You could also say nmbr 10 has fallen

it’s the fall of the classic 10s

Being a regular 10 isn't needed anymore, kind of sad... Look at Ozil

Balotteli

In the cases of James and Isco I think that playing for Real Madrid under Morinho, where they didn't get enough gametime to excel made them flopped on the long run. I found that Morinho is responsible for the decline of a lot of good players and talents including James, Isco, Kaka, Drente and a lot of other players also, even Bale. When Bale came he didn't get the left wing spot, due to Ronaldo, where he excelled at Tottenham Hotspur. The real average quality of Morinho as a coach was exposed when he went back to Chelsea and Manchester United after Real Madrid. If those players where in another team and under another coach at that time I think they would be in another situation today.

Npc comment 😹

Why did you stop?

Hugely overrated player whose told he’s amazing (beyond reality) like lukaku, overhyped from a World Cup.

@@adamafrah8543 how?

@@solarmaru49 exactly! He was never world class or anyone near there matter of a fact!

Tal cual

they didnt even make the 2022 world cup!! this guy was god in 2014!!!!

I noticed that his level dropped off same time his marriage broke down when he wanted to be a playboy and date Russian and Venezuelan models....es un chivo jejeje

I need 2 kilo Coke

@@karlsylvain I was hoping to see him play with Colombia when I went to watch Mexcio vs Colombia in 2022 at Levi's Stadium. Before the match started, I asked some Colombian fans if he was playing, but they said the national team hadn't called him up for a while. I was disappointed that James Rodriguez wasn't there and that Mexico lost on home turf, but it was a really good game so I can't be too sad.

They were on the Bielsa cycle. Peak hard and early, fall off dramatically.

Peak Vidal and Sanchez

2014-16 Chile NT makes me irrationally angry. It's like they made it their life's mission to deprive Argentina and Messi of the trophy and then peace out leaving Argentina desperate.

Prime Sanchez,Vidal,Medel,Vargas,Claudio Bravo what a team it was!!!

it seems pretty simple. they don't have good players anymore as that generation got old and they have nobody to replace them.

which i guess is reasonable. Not everyone is destined for greatness or even want that. I'm glad he's well taken care of at least

@@twkidd also remember he comes from Colombia so he would rather have more money to help his family than being at a top level club.

So you will choose a warehouse job with constant lifting, that pays less than an office job where you get to sit about and type on a computer?

@@BoqPrecisionit’s different we’re talking about millions of dollars either way and a transfer to Napoli opens up more opportunities for more money and a better career

I wouldn't say his career was subpar

Falcao did at most teams where he played at, obviously there are some exceptions..

Most players in history have had relatively short peaks. It's just htat nowadays we are more critical and look more at stats plus we had Messi/Ronaldo and nowadays Haaland/Mbappe who combine excellence with consistency. . Shearer had 4 maybe 5 great seasons, rest was quite average (esp. if you exclude penalty goals). Zidane really only had 3-4 stellar seasons. Ronaldo Nazario maybe 3 or 4 as well. Cruyff had a terrific 8-9 year spell at Ajax but only really 1 good season at Barca.

@@LoyalGio Only in Porto and Atletico. He was horrible in Man U and already past his peak in Monaco. He had two good season in Monaco, sure. But it was just League 1, without trying to downplay it. And his statistics weren't comparable to his time in Porto and Atletico. And as much as I love the portugese League, it's not comparable to the top leagues too. So if I were to be very strict, he only had two seasons on the top level in Atletico. But don't get me wrong, he was a great player and I enjoyed his performances.

@@daarom3472 It definitely isn't fair to compare everyone with Messi/Ronaldo. I think the main reason why even players like Ronaldinho had a relatively short peak is because they weren't very professional. At least compared to players nowadays. That's why players like Mbappe and Haaland are so good at a very young age and why they perform at the highest level for so long, like Benzema and Ibrahimovic did. Players like Ronaldinho and Ronaldo would have had a very long peak too was it not for injuries and had they been more professional by training their body deligently and taking better care of proper nutrition. Imagine Ronaldinho or Ronaldo Phenomen's passion and natural talent combined with the work ethic of CR7 or Haaland. But I don't want to complain too much. I had the Joy of watching them at their best. Just wished it would have lasted longer.

add coutinho to that list

Mbappe is miles clear of this conversation. Hes better than them all by alot.

@@omardevonlittle3817 He is very good yeah, close to or even with almost peak Messi/Ronaldo level. But will see how long he keeps that and which teams he plays for in the future.

@@omardevonlittle3817 Haaland better

Mbappe and Haaland both have excellent work ethic and desire to be consistently great. I think ego for Mbappe could be his only downfall, but despite this he would still be able to produce goals and perform at a high level. Whether at PSG or at National level he has shown leadership and big performances in key games. This is what seperates momentary brilliance vs excellent high performing longevity.

@@chopsnz88 Thats true, but there is also just the sheer length of time Messi and Ronaldo have been great. Messi especially has been tremendous at adjusting his game. With Haaland and Mbappe both their "trademark" trait is their tremendous pace so I wonder if they can adjust once that starts to fade a bit (still many years away obviously). I think Mbappe might be the more adaptable of the two, but thats purely speculation.

Honestly I think he could still have found his niche... He would have done great in the current PSG setup or in Morocco-style defensive teams His real problem was his insistence to stay at Madrid

@@user-jd5zt4of8q I agree. Its admirable that he wanted to prove himself in Madrid but at some point you have to cut your losses. Ancelotti was the only manager who really believed in him at club level

Özil was screwed by the management. Yes he was a bit out of touch at the later end, but still he was adapting and creating chances. The fact that arsenal's finisher was s--t was the reason why he failed.

@@subratr5807 😌 I disagree since I was talking more about Ozil during his Premier League stint games and not La Liga. Yes he was great during the home games between 2013 - 17 but, he really struggled to dominate the tough away games... especially against the top 6 & Arsenal's boggey teams such as Stoke. After 2017, his home form was also spiralling downwards since he was not able to compete with the much more athletic and dynamic midfielders...apart from the occasional flashes of brilliance during the home games or some cup ties, he was unable to consistently perform like Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva or Bernardo Silva etc who also started their careers in similar positions to Ozil but were able to evolve their game.....

Good post, I agree. Except Thomas Müller, just good as second striker, not as left or right winger. He won the 'fight' against Kovac a former Bayern Trainer who would constantly put him on the wings, then he basically was second striker again. He is also the lung and a second Trainer on the pitch, that makes him valuable also.

can’t argue with that

Such a wasted talent man...

True, ronaldinho same thing

mbappe next

@@ggh_-ts6pn nah Mbappe is actually passionate about football

You guys also got Brazilian legend Rodinei! He is kind of a meme player in brazil but was a good locker room player. Cheers

@@frxnix Rodinei had a good first game for Olympiacos, looks solid on offence and defence.

Immaturity, there you have it.

@@djbarrerap Yesterday he was the best player on the pitch constantly running and controlling the game. I'll take a little bit of immaturity with that kind of work ethic. James is special just like Ronaldo and Messi so it's to be expected!

@@frxnix Rodinei is a more susscessful transfer than James or Marcelo. Marcelo was overweight when he came and during the first few games he was playing like an amateur player. James was decent but had injury problems and he was quite unprofessional.

Thank you for a Colombian point of view and insight. I really lost track of James after 2014 WC because I don't follow club football. By the way, are you Aragorn? Long have I desired to meet a fellow LOTR & football fan. 😄

His struggles at RM had people believe he wasn't good enough or was 'overrated', but the truth is the opposite. Almost every game he played he scored bangers and was a star player. His real problem is he wasn't willing to tone it down. In fact he upped his game, unlike Modric, Kroos and Benzema, who all adapted to play at about 40% of their true ability in order to fit with the club's main goal: making their money back from Ronaldo's image. It's also why Bale was swapped for the less talented Vasquez and fell out with Zidane (it wasn't just 'injuries'), and why they delayed purchasing other linked world class stars like Hazard, until after Ronaldo was gone.

He's still beast, his left foot is just out of this world, he can send the ball exactly where he wants at any time.

Le hicieron la cama a Queiroz, especialmente James

@@Madness1299 Agreed. Perez has started changing since then, but in the past he was alway signing players with the most glamorous of marketing campaigns. Beckham comes to mind. Nevertheless, I believe that Benzema wasn’t really underrated, Ronaldo was just a better finisher. Madrid needed someone to rival Messi, and although Messi is clearly the better player, the media-created Rivalry really increased the popularity of the already popular el clásico matches.

Πες τα αγορίνα

At least you can surely say that he really did come to Greece to play ball and not just make money and enjoy the sun

The dude would look like a superstar in a third rate league

Yea he is absolutely looking like a star in the Greek league and is good for Olympiacos fans too.

Atleast in FC Porto he was a beast

perfect candidate for Saudi Arabia league

@@BoqPrecision He went to Qatar already, I assume he would have stayed there if everything outside of football was to his liking.

@@BoqPrecision Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in World Cup, never underestimate anyone because if you don't work then you won't fit anywhere in today's world. Football has changed a lot from the time you look down on such leagues buddy, there will be a comeback for individual talents because any system runs itself down for a maximum of a decade, that's how business works as well, today's football is business.

@@Noor6848 I do not look down on the Saudia football league. And your right, the only team to beat the World Champions suggest an exciting place to play and watch football. My problem is that Ozil, for all the terrible stressors that German and English football put him through, couldn’t show them his true greatness. He let the bastards get him down. I don’t blame him for this, after all he went through hell in Germany but I do think he handled Arsenal badly and foolishly.

Don't talk nonsense Ozil looked like a fish out water...what marketability

@@yeeeet01 he said he was a kid mate read

Bro I was a child 💀

@@willastheman7884highlights. Many many highlights. This is why it’s tough to compare players now (messi, cr7) to players then (Pepe, maradona). Watching live is different than highlights

@@Brathaa pepe????

@@stxfdt1240 I’m sure he meant to say Pelé. Unless he’s serious about it being Pepe…

Quality is permanent my friend

@@billyjean5934 quality is often ephemeral

Van Persies was better.

why would u get bullied for being Colombian?

Its football not soccer😑

football*

​@@OnlyBlix cuadrado got overshadowed by james in 2014. he was another star in the making at the time

cuadrado, falcao, armero, zuñiga, abel, yepes... nice team

Football***

Damn I also thought it's probably the money that changed him😭

Could be said about most of Latin America

Cultures clash

To me, this is why James became a let down. He's never been a true #10, and should never have been shoehorned into that role. Coaches are as much or MORE to blame than James himself. He would have thrived in a role like Thierry Henry or Ryan Giggs had, up front, on the wing. He has never been a playmaker like those he was compared to at the beginning of the video - Laudrup, Totti, Riquelme, and Platini.

@@MrVvulf James was far too slow to be that kind of winger

You misspelled Real Madrid.

I completely forgot he played for everton

he plays with marcelo in greece team olympicaos

Tyler Adams

That quarterfinal against Brazil was such a disgrace, Colombia deserved to go through to the semis.

@@MikoyanGurevichMiG21 Yh at time I was convinced they'd goon to win the tournament even without Falcao as the main guy. They definitely wouldn't have lost 7-1 to Germany in the next round like that awful Brazil side without neymar lol.

i sometimes look back and inagine what couldve happened if falcao never got injured. He was at his peak form at atletico and arguably the best striker in the world.

@@anthonyvallejo9127 Agree , he was the best striker in the world then imo. No question

Definitely not a club legend. That's the dumbest thing I've heard. He never contributed to getting a title

Is he? After the goal he was angry being called to be subbed. Don't get me wrong, compared to other leagues in Europe. The Greek Super League is weak compared to western Europe leagues but strong enough when compared to Eastern European Leagues. It used to be a League to start future careers by non european players who try to make their mark in Europe and other leagues. But it sadly, it wasnt the same as it used to be with its big signings, making the league look like a diet-coke MLS with many famous retiring players like Rivaldo, Rodriguez, Marcelo, Gatuso etc.

@@anthonythe1ne53 He was subbed because they didn't want him to get injured. The match finished 5-0...

@@antonis5999 Injured from whom? The defenders cant even defend and you expect me to believe that they can tackle

@@anthonythe1ne53 rivaldo was retired??the previous year got the golden ball.....also james is only 31 and he is not retired..and that is obvious from his matches with olympiacos...

@@anthonythe1ne53 homie Falcaos career was ruined by a 3rd or 4th division defender so yeah. Better to be cautious.

Norwegian wonderkid 4 life what more to say?

*if james went to bayern

Sad

So what has come in the place of the traditional no.10 ??

@@thegift9948 nothing really more box to box midfielders like Valverde for example. that can attack and defend

@@platonicriot ok I see... I wonder how long this "new breed" will last... Will we ever see the return of the no.10??

@@thegift9948 idk probably not, the game is much faster and more physically demanding, and since teams rely more and more on tactics than individual performances

Kroos been class since he was 18! A pleasure to watch

Kroos is like Scholes he'll probably get better still

Kroos is more of a midfielder that tracks back rather than a forward mid fielder like James

I get more triggered than I should, when people call these players 'luxury' players. They aren't luxuries - having top-tier (world class) ball strikers in your time isn't a luxury in competitive fixtures. It's a necessity. These players become 'talismanic', simply because it's so hard to replace around that talent... without having a superior talent. The cream rises to the top, there's only 11 starting spots, and plenty of players get squeezed out (and plenty more should have been squeezed out, especially out of the Kaka-Isco-Ozil-James- era Madrid. Some historic examples: Riquelme was indispensible for Argentina (holding out Messi for stardom, alongside many understudies) because he was an incredible ball striker of his own, preferred to Messi for all dead-balls. (There's not data for his whole career to make comparison. It's no surprise that Messi is over twice as effective as JRR10, in years comparable) A forgotten maestro, Uruguay's Alvaro Recoba.. Juninho to Lyon... Aimar, Valeron to Valencia...

@@joachimschmidt7662 Thank you for the response. I agree that the term "luxury" is a bit uneccessary, but I didn't know what other word to use. Just based on my viewing of football and the change in tactics it's interesting that certain players seem to no longer be favoured after being considered best in their position. For example, I'm a Manchester United fan and I kept feeling like something was off with Pogba where he went from being the highest purchase in the club's history to being called out for poor performance and poor attitude under Mourinho (who bought him). Now maybe this is just Mou being Mou, but I also feel like there was some underlying reason for his poor attitude and performance based around what was being asked of him. Pogba in the years I've watched United (2005-now) was the second best long passer in that time (Scholes was number 1). I always anticipated magic and a class from his ball retention and intelligence to spot the runner and create a goal out of nowhere. The problem is Pogba doesn't track back and there was no good DM on the squad after Carrick retired to account for his defensive liability. So Mourinho dropped him for certain matches or played him in a more forward role where his talents maybe weren't best utilized, but it minimized his defensive failures. What I'm trying to say is that players like Pogba get exposed and their 1 dimensional play is not good enough to cover for their other failures. Ronaldo, before he left United the second time, was also 1 dimensional and Ten Hag started dropping him because he was a liability, luxury player. Complete teams can't afford players like that if they want to be competitive. I'm ignorant on James' career so I didn't want to label him a "luxury" player if that was taken as offense. It just seemed to me that players like James are being phased out fo the game and complete players are being favoured that can track back and have good defensive skills. It's the same with WIngbacks. Defensively responsible but creatively lacking wingbacks are ebing phased out in favour of wingers with defensive skills. Wan-Bissaka at United was a 50m purchase and will likely be sold because he is not as skilled as Dalot going forward despite being one of the best defensive players on the squad. I just think it's interesting to see the tactics and trends in players changing over the years. Sorry for the long response and I appreciate the comment.

@@MistaZULE Hey bro, I wasn't trying to jump down your throat in particular :-) Pogba counterpoint: Pirlo never really ever got dropped... well, not ever when he was regista (as a younger trequartista he did get dropped)... and as Juve manager doesn't count... A player with half the possible athleticism of Pogba, and I don't know, comparable prestige? Milan always worked out how to keep the team balanced, so as to feature his talent. And that included having playmaking threats in front of him, as well as destroyers beside him. You're right, that complete teams can't afford players like that, if they want to be competitive... but the next tier of teams down, certainly can't afford NOT to have these (incredibly talented) players... even the top tier teams, notice the assists dry up, for dropping their elite creators. It's a problem as old as time. Pragmatism versus ideology. And managers (outside of a rare few like Ancelotti, Spalletti, add your own crushes) are overwhelmingly about that ideology. There are plenty of victories - I'm not watching a lot of football ATM, but I can think of one team with 36yo #10 that's been winning games - enough for the 'luxury player' narrative to be untrue. And every team without a class act - an Australia without a Rogic/Luongo, a Man U with a McFred McMidfield missing an injured Fernandes, a Newcastle looking to build [but they could play Jonjo Shelvey more ;-) ] - desires a class act. I'm sure there's a moral in here for continuity between managers... roster development and management.. or maybe the moral is - FANS SHOULD PAY THE PLAYERS. Then we'll all see play, who we want to play :-) Imagine that 🙂

@@joachimschmidt7662 Awesome comment again. thank you for the response and I didn't take your original comment as a negative I just didn't want to use the term "luxury" if it had a negative connotation that upset people. Pirlo is a great example of a guy so good that he could just walk the pitch and simply dominate teams. However, I think using possibly one of the greatest midfielders to ever play as an example is showing how talented you need to be to not have to play the full game. As well, I may be wrong about Pirlo as I don't watch Serie A and only saw him in the Champions League so I may be completely wrong on his defensive abilities. You're definitely correct that every team needs to have that talisman player to lead the club on the pitch and inspire their teammates with their sheer talent. I thought Pogba was that but his attitude and injury history basically forced him out of United. He'll return to form at Juventus and become the world class player he is, but I think he did get exposed at United and showed his weaknesses. Possibly completely wrong on this, but Modric again is an amazing player and never stops running in the midfield. I love watching him and you can see how hard he works fro Croatia when they lack the same talent as Real. In my opinion the players when playing with lower talent rise to the occasion and other players get exposed. Pogba in France is one of the greatest players currently, Pogba at United was a liability. Sorry for continuing to talk about Pogba but he is my best example of the type of player I'm talking about. Really nice to hear your opinoins and I agree that sometimes fans should be able to influence signings and playing time, but obviously we're not that qualified and having a team of only attackers would cause quite exciting games, but not a lot of defense.

It's all about the money in Colombian football. Once they start earning the European money, they fall off the wagon pretty hard

James had exactly the same problems on pitch as valderrama, although he was a better player

Pretty sure he has done riquelme

It baffles me too. People make him out to be a flop, it’s completely a lie, he’s had injury problems but apart from that he’s always performed. I watched every game he played at Everton and was gutted when he left, as were most of the fans.

@@dogsbollocksgenius9480 up the toffees, I have faith your boys will be able to stay up and find better days