‘If you understand football, you do substitutions during a match. If you don’t, you talk about it after that.’
The Substitute. It is a position no footballer ever wants to be in. Benched, dropped or left out – these are phrases no footballer ever wants to be associated with his name. The feeling of being Good but not ‘Good Enough’ starts to sink in.
Take the case of Vikas Dhorasoo as an example, considered by his peers as a ‘French Football Intellectual’. Dhorasoo was part of France’s squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and played every game in the qualifying rounds but when the tournament started he was used marginally. Trying hard to be happy as a part of that special squad, he couldn’t get used to life on the bench. "I'm getting fed up here in Germany. I wonder what I came here for, except for a film, because my World Cup went wrong," he said highlighting his growing pessimism. "Three days ago against Spain, I felt like crying. I'm not a supporter, I'm not a spectator, I'm a football player and I'm not playing football."
Ever since the first official substitution on 11th October 1953 in a match between Germany and Saarland, the role of the substitute has changed tremendously. From being viewed as an outcast, a reject to the game changers today in the era of extensive fixtures and squad rotations. Digest this fact for instance, The Premier League table last season would have had West Brom as its leader after 11 round of fixtures discounting goals from substitutes. Though some players take the blow of dejection to their chin and strive continuously to work for the team, there are others who look to force their way out of the team if they aren’t playing. Presenting the Good, Bad & Ugly faces from the substitute bench:
1. THE SUPER SUBS
The term "super-sub" refers to a substitution made by the Manager that subsequently saves the game. A reference to super-sub brings to the mind the exploits of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who was deployed shrewdly by Sir Alex when the opposition’s defenders grew weary & spaces opened up. Super subs as players are worth their weight in gold because to come on late in the match, get up to the speed & change the course of the match isn’t luck, it’s an art. Players referenced as Super-sub in the current times are Javier Hernandez, Edin Dzeko, Adam Le Fondre and none other than Lionel Messi.
Manchester United have an array of forwards but when none of them seem to have brought their scoring shoes along, the last throw of the dice often is to bring Hernanadez on. Though being unable to cement his place in the starting line-up ever since his move from Chivas, this youngster knows where the goal is & would do anything to get the ball into the net. Who could forget United’s 3-2 victory over Aston Villa when he came on at half time shortly before his team went 2-0 down. In the next 40 minutes that followed Chicarito had 3 shots on target and all 3 turned into goals, salvaging a sinking match for his team.
Edin Dzeko was of man of contrasts last season. In the 3 matches he started until November he could only manage a single goal & Manchester City could only win one of those 3 games while in the games he came on as a sub, he influenced the game in the manner that kept City in the title chase & made him his team’s top scorer ahead of Aguero & Tevez who had more starts. Against Spurs, Dzeko came off the bench to win the game for City with a key pass and a goal in the 17 minutes he was on the field. Similarily Le Fondre was the shining light for Reading as he scored 8 goals while coming off the bench.
Nobody in their right mind would classify Messi as a sub but the sheer impact of his substitution on the outcome of this match means he certainly deserves a mention here. People have often wondered what Barca would have been without Messi and they got their answer on 10th April 2013 when Barca hosted PSG for the Champions League Quarter Finals. A pitiful display by Barca to be honest, where they kept possession but lacked the cutting edge to attack the opposition’s goal and looked all set to exit the competition until the ‘Messi-ah’ was introduced. The mere presence of a half-fit Messi on the pitch galvanized the team, the improvement in the level of play became evident and Barca were able to salvage the match.
2. THE BENCH WARMERS
These are players bought for hefty prices to perform as the show stoppers for their new teams, who are soon dropped to the bench & then finally came along merely to warm the benches as their respective teams went from one conquest to another. A variety of reasons contribute for this downfall such as injuries, lack of form, the sheer pressure of high expectations, media scrutiny etc.
Kaka became the player with the second most expensive transfer fee ever, for a brief period when he moved from Milan to Real Madrid in June 2009. Injuries and the burden of expectations to re-establish the Galacticos era proved too much for the former World Player of the Year to cope with, as his form dipped and so did his value to the team. This was a frustrating time for Kaka as he watched Madrid trying to break the Barcelona dominance game after game from the bench. In 3 seasons, Kaka provided a return of 24 goals and 28 assists from 92 appearances, which though on the face of it does not seem all that terrible, was still too little to impress the Madrid faithful for a player of his stature and price. He became a victim of the ‘Bernabeu Bite’ as he was allowed to leave on a free transfer back to AC this summer. One of the brightest sparks to adorn the football world in the last decade, was frittered away by the callousness of Los Blancos.
Other players to have come under similar scrutiny are Andrei Arshavin at Arsenal for his final two seasons and the disastrous Dmytro Chygrynskiy( A 25 million Euros signing for Barca who hardly lasted a season).
3. THE WHINERS
The whiners usually are the players who have difficulty in swallowing their pride when dropped to the bench and help the team’s cause. What follows is the saga of repeated complaints by the player about the grave injustice he’s facing, a spat with the Manager and ultimately ends with the handing in of a transfer request. The lack of the will to fight for their place in the starting line-up usually ends up making such players unpopular among fans & team-mates alike.
The saga of Carlos Tevez at Manchester City is a perfect case in study. The arrival of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko at City made Tevez insecure about his position in the team. He tried to force his way out of the team but when he was unsuccessful in doing that, he resorted to what could be the biggest betrayal by a player to his football club. On the occasion of the biggest club competition in the world and a match important to City’s fortunes in the competition at the Allianz Arena where City where trailing 2-0, City Manager Roberto Mancini called upon Tevez to come on to inspire his team’s revival. However, following a misunderstanding with Mancini, Tevez refused to take the field and the dejection was too much of an insult to digest by City which later forced Mancini to proclaim that Tevez would never play under him again. Though Tevez did return in City's colours after an 8-month sabbatical, he could never regain the complete faith of the City fans and this was a major factor in his recent shift to Juventus.
Thiago Alcantara can also be considerered under the similar category for his refusal to fight for his place in the famed Barcelona’s midfield with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas and forced his transfer to Bayern to re-unite with Pep Guardiola.
In any case, Substitutions are an integral part of modern football and the managers who are known to use their players from the bench shrewdly and are able to dictate the flow of the game, only they are known as the ‘The Old Wise Men of Football’.
-Gaurav Mishra.
Follow me on Twitter - @GM_Barca
or
email us at - tbegame@gmail.com or follow us at @tbegame
The Substitute. It is a position no footballer ever wants to be in. Benched, dropped or left out – these are phrases no footballer ever wants to be associated with his name. The feeling of being Good but not ‘Good Enough’ starts to sink in.
Take the case of Vikas Dhorasoo as an example, considered by his peers as a ‘French Football Intellectual’. Dhorasoo was part of France’s squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and played every game in the qualifying rounds but when the tournament started he was used marginally. Trying hard to be happy as a part of that special squad, he couldn’t get used to life on the bench. "I'm getting fed up here in Germany. I wonder what I came here for, except for a film, because my World Cup went wrong," he said highlighting his growing pessimism. "Three days ago against Spain, I felt like crying. I'm not a supporter, I'm not a spectator, I'm a football player and I'm not playing football."
Ever since the first official substitution on 11th October 1953 in a match between Germany and Saarland, the role of the substitute has changed tremendously. From being viewed as an outcast, a reject to the game changers today in the era of extensive fixtures and squad rotations. Digest this fact for instance, The Premier League table last season would have had West Brom as its leader after 11 round of fixtures discounting goals from substitutes. Though some players take the blow of dejection to their chin and strive continuously to work for the team, there are others who look to force their way out of the team if they aren’t playing. Presenting the Good, Bad & Ugly faces from the substitute bench:
1. THE SUPER SUBS
The term "super-sub" refers to a substitution made by the Manager that subsequently saves the game. A reference to super-sub brings to the mind the exploits of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who was deployed shrewdly by Sir Alex when the opposition’s defenders grew weary & spaces opened up. Super subs as players are worth their weight in gold because to come on late in the match, get up to the speed & change the course of the match isn’t luck, it’s an art. Players referenced as Super-sub in the current times are Javier Hernandez, Edin Dzeko, Adam Le Fondre and none other than Lionel Messi.
Manchester United have an array of forwards but when none of them seem to have brought their scoring shoes along, the last throw of the dice often is to bring Hernanadez on. Though being unable to cement his place in the starting line-up ever since his move from Chivas, this youngster knows where the goal is & would do anything to get the ball into the net. Who could forget United’s 3-2 victory over Aston Villa when he came on at half time shortly before his team went 2-0 down. In the next 40 minutes that followed Chicarito had 3 shots on target and all 3 turned into goals, salvaging a sinking match for his team.
 |
| Javier Hernandez And Edin Dzeko |
Edin Dzeko was of man of contrasts last season. In the 3 matches he started until November he could only manage a single goal & Manchester City could only win one of those 3 games while in the games he came on as a sub, he influenced the game in the manner that kept City in the title chase & made him his team’s top scorer ahead of Aguero & Tevez who had more starts. Against Spurs, Dzeko came off the bench to win the game for City with a key pass and a goal in the 17 minutes he was on the field. Similarily Le Fondre was the shining light for Reading as he scored 8 goals while coming off the bench.
Nobody in their right mind would classify Messi as a sub but the sheer impact of his substitution on the outcome of this match means he certainly deserves a mention here. People have often wondered what Barca would have been without Messi and they got their answer on 10th April 2013 when Barca hosted PSG for the Champions League Quarter Finals. A pitiful display by Barca to be honest, where they kept possession but lacked the cutting edge to attack the opposition’s goal and looked all set to exit the competition until the ‘Messi-ah’ was introduced. The mere presence of a half-fit Messi on the pitch galvanized the team, the improvement in the level of play became evident and Barca were able to salvage the match.
2. THE BENCH WARMERS
These are players bought for hefty prices to perform as the show stoppers for their new teams, who are soon dropped to the bench & then finally came along merely to warm the benches as their respective teams went from one conquest to another. A variety of reasons contribute for this downfall such as injuries, lack of form, the sheer pressure of high expectations, media scrutiny etc.
Kaka became the player with the second most expensive transfer fee ever, for a brief period when he moved from Milan to Real Madrid in June 2009. Injuries and the burden of expectations to re-establish the Galacticos era proved too much for the former World Player of the Year to cope with, as his form dipped and so did his value to the team. This was a frustrating time for Kaka as he watched Madrid trying to break the Barcelona dominance game after game from the bench. In 3 seasons, Kaka provided a return of 24 goals and 28 assists from 92 appearances, which though on the face of it does not seem all that terrible, was still too little to impress the Madrid faithful for a player of his stature and price. He became a victim of the ‘Bernabeu Bite’ as he was allowed to leave on a free transfer back to AC this summer. One of the brightest sparks to adorn the football world in the last decade, was frittered away by the callousness of Los Blancos.
 |
| Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Ricardo Kaka |
Other players to have come under similar scrutiny are Andrei Arshavin at Arsenal for his final two seasons and the disastrous Dmytro Chygrynskiy( A 25 million Euros signing for Barca who hardly lasted a season).
3. THE WHINERS
The whiners usually are the players who have difficulty in swallowing their pride when dropped to the bench and help the team’s cause. What follows is the saga of repeated complaints by the player about the grave injustice he’s facing, a spat with the Manager and ultimately ends with the handing in of a transfer request. The lack of the will to fight for their place in the starting line-up usually ends up making such players unpopular among fans & team-mates alike.
The saga of Carlos Tevez at Manchester City is a perfect case in study. The arrival of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko at City made Tevez insecure about his position in the team. He tried to force his way out of the team but when he was unsuccessful in doing that, he resorted to what could be the biggest betrayal by a player to his football club. On the occasion of the biggest club competition in the world and a match important to City’s fortunes in the competition at the Allianz Arena where City where trailing 2-0, City Manager Roberto Mancini called upon Tevez to come on to inspire his team’s revival. However, following a misunderstanding with Mancini, Tevez refused to take the field and the dejection was too much of an insult to digest by City which later forced Mancini to proclaim that Tevez would never play under him again. Though Tevez did return in City's colours after an 8-month sabbatical, he could never regain the complete faith of the City fans and this was a major factor in his recent shift to Juventus.
 |
| Carlos Tevez |
Thiago Alcantara can also be considerered under the similar category for his refusal to fight for his place in the famed Barcelona’s midfield with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas and forced his transfer to Bayern to re-unite with Pep Guardiola.
In any case, Substitutions are an integral part of modern football and the managers who are known to use their players from the bench shrewdly and are able to dictate the flow of the game, only they are known as the ‘The Old Wise Men of Football’.
-Gaurav Mishra.
Follow me on Twitter - @GM_Barca
or
email us at - tbegame@gmail.com or follow us at @tbegame
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