks for the nice comment fella
That they don't thrive because they are not passionate or that they are not technically proficient enough ?? Problem has been for many years that British players think far too much of themselves,and its a myth pushed by the English media, how many times do you hear them talking about Lampard and gerrard being "world class" when neither of them hve ever done anything of note on the world stage ?
Fckn hell Norway where did that post come from ? You must have had three shredded wheat for breakfast !!! Top thread mate, top thread, bugger all I can add to that
John Charles was a Juventus legend, but he was Welsh, and knick named by the Juventus fans as 'Gigante Buono' Gentle Giant!.................
.... There hasn't been a lot to post about in fairness, I only get the juices flowing when im watching a proper game, pre-season stuff is difficult to muster threads on as its basically commenting o training. We had our first proper look t the boys on Thursday and that game coupled with the snippets from pre season just about give enough to form a point a view for me ! I will say that Amat and Canas are Red cards waiting to happen though! might make selection the following week a bit easier for Laudrup though,so every cloud !!
And they called him that for a reason,they spat on him,stamped on him,kicked him,pinched him but he never got angry and aggressive,just put the ball in the back of the net! probably the greatest player ever perhaps . A contrast to how our Spanish boys operate on the field of play, a cultural thing maybe, the passion of the Italians and Spanish ?? the creativeness and will to create and be special and treat life as art ? nothing is quite as great as watching Michu smash in the advertising boards though!! I remember him in Wembley after we scored the 5th goal(I think) he just run past the goal to where the fans were and went absolutely mental!! little bit similar to Borini actually,showing you care about the win and the team connects you on so many other levels I guess
... Im looking forward to that trip actually, a few days to chill out without the ball and chain asking stuff like "what colour are we again" or "that little one is too little really ,he may get hurt(about leon britton) "
Yep, took Ddu for a walk along by the new training facility today (RGB), 1st time I've seen in in the flesh, very impressive. The new facility in Fairwood is looking good too!
I love it when Michu scores, he starts of calm doing his hand thing, then just goes absolutely mental!
Cheers Valley! Decided you cant have enough SCFC nuthouses in your life, so thought id register on here as well as my usual Planet Swans. Been a regular reader of the this site for a good while though.
tbf having players from Spain seems very natural now, they seem to thrive and become part of the community, no different from having players from North Wales.
I think too many players from North Wales would be a massive problem to be honest!... Swanszay, I was down there a while ago, looks very impressive don't it? who would have thought it just a few years ago eh ?
