Potential Young Stars, Revised

A few days ago I made a post with players that have the potential to have huge breakout years this upcoming season. To expand on that post I came up with a data sheet with all their past data from pass completion percentage to average match rating. I also added a few names onto the list that weren't in the post. To see the original post go here: http://theinformsoccer.blogspot.com/2013/06/potential-20132014-season-breakout-stars.html

Player Name	Pass Success	Shots on goal	Clean Sheets	Avg Match Rtg	Tackles Won	Dribbles Completed	World Class Potential
Thiago Alcantara	91.9	0.8	N/A	7.25	1.5	1.6	Yes
Paul Pogba	82.5	1.8	N/A	7.21	2.4	1.5	Yes
David Alaba	88.8	1.2	N/A	7.3	1.9	0.7	Yes
Isco	85.6	1.9	N/A	7.17	1.2	2.2	Yes
Thibaut Courtois	47.3	N/A	20	6.82	N/A	N/A	Yes
David De Gea	60.3	N/A	11	6.83	N/A	N/A	Yes
Julian Draxler	81.7	2.1	N/A	7.39	1.4	2.7	Yes
Stephan El Shaarawy	84.2	2.6	N/A	7.16	1	1.1	Maybe
Kevin De Bruyne	76.8	2.7	N/A	7.58	1.5	3	Maybe
M'baye Niang	76.5	1.2	N/A	6.6	1.3	1.2	No
Raheem Sterling	84.1	1.2	N/A	6.77	1.5	1.5	No
Marc-Andre ter Stegen	63	N/A	9	6.86	N/A	N/A	No

I made this list of players that are some of the hottest young commodities I could think of and looked up some key stats that pertain to players and used those stats along with the "eye test" of how well they play when you watch them to determine if they can be considered world class one day.

Players that got a "Yes" in the World Class Potential category did so because they have shown that they can be great players on the biggest stages, and are at a young stage in their careers at which they are still improving. Not only did the players with a "Yes" have pretty good statistics this past season, but during the eye test it was clear these players had what it takes to become truly great.

Players that got a "Maybe" still have some question marks about them. The standout of the two will probably be El Shaarawy. Now I absolutely love El Shaarawy but he fell into the "Maybe" category for reasons mostly due to becoming second fiddle to Mario Balotelli, which raised question marks for me if AC Milan saw something we didn't in that maybe he isn't a viable number 1 option. But instead of dropping him in the "No" category I had to give him a "Maybe" because last summer I saw him play in person against Chelsea in Miami and the kid had a flair and confidence about him that looked like no other on the field.

Lastly we have the players that got a "No" and that doesn't necessarily mean I don't think they will be world class level, but it means at the moment from what I have seen I can't give them a "Maybe" or a "Yes" because their body of work just isn't enough to make that judgement.

So what do you think? Should we weigh the potential of players on stats and the eye test alone? One more than the other? And what do you think of the list? Let me know!

Potential 2013/2014 Season Breakout Stars

Great young talent is the key to the development of our sport. While established names are fun to watch and discuss, the young talent of the world can be just as fun to talk about. Everyone knows about the young stars of today that have already made a name for themselves such as Neymar, Mario Gotze, Eden Hazard, and Oscar, but there is a plethora of young talent that you probably wouldn't pay attention to unless they were playing at a big club or on big stages. Here we will highlight a few.

Julian Draxler – Julian Draxler could be the next great German attacking midfielder. This season at Schalke he put up astounding numbers, in 36 appearances for the German club he netted 11 goals and assisted on 3. Now this may not seem like much, but given the fact he is only 19 years old and thrusted himself into the starting line-up for Schalke, he shows lots of promise going forward. Draxler is more than capable of using both feet, is creative on the ball, a great passer (he completed roughly 82% of his passes this season), and is as lethal a finisher as midfielders go. Draxler is one to watch for this upcoming season, and I don't expect him to stay at Schalke for long if he keeps improving his performances.

Raheem Sterling – Outside of England you may not find many people that rate Raheem Sterling very high. Sterling found himself in the Premier League spotlight after he made a move to Liverpool from the QPR youth team at the tender age of 17. Sterling shows lots of promise, a speedy, crafty winger with great agility. The downside to Sterling is that we haven't seen enough of him in the first team for Liverpool, as he usually comes on as a substitute. In 31 matches for Liverpool this season, he only had 2 goals and 2 assists. That isn't that impressive for a player of his potential and its hard to give other stats for him because of his lack of playing time, but what is impressive is how much he improves each and every game. I see Sterling breaking into the starting line-up consistently next season and seeing his output improve in turn.

Deulofeu – His name may be hard to pronounce, but his quality isn't hard to recognize. Deulofeu looks like he could become another one of Barcelona's, La Masia, prodigies. Speed, ball control, vision, great passing. Deulofeu possess all of these qualities, qualities that a winger needs to have to be effective at the top level. His chance to get permanently promoted to Barcelona from Barcelona B seems to have dwindled a bit with the addition of Neymar, but a player with his potential won't be playing in a second tier league for long.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen – A lot of us like to talk about field players as they are usually more exciting to talk about, but we can't forget about the men between the sticks. Ter Stegen is one of the most, if not the most, promising young goal keeper out there today and some in Germany don't think it will be too long before he can find his way to more first team appearances for the National Team. At the age of 21 years old it seems like ter Stegen already has amazing skills that many veteran keepers took years to develop.

No respect for the Bundesliga

When you think of major soccer leagues in the world which come to mind? The English Premier League? La Liga? Serie A? All are valid responses to the biggest leagues in the world, but one that goes vastly unnoticed is Germany's Bundesliga.

For years the German first division has been growing rapidly, but most outside of soccer enthusiasts and German citizens have seen that. Many factors play into it, German soccer isn't as flair oriented so the media doesn't cover it as much and the league only fields 2 truly dominant clubs in Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. But if you look past the surface you will see a league with the qualities to rival the other top leagues in the world.

                 For the past few years Bayern and Dortmund have dominated German soccer, that is all set to change soon.

This season may not be a good indicator of how strong the league and teams are, with Bayern Munich dominating the league table and controlling a 17 point lead on second place Dortmund, but look past the top club and you see a packed table of teams who have European hopes. The clubs in spots 2 and 9 are only separated by 10 points, which isn't a huge margin if you think about the quality in the clubs. Teams such as Frankfurt, Freiburg, Mainz, Hamburg, Hannover, and Schalke are all chasing the second and third place teams Dortmund and Leverkusen.

Take a look at the league table for the Bundesliga so far this season: http://espnfc.com/tables/_/league/ger.1/german-bundesliga?cc=5901

Nothing special right? It isn't if you just look at it by numbers, but if you watch the teams play you will see a league full of stars that are ready to emerge but don't get the coverage they need to become known and hlep the league grow. The leading scorer in the Bundesliga isn't a member of Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund, but in fact it is Stefan Kießling from Bayer Leverkusen. The top assist man? Szabolcs Huszti from Hannover 96. These players play for teams not as flashy and known as others, but are just as excited to watch.

I've heard many arguments for people not interested in the league, and that is lack of scoring and lack of competitiveness. But take a look at this weekends past scores and you can see that these stats are not true. If you want scoring and don't feel like watching Bayern Munich, look at the score of the Hannover and Hamburg game that ended 5-1 in Hannovers favor. If you want to see competitiveness but don't see it in the score, look at the stats of a game between 2 of the bottom tier teams in the Bundesliga this weekend, Augsburg and Hoffenheim. Between them there were 27 shots, 41 fouls, and 3 goals. One of which came at the brink of stoppage time.

Just reading about the non top teams in Bundesliga might not make you want to watch the league, but the top teams are trying to change that. The three Bundesliga teams that were in this years Champions League spots all made it out of their groups on top, with Dortmund topping the group of death that included Ajax, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. You cannot tell me that isn't impressive. Schalke are proving their worth as they hold an advantage over much hyped Galatasary that includes Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba. And Bayern Munich are on a tear this Champions League campaign so far, after having made 2 of the past 3 Champions League finals they seem set to make another CL finals run.

So I recommend you look into the league I call my personal favorite, not just because my favorite team plays in it but because it is ready to emerge as the next big, much talked about league. The league is no longer Bayern, Dortmund, and some other teams. The league is full of teams ready to challenge for European competition spots, with rosters filled with young, talented players.

The future is bright for the Bundesliga, it just needs to get the respect it deserves.

What do you think? Is the Bundesliga set to breakout into a major competition? Do you want to see more from the German league?

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Weekend Recap

This weekend almost solidified the Champions for 3 of the worlds premier leagues.

                                                Barcelona went 12 points clear in La Liga with an easy win.

Barcelona went 12 points clear at the top of La Liga with a 6-1 thrashing of Getafe at Camp Nou. Atletico Madrid took a hit to their second place bid with a 2-1 loss at Rayo Vallecano, while Real Madrid pushed their way to 4 points within Atletico with an easy 4-1 win over Sevilla. There is no question that Barcelona have La Liga wrapped up and that the two Madrid teams will finish 2 and 3, it is just a matter of which Madrid team comes in second.

                                          David Alaba bagged a brace as Bayern Munich tore apart Schalke.

In Germany, Bayern won convincingly over slumping Schalke 4-0 to go 15 points up on second place Borussia Dortmund. Goals from David Alaba (2), Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Mario Gomez carried Bayern. Dortmund lost ground with a 4-1 loss to Hamburg. An early goal by Robert Lewandowski ended up only being a consolation as Hamburg dismantled the reigning champions.

                                           Gareth Barry scores a terrible own goal as City fall to Southampton.

Manchester United were all but gifted the title this weekend by cross town rivals Manchester City. The Red Devils 2-0 win over Everton following a 3-1 defeat of Manchester City by Southampton almost guaranteed a 20th title for United. It was all going wrong early for City, as they went down 2-0 early in the game. Edin Dzeko pulled one back for City, but a terrible Gareth Barry own goal sealed City's fate on Saturday. Meanwhile, Chelsea continued their push for second as they romped Wigan 4-1 at the Bridge. Tottenham kept their bid for 4th place alive with a brace by Gareth Bale, while Arsenal kept right on their heels with a 1-0 win at Sunderland.

                                                      Balotelli scores again for AC Milan to earn a draw.

Juventes pulled a little farther away of second place Napoli in Italy this weekend with a 2-0 win over Fiorentina. Mario Balotelli scored again to earn new club AC Milan a 1-1 draw at Cagliari. Balotelli now has 3 goals in 2 games for the Rossoneri. Inter stay 2 points above their city rivals following a 3-1 win over Chievo Verona. The top 2 teams in Serie A seem set with Juventes and Napoli set to battle it out for first over the next couple games.

                                                             PSG go 6 points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

Paris Saint-Germain pulled 6 points ahead of Lyon in Ligue 1 following a 3-1 win over Bastia. Goals from Menez, Ibrahimovic, and Lavezzi earned PSG all three points. Elsewhere in France, Lyon fell 3-1 to Lille putting a dent in their title hopes. Marseille salvaged a point against Evian Thonon Gaillard to pull within 2 points of Lille for second.


What did you think of this weekends games? Do you think La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the EPL are won already?

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Can the league leaders in the major competitions keep up their good form?

Since the winter break has come around I have wondered if the major leagues points leaders can keep up their form and stay atop their leagues. Here's my take on how they have done so far and what they must do to keep their form.

Ligue 1 (France): Paris Saint-Germain

Sitting atop the table in France is new soccer powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain. With the additions of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Gregory van der Wiel, PSG have solidified themselves as a force to come for at least this season and next. Starting off slow in the league they hit stride with superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic netting 19 goals in the league so far. With the recent arrival of Lucas Moura from Sao Paulo and the surprising signing of iconic midfielder David Beckham, PSG seem set to keep their spot atop Ligue 1. As long as Ibra can keep scoring and getting just a little support there is no reason that PSG should slip out of number 1.

Bundesliga (Germany): Bayern Munich

Sitting atop the table in Germany is powerhouse Bayern Munich. Off to one of the best starts in team history with 48 points and having only 1 loss in the league Bayern look set to stroll to their 22nd league title. The additions of Mario Mandzukic, Xherdan Shaqiri, Dante, Javi Martinez, and Claudio Pizarro have seen Bayern have an even deeper squad, something that plagued them last season. With the recent fitness revival of Mario Gomez and the spectacular play of Mandzukic, the strike force is even more deadly.

La Liga (Spain): FC Barcelona 

The leaders in Spain are (surprise, surprise) FC Barcelona. Sitting high atop the table, Barcelona are on pace to have one of their best seasons ever. With 58 points they are 15 points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid and look unstoppable in the league. With Messi recently netting his 200th Barcelona goal and breaking the record for goals scored in a calendar year in 2012, Barcelona look to be in complete control in La Liga. Only a complete meltdown could kill their season, and we all know that won't happen.

Barclays Premier League (England): Manchester United

The Red Devils sit atop the Barclays Premier League, 7 points clear of cross town rivals Manchester City. Manchester United seem to be rolling, but a lack of defensive discipline could kill their title hopes. Having conceded their biggest amount of goals at this point in the season, and with goalkeeper David de Gea looking dreadful at times, Manchester United have relied on the strike force of Chicharito, Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney, and superstar signing Robin van Persie. Leading the league in goals, RVP seems to have picked up where he left off last season, on pace to score another 30 goals this season. United need to sharpen up their defense if they hope to survive comfortably in the second half of the season, but need not worry too much as long as van Persie and Rooney can keep scoring at the rate they are now.