I heard a rumour we had a bid for him rejected in January, just before he signed a pre-contract agreement with Borussia Dortmund. The kid was a class act tonight, far better than Muller who normally starts on the right.
Isn't Muller supposed to be a central midfielder, but got pushed onto the right because Germany needed wide players? Remember he also won the Golden Boot in the 2010 World Cup scoring 5 goals in 6 games. He also had 2 good seasons with Bayern, not one.
@Ammaar The way you describe Muller, it would remind me more of a player like Dirk Kuyt. But I sort of agree with you. I don't see skill, technical ability, pace, strength or good passing in Muller's game, but somehow he always ends up being in the right position at the right time. I would see his off-the-ball play as excellent. He knows when to make runs and creates gaps in the opposition defence which Ozil or Klose (or whoever plays with him up front) can work through. I don't know what to make out of tonight's game. Spain will probably bolster their midfield and France will struggle to operate against that, just like against England. Only an early France goal could make it an exciting game to watch.
I think France have the pace on the counter to hurt Spain. If you look at their team, there is pace everywhere. Problem is that they sometimes move the ball far too slowly, Nasri being one of main culprits. But, because France do not know how to defend deep and soak up the pressure, I suspect they will try and press Spain high up the pitch which will give Spain the chance to play through that pressure (which they can) and then try and get at France's defence. Going for a 2-0 Spain win.
Torres will probably get a lot of 1-on-1's so it'll be another big test for him. It will be funny to see players like Ribery, Nasri, Benzema and Cabaye getting frustrated from being outplayed. I think I'll find this entertaining even if it's 0-0.
the thing is with spain, they will only be able to exploit france's high line if they set up the right way. 1) they need a striker to play who will make runs to get through into the space behind the french line. that means either torres or negredo has to play. lorrente is not that type of striker, more of a target man. if they play with 6 midfielders again they will not get enough runs in behind. with the high line the midfield will become even more congested and they will struggle to go anywhere except for backwards. 2) they need to stop playing 2 defensive midfielders and just let xavi play a deeper role. busquets does not have the vision or ability to play those through balls that will be needed, whilst alonso can only play longer balls with any skill; not going to be very helpful. this tournament, i haven't seen xavi make any of those defence splitting passes that he used to be so good at. he just gets the ball and plays the simple pass. only, he could do that same job playing deeper in midfield. silva and iniesta are guaranteed starters on the wing, but if i were spain i would play alonso and xavi in deeper midfield roles (maybe busquets instead of alonso) with fabregas (or mata) in a more advanced role. i think this would be much more effective.
I wanted Spain to go out, but after reading your post, I have to change my mind. Would be ideal if we would be able to get Giroud (and M'Vila) sorted, sealed and confirmed ASAP.
Nasri being dropped is even funnier than watching him get outplayed. At least we have Clichy to laugh at during the match. Here's the line-ups: Spain: Casillas, Arbeloa, Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Alonso, Silva, Fabregas, Iniesta. Subs: Valdes, Albiol, Javi Martinez, Juanfran, Pedro, Torres, Negredo, Mata, Llorente, Santi Cazorla, Jesus Navas, Reina. France: Lloris, Reveillere, Rami, Koscielny, Clichy, M'Vila, Debuchy, Cabaye, Malouda, Ribery, Benzema. Subs: Mandanda, Evra, Valbuena, Giroud, Nasri, Matuidi, Menez, Diarra, Martin, Ben Arfa, Carrasso. So Spain are going with Fabregas up top presumably. Will be interesting to see how it works against France. We also get to see M'Vila play, and the KOSC!
The commentator has already said France are getting too narrow at left-back. That's Clichy for you... guy thinks he's a centre back. Expect Spain's goals to come from his side.
Haha ^ Spain just scored, and Clichy was playing centre back when he should have been covering Alonso. Ended up unsighting his own goalkeeper. So predictable.
