I also don't think he's necessarily helping himself out. When you are so hellbent to take 'responsibility' by taking a relatively important penalty (after you've missed already and during a period in which your performances are under heavy scrutiny), then you have to score it. Now it's Bilbao away in December, but can you imagine this being a penalty against Juventus in the 95th min (remember that one..?)? Yeah, not good. Let's hope he can recover his form, and quickly.
I was at the Bernabeu for the Milan match. I went in early to see the team warmup. I was right there next to the team, like 5 rows in. This guys was missing the whole goal all the time. Like we had Lucas dazzle us with some shots and some low crosses into the box, Mbappe was just very underwhelming. But to be fair, and to quote the great Allen Iverson... "Practice? We talking bout practice??". Thing is, we wouldn't be talking about practice if he performed when it mattered.
There was a lot of talk that once he scored his first goal, all the anger would be overshadowed by the cheers. We also heard claims that he didn't run in Paris because he was 'bigger than the club,' but in Spain, he’d give his all because he’d be chasing victories. So far, these optimistic predictions haven’t materialized.
Leopard can't change its spots. He showed everyone who he was the last four years, during his formative years mind you. Much like Hazard, you just can't unlearn negative traits like flipping a light switch.
This was my biggest worry about signing him. But, I thought a club like RM being surrounded by players who are supposedly hungry and professional and a strong manager and institution would give him the framework to achieve great things early. Unfortunately it’s looking like he’s not up for it. Body language, effort and overall physical conditioning shows that he thought all he had to do was show up and he’d score and be the hero. The only salvation I see for him is Carlo or a stronger personality coach like a Zidane to bench him and tell him he’s not good enough. Go back to work and train and put in the effort on and off the pitch. If he wants his legacy to be remembered as a flop at RM it’s on him. The club is bigger than one player.
This is a trait Jude needs to change. He himself has hardly been up to the task this season so seeing him go round throwing his arms up and throwing tantrums isn't the right thing to do.
This is what you get with a manager like Carlo. He enables so much bad behavior no wonder the wheels are coming off this season.
Mbappe is not behaving badly at all. He's done everything the trainers and coaches have asked him to. Never complained. The issue is that he's starting from a position of deficit and developed bad habits after World Cup 2022 (really January of 2023). In order to regain his physical dominance... and he was absolutely destroying everyone athletically as early as 18 months ago... he needs to commit off the pitch and training. That's the missing piece IMO. You have to give up activities that can be detrimental. Just a reminder that during the final in world cup 2022 he was still making multiple full-speed runs until the last second of extra time. There was no let-off. Nowadays, he's cooked by the 75th min despite not running anywhere near as much. Argentina was sending 3 defenders to stop him and couldn't do it. In CL, all you need to do is remember what he did to the club home and away... he torched Carvajal, Militao and Alaba in 2022. So let's not have revisionist history. He was the best player in the world, IMO, from 2020 to January 2023. The decline started then and it wasn't due to age or injury. Even while declining, his stats were ridiculous. Forget PSG, for France, he scored 10 goals in 9 games in 2023. We're talking about small margins here, not some huge gap he needs to overcome. To me, there are 3 things he needs to do: - Regain that extra step athletically. He's not far off. - Regain fitness so that he never gets tired, like in early 2023 - Regain confidence... this is just a result of success He can't let the gaps widen though because, the wider they get, the more difficult the prospects of recovery.
But why did he let his fitness down to begin with? It’s more telling that he was essentially coasting his last two years at PSG partying and giving the middle finger to Khalifi. For me the fact he let himself get to this , knowing that he’s making a move to RM for over a year in advance is alarming. It’s not too late to turn it around, but he’s clearly not changing his mentality and effort. I dont know what the catalyst will be. Empty IG posts aren’t going to fix this.
You and others weren't wrong to think he could change negative traits, although respectfully, overly optimistic. I've been in education for over ten years now and I see all types of young people and personalities and more often than not even with all of the support in the world they can't undo negative traits and behaviors. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
It’s just strange to me that he wanted to come here in the first place. If he wasn’t interested in actually putting in the work. He could have been content to make more money and not really put out any significant effort at PSG. He either has a very delusional view of his own abilities or just couldn’t give a shit, knowing how expectations are and the levels at RM. Either way, very concerning.
I'm not surprised but I'll wait for the full Mbappe interview with Marca where he feels like the club doesn't support him enough and he realized with the recent Balon d Or fiasco that the club may not be able to deliver on it's promise they would help him win the award if he joined. Now he is SAD and the ONLY thing that could make things better is a new, higher paying contract
Lol I actually listened to this podcast as well. Don't remember word for word what was said just that the employee said he has a lot of misses during training. It didn't sound as bad as this person described it.
He a child prodigy who won a WC and got to another final that elevated him to another tier despite the loss. I wouldn't be surprised if he is shocked that he isn't succeeding right now. First time he is facing real adversity in his career. Now the question is what will he do to overcome?
I have no idea what this guy will be like in 30's when he has no pace to rely on and has to try adapt he's game. Halaand even more so, the guy is big giant with super pace but has no ball tech or skill outside of that. I think both will fall of hard in their 30s.
Or if you're Kylian Mbappe you take a trip with the boys to Sweden to enjoy the nightlife and sex workers and when that becomes a tabloid scandal you go hang out with Eden Hazard to properly demonstrate for the public you have no interest in self improvement.
But Jude has always had this bad trait, at Dortmund or even at the NT level. It's one reason why his teammates at Dortmund were happy to see him leave. I hope our next coach really puts a stamp on it, cannot have that drama/whiny behavior at a club like RM.
Or he calculated that the money he'd make back from endorsements while being a bigger club would put him at a better advantage in the future. No one was handing him a Balon d’Or while at PSG. I'm assuming he is aiming to win it someday as well.