This guy was penned as the next truly great German player a few years ago, and I don't think you could find many with an opposing view back then. He was also one of those truly unobtainable players that giant clubs have from time to time that no others even try and wrestle away.
He's just turned 29, however, and has hardly made the indelible impression on the game he was touted and wholly expected to. He's far from done as a player at 29, with potentially 3-4 good to great years left in him at a minimum, injuries permitting. At the same time, he is 29, and all that predestined rhetoric seems to be quite wide of the mark, so what has/is happening there?
By German standards, when saying the next great one, we're talking: Matthäus, Breitner, Magath, Schweinsteiger, Overath, Netzer, Kroos, Ballack etc. Granted, there's some offensive powerhouses thrown in there, but it's more about being par with that kind of company in his position(s), but it doesn’t seem like he ever got close despite the reputation and billing that preceded him?
If you're an avid fan of Bayern, the league and/or the NT, what has been your take on him as a player and the career he's had up to date? Has he fallen short of expectations? Finally, do you think that the best of what he has to offer has come and gone, or is there a level or two he may still go up?
He's just turned 29, however, and has hardly made the indelible impression on the game he was touted and wholly expected to. He's far from done as a player at 29, with potentially 3-4 good to great years left in him at a minimum, injuries permitting. At the same time, he is 29, and all that predestined rhetoric seems to be quite wide of the mark, so what has/is happening there?
By German standards, when saying the next great one, we're talking: Matthäus, Breitner, Magath, Schweinsteiger, Overath, Netzer, Kroos, Ballack etc. Granted, there's some offensive powerhouses thrown in there, but it's more about being par with that kind of company in his position(s), but it doesn’t seem like he ever got close despite the reputation and billing that preceded him?
If you're an avid fan of Bayern, the league and/or the NT, what has been your take on him as a player and the career he's had up to date? Has he fallen short of expectations? Finally, do you think that the best of what he has to offer has come and gone, or is there a level or two he may still go up?