Crespo is also a Huge striker. But you are right, Crespo is better than Drogba, he is the best striker of this group. But did does not mean that Drogba is a bad striker!! Crespo is a World Class striker and Drogba is a Top Class striker. Crespo fits more in the Italian League than in the EPL, and Drogba is more a ´´English striker´´.
i remember that game and it's fair to say ayala had him in his pocket all night, i don't think drogba even won a header despite his height advantage. in fairness to drogba however, he wasn't fully fit and there were doubts whether he'd play the game.
Ironic because he never proved anything in the EPL, beside gaining the reputation of diving, and is being rumoured to move to Italy.
drogba may not be the world's greatest player, but there is a v clear reason why mourinho prefers him to crespo, i.e. he is far more committed, at least in a chelsea shirt, and mourinho puts great emphasis on that. crespo is the classier act, better movement, finishing, touch etc, but drogba can forage alone up front, particularly away from home where he is more isolated from his teammates, he is a fighter who never gives up, with a greater physical presence. crespo on the other hand needs his teammates far closer to him, he makes little darting runs into the space and he relies on his teamates to put the ball into that space. crespo is a v clever player but drogba, for me, is stronger mentally. drogba is v hit or miss, but he has won over the chelsea faithful, largely because when the pressure was on towards the tail-end of last season, with chelsea dropping points, it was he who dragged them out of the mire, grabbing the goals and leading the charge, which is testament to his character. to say he has never been impressive for chelsea, as you did before, is false. he has been hot and cold. last season alone i remember OUTSTANDING displays away to liverpool where he created all four goals, at home to west ham when chelsea were a man down and a goal down, against arsenal in the community shield where he terrorised them and grabbed both goals etc etc. of course he has played poorly, but if we're honest (something you are loathe to do) so has crespo, altho, in fairness, crespo never really settled in england so we never saw the best of him. drogba has his limitations but he's not ic's captain for nothing, and his scoring record at international level is pretty astonishing. we will come up against better strikers in the wc, but we will also come up against worse.
i have never said Drogba is a bad player. i have always admited that Drogba is a good player but the thing i am trying to say is he is little too overrated. he is good but not amongst the best in the world and yet he is considered to be one of the best.
Gabriel Heinze believes that Argentina have the key to neutralise Ivory Coast dangerman Didier Drogba in their opening World Cup Group C match in Hamburg on Saturday, 10 June. "Drogba is a great player, he is showing that all the time," Heinze said. "Marking him is based a lot on the concentration and positioning we have to have." "He waits for diagonal balls or lurks behind the back of the central defender furthest from the ball," added Heinze, who has played against Drogba in both the Premier League and French Ligue 1. "With regard to the Ivory Coast team, we're looking at things in increasing detail and hoping this week goes by without any problem so we get there in good shape," he added. source : FIFA
I agree with most when it comes to saying Drogba is a little too overrated. But there are certain things to be concerned about. For me its his physical strngth. he is not a clinical finisher, and we neednt worry about that. But on his day he can shrug off a few Burdissos, which concerns me. Also he is good in the air, remember what Crouch did to us in dying minutes, but to be fair, Ayala and Heinze are gonna be there, unlike then. I would only be concerned if Didier switches to the lft and takes on Burdisso.
I honestly admire Riquelme's attitude. He is truly a cold blooded assassin. He does not seem to care about the opposition, he is not even showing any sign of interest. He said he will play like he always does. I respect him a lot, he is a serious professional footballer that does not show any useless emotions on the field. You will not see him celebrating a goal by dancing that is for sure.... but that could change if Tevez is around
The Dutchies add 2 new players to their squad of 23, who will travel today to Germany. Nigel de Jong (HSV) en Stijn Schaars, (AZ, and the captain of the Dutch under 21 team that won the under 21 tournament last week in Portugal) will travel together with the other players to Germany, and if something happen with the players that have little injuries these two players will replace them. Van Basten, and the other coaches, can make changes until saturday 15.00 European Time.
Has Pekerman named which reserves are coming to Germany in the event of injury? As much time as I've spent on these boards I just can't recall reading that anywhere. Any help would be great. Saludos'
Here the line ups and the positions of the Dutchies in the friendlies against Cameroon and Mexico. The Line Up against the Aussies, i will post later today. Cameroon 1-0 (V. Nistelrooy) Van der Sar Kromkamp Ooijer Mathijsen Van Bronckhorst Van Bommel Sneijder Cocu (Landzaat '79) Van Persie Van Nistelrooy (Kuyt '75) Robben (Babel '82) Line Up. Van der Sar Kromkamp - Ooijer - Mathijsen - Van Bronckhorst Van Bommel - Sneijder - Cocu Van Persie - Van Nistelrooy - Robben After the substitutions: Van der Sar Kromkamp - Ooijer - Mathijsen - Van Bronckhorst Van Bommel - Landzaat - Sneijder Van Persie - Kuyt - Babel Vs Mexico. 2-1 (Heitinga, Babel) Henk Timmer (Maarten Stekelenburg, m.46) Jan Kromkamp Khalid Boulahrouz John Heitinga Tim De Cler Denny Landzaat Hedwidges Maduro Wesley Sneijder Ryan Babel Dirk Kuyt Robin Van Persie (Jan Vennegoor, m.46). Line up: Henk Timmer Jan Kromkamp - Khalid Boulahrouz - John Heitinga - Tim De Cler Denny Landzaat - Hedwidges Maduro - Wesley Sneijder Robin Van Persie - Dirk Kuyt - Ryan Babel 2nd half. Maarten Stekelenburg Jan Kromkamp - Khalid Boulahrouz - John Heitinga - Tim De Cler Denny Landzaat - Hedwidges Maduro - Wesley Sneijder Dirk Kuyt - Jan Vennegoor - Ryan Babel.
The line up against the ´´Kangerous´´ Van der Sar Kromkamp - Ooijer - Mathijsen - Van Bronckhorst Van Bommel - Sneijder - Cocu Van Persie - Van Nistelrooy - Robben Unfortunately they kicked out 2 of our midfielders and Gio out of da game!!
It looks like Holland is still experimenting with their lineup. Or maybe they just wanted to get everybody to play. Is the lineup vs Australia the one they are likely to use at the world cup?
The teams that played against Cameroon and the 1st half against Australia should be the starting 11, with the possible inclusion of Van der Vart, if he is match fit, for Sneider. Sneider is cleared from the injury against Australia. Cocu and Gio aren't yet. Holland is very dangerous in attack. Their midfielders arrive to the edge of the box fast. They don't control the midfield as much as in the past. The mid pressured higher up the pitch against Australia, but the Aussies are a team with less ball control anyways, which helped the pressure. Against Cameroon, the mid fell further back, close to their own box, to form a 7 man block when defending. Holland's defense has lots of holes. But have an excellent goalie. Their weakness is in the back ... either attacking them or playing them on the counter. Wouldn't be surprised if Serbia gains points on Saturday. .
i seriously hope not VIP, I would rather see Serbia beaten, as sum1 earluer said, if they get beat, they will not lie down and defend against us, which I absolutely hate.
I heard that now Pekerman is considering starting Palacio, I have a feeling this kid i going to do well alongside Crespo against Ivory, if Peker chooses this. I think it would be interesting, in practice he scores every time and doesn't seem to be afraid, today I read he scored two goals. Heinze on the other hand seems to still be a bit out of shape from hatI read and Peker is considering starting Milito instead.
heinze would be a big loss but milito is more than capable of filling his boots. i don't know why peker just doesn't start with our best striker. carlitos.
The La Red reporter at the Argentine camp was stating this morning that his impression over the past few days is that the forwards are in 2 groups: Group 1: Crespo - Tevez - Cruz ... the center forwards Group 2: Saviola - Palacio - Messi ... the "outside" strikers For Saturday, everything points at Saviola starting. And that the immediate replacement for Saviola would be Palacio. Palacio has been sharp and scoring everytime he has been a part of the team in practice. And now that the group is together ... reporters keep pointing at his speed, which stands out from the rest. The discussion is turning a bit like the Batistuta-Crespo story ... if they could play together. Seems that Pekerman has concluded that Crespo and Tevez alone (when playing 4 mids) are not complementing each other. And that Crespo has asked for an "outside" player. What I'm sure is that if the duo is not working, Pekerman won't hesitate to sub Crspo for Tevez ... and bring along someone like Messi. Dribble ... strength ... speed. And Cruz? I imagine that unless Crespo is injured/suspended thruout the competition ... or Argentina is behind the score against a well closed opponent ( *knocks wood* ) Cruz will be watching the WC from the bench. .
I'm sure Peker and the players know who will be starting against the Ivory Coast on Saturday. He's probably keeping the opposition guessing for as long as possible. My own feeling is that he will go with Saviola/Crespo upfront, because 1) becauseI think Peker believes they work better as a partnership and 2) because Peker really does have a huge amount of faith in Saviola. I've no problem with Saviola as I think he is a top quality player, and he can play on the wing if required. It's just a shame that Tevez and Crespo hasn't quite worked out as I think Tevez is immense and as important to Argentina as Rooney is to England. Having said that having Messi/Tevez/Palacio/Lucho/Cruz/Aimar on the bench is not a bad option to have.
Yes, but I think Van Basten will only replace the right wing back (Kromkamp) for Heitinga from ajax, because he has made lots of mistakes during the friendlies. Van der Vaart will probably not playing on the WC because of his injury.