Precocious talents often light up World Cups, but rarely from central midfield. Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi is already bucking that trend.
The conventional wisdom is that players need time to develop physically, as well as master the understanding required to dictate play from the middle. But on the physical front, there are no issues. Bouaddi has a relentless engine and was one of the few players who did not wilt in the heat as Morocco drew with Brazil
His game intelligence is perhaps unsurprising given he is studying for a degree in mathematics, and it is clear geometry is a strong suit given his instinctive understanding of space and where to position himself
@Conor0Neill_ assesses a young genius at work.
FREE TO READ 🔗 https://t.co/JTaWqhyBFZ
People are asking me why I want to convert Bouaddi to a RB.
Watch this for yourself. Use your eyes. How many RBs in Europe have power, pausa and precision like this?
🚨🗣️ | Pep Guardiola Shocked on Arsenal fans Reaction towards Gabriel Magalhaes after missing the Penalty: 🤯
“I have to say something because I saw this and, honestly, it blew my mind. It blew my mind. We know how this business works. Usually, in a Champions League final, a player misses a crucial penalty against a top, top team like PSG, and the next day... it is a disaster for him. The social media, the media, it can be very, very cruel. Very ugly. You expect the anger, the threats, the terrible words. We see it all the time.
But what the Arsenal fans did for Gabriel? Wow. It is something else. Truly. To see a player fail in the most painful moment, and the response from the stadium, from the people, is just... pure love? I am told his shirt sales went up by three hundred and fifty percent in a few days. Three hundred and fifty percent! This is incredible. I have been in football a long, long time, as a player and a manager, and I have never seen anything like it. Never.
You know, you open Facebook, you open Instagram or Twitter, and the narrative is always the same. 'Arsenal fans are insufferable. They are the worst fanbase, they are annoying.' You hear this tag all the time. But I look at this gesture and I think, 'How?' How do they have this tag? If a fanbase can wrap their arms around a player like that, in the darkest moment of the club's history a trophy they have been dying to win for decades then everything we are told online is a lie. It is a massive misconception. They have been judged so harshly.
This shows me who they really are. It shows their class, their humanity, and their loyalty. To behave like this? It is not annoying, it is not insufferable. It is beautiful. They deserve incredible praise for this, because this is what football should be about”
🚨أكدت شرطة العاصمة أن هذا أكبر موكب كرة قدم يُقام في البلاد على الإطلاق، وذلك بعد الاستعانة بشرطة ميرسيسايد ومانشستر للمساعدة في تنظيم الاحتفالات؛ ويُقدر عدد الحضور بأكثر من 1.5 مليون شخص.
[@AFCAMDEN]
🚨🎙️ José Mourinho blasts people mocking Arsenal’s Premier League triumph:
“People laughed at Arsenal for years. They mocked them, called them bottlers, said they would never get over the line again. But after 23 long years, they finally brought the Premier League trophy back home, and that deserves respect.
What I admire most is their mentality. Many teams would have collapsed after all the criticism they received over the years, but Arsenal kept building, kept believing, and now they are champions again. That is not luck, that is character.
And I’ll say something else now that many people may not agree with: I believe this Arsenal team can win the Champions League as well. I’m putting my hand out for them because when you look at the quality in that squad, the balance, the hunger, and the confidence they now have, they absolutely have the potential to go all the way in Europe.
They have top players in every area of the pitch. Players who can handle pressure, players who can decide big games, and players who are hungry to create history for the club. That combination is very dangerous in football.
People can joke about Arsenal all they want, but success changes everything. The moment you start winning major trophies, the respect automatically comes. And if Arsenal go on to win the Champions League too, then many people who doubted them for years will finally have no choice but to give them the credit they deserve.
This could just be the beginning of a new era for Arsenal Football Club.”