Some guys are just consumate professionals. Some guys also eat out at Michelin starred restaurants damn near every week if Basti's social media was any indication.
If you were getting paid $6,000,000 USD for 3 years when you retired ... what is there to be frustrated about?
This. The rumor that was passed around had Bastian ready to talk to Hauptman about Pauno's idiocy. However, he wanted Dax (the captain) to go with him. Dax was no longer interested at that time, for whatever reason.
the one guy I like more as a representative of the team than as a player (though I like him as a player a good bit too) is Sapong -- seems to really embrace the city and is a great dude to have as part of the organization was too bad seeing him played out of position the last month or so, but I hope he finds a spot on the 2020 team
I've seen him out and about here in the South Loop. Other neighbors who've interacted with him have all had really positive things to say.
I agree with both of these statements. I guess I should have said I understand his lack of frustration, but would have preferred if he had spoken up about the state if the team.
Took my son, as a birthday present, to see their final home game. Wend early to watch warmups, and as always it was a pleasure to watch Schweinsteiger and Dax go through their paces. There's a marked difference in their touch vs...to use an example not entirely at random, Kappelhof's . Glad he got one last chance to have those images impressed in his memory. THIS is how you conduct yourself in a professional manner...whether your ever draw a check or not.
Ah yes this was my rumor. Did I post that in here or was that Reddit? As far as Dax, he was finally getting along with Pauno and wanted nothing to do with it. Fast forward to today and Dax has bought his house, his wife has a job in Chicago, and he very much wants to return next season. Nelson approached him with the option to be moved to a playoff team at the deadline and he declined.
Yes @xtomx I concur. Katai is my favorite player to watch (and my wife's for a different reason...she refers to him as "The Viking"...ahem) He and Gaitan are definite game changers with Gaitan at 12 assists and 4 goals in 27 games (25 starts). Katai 5 assists and 12 goals this year. Frankowski was a bit slow coming around but he and Herbers definitely made a difference towards the end there. Maybe just hitting stride? (5 goals 9 assists for Frankowski). Now if both Gaitan and Katai are out in favor of Pauno I say NO WAY! It's like Pauno doesn't want attackers to play freely which is what good attackers do! Katai would get on dribble and chaos would ensue, then a goal the result then he'd get benched. Daniel Johnson before he was injured same deal...dribble around his man and create some chaos and then he'd be benched for 4 games. Djordie fought his way back from injury to get some Natty call ups and suddenly he's on the pine. I don't get it?
What can I say? I'm a 5'10" American Scotch Irish Appalachian who also played on the wing. No use trying to figure out these wimmin' folk too hard. However: Katai Vikings TV Show
I don't know if that is true however the very LAST appearance Johnson made both at home and away (one was in 96 degree heat and sun) he looked absolutely FRIGHTENED to dribble down the line. I mean he would get the ball...think about it...stop...turn and pass backwards. His swagger was gone and his confidence shattered. THAT is bad coaching.
Pauno would absolutely tear into him (he mostly does this to goalkeepers... except Kronholm) but DJ didn't do his part either. He didn't work on his game outside of practice. Didn't lift, didn't work on his left foot. His diet was horrible, despite what his skinny frame might tell you. He has a ton of talent and he can dribble with the best of them, but he needs to find a level of work ethic within himself if he's going to carve out a career outside of USL.
I don't have that level of insight so I can't say. What I can say is I've been paying attention to this sport for far longer than most in my life/melieu (I remember watching the 1974 World Cup final from underneath a table at a pay per view close circuit event at the age of 5) and the first time I saw DJ dribble I immediately was reminded of Georgie Best. Maybe what you are saying is true but the potential is there in the kid.
I notice the lack of a sports psychologist on the Fire staff. There's a good chance that DJ's issues had a better chance of being addressed through counseling than coaching. I'd be disappointed if that was one area in the Mansueto era that isn't upgraded sooner rather than later. Maybe the disappointment he experienced when he couldn't latch on at West Ham damaged his psyche. Those of us at the open practices the start of the 2017 season at the Fire Pitch saw DJ's potential. Today, it's unlikely he will ever reach it.
Ugh I think there is a LOT to this. As a player I had my share of successes and disappointments and had a ton of aspirations since my cousin Joe played in the NASL and MISL in the 1970's and '80's and I truly aspired to follow him. I had an AWFUL high school career because my coach really sucked! I preferred the man over the coach (meaning he was probably an alright guy off the field) but when it came to on the field he wanted to play kick and run the entire game all the time every game. He'd put track stars on the wings who had speed and no ball control and most of these guys didn't play club ball during the offseason (or as we called it then Select since it was a tryout Travel Soccer situation). Possession or build up was anathema to this coach and occasionally I'd be inserted into a match, get the ball, see nothing was really on and slow things down and immediately get yelled at in front of teammates, parents, fellow students etc. then immediately be pulled after 2 minutes! It was humiliating and infuriating as I've always been more of a tiki-taka type guy even before there was a name for it and I've never been treated that way just as a human being. Meanwhile after high school I had plenty of success as a walk on in college (because no one scouted me since I rode the pine in high school) and immediately got playing time in the NCAA Div II and was one of only 2 of my high school team mates who continued playing into college. My high school coach hated my playing style, attitude and earring and haircut and the whole thing. It was a very tough time knowing you are better than people who are getting time and you have zero control over the situation other than to either quit or keep trying. I wasn't a quitter but couldn't escape the doghouse. It can really shake your confidence to even perform the simplest things like trap a long ball knowing you are under a microscope and trying to figure out how to play without getting in trouble or whatever and the second you do will be yelled at or removed. To me DJ had that whole thing going on here.
I didn't want him back, as I really don't like poachers, but I respect the hell out of him as a professional. He was definitely always thinking about the team first.