#7 - The Talisman : 10 August 2023

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#7 - The Magic Man

Vinicius Junior is undoubtedly Real Madrid’s best player and has been for some time now. Karim Benzema’s departure means Vinicius will now have to unlock another level to his game. If he can do it, we’ll be looking at the best player in the world.

But is the expectation over the top?

The trajectory of Vinicius’ evolution would naturally lead to him playing closer to goal as he matures given the development of his decision-making and finishing abilities.

This season might come too soon but surely Vinicius can become a 30 goal season forward. If not this season then maybe the next but his ceiling cannot be in the 20-25 goals per season. He’s too talented for that to be his limit.

#5 - The Bellingham Effect

Ancelotti has basically brought Jude in as a starter with the primary strategy henceforth built heavily around his orientation relative to the forwards.

Bellingham is in effect the other talisman.

Ancelotti has some tough decisions to make but his batman and superman combo will be Vinicius and Bellingham. How to get the best out of both of them while maintaining efficiency in other areas.

The diamond is better for Bellingham but we haven’t seen how good he can be in a 4-3-3 as a number 8 with some license to roam. Vinicius is better in a 4-3-3. He can still move closer to goal a la CR7 in a 4-3-3 while still having freedom to drop back or drift wide and pick up the ball when he needs to.

Toni’s Got Jokes

Food for Thought or Kick ‘n run ?

Are some talents born in the wrong era?

I often wonder about Guti and Redondo being born 5 or 10 years too soon. Do some skills sets looks way better because of the era in which the game is played? You get players like Zidane who just transcend, put him with Pele and Di Stefano, Maradona, R9 or CR7 and he would still stand out as a master of his craft. Thinking out loud..

**PS- The “Prince Aurelien”, yesterday was a loose reference to El Principe, since there’s rumours that the starting spot will belong to him this season.

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