Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid player

[JogaBonitoRooney]

What's all this Ronaldo stuff seriously?? It's a Bellingham thread.

Back on topic, Jude was missing again against a decent team and Madrid drop points. He needs to start showing up in big games. El classico coming up.

 

[Righteous Steps]

Am I wrong that the stepover was his signature trick when he came here? I know time blurs the memory but stepovers and explosive pace is all I can remember of early Ronaldo

It was.

 

[Joel Miller]

I think the hype around his start at Madrid has been a bit way over the top (early talk of the Ballon D’or, going on to become Englands greatest, eclipse Zidane etc etc). He’s scored a load of goals, most of them pretty straight forward finishes in games they ought to be winning. But he’s really ghosted at a couple of tougher venues now.

 

[SilentStrike]

Already reached higher level than Zidane ever did for Madrid.

Basically in the midfield CM GOAT category of Matthaus, Xavi at this point

 

[Frank Grimes]

Already reached higher level than Zidane ever did for Madrid.

Basically in the midfield CM GOAT category of Matthaus, Xavi at this point

He looks great and looks like he could reach serious heights but a bit early to say he is a great already. I'll be surprised if he doesn't get there though as he is very special.

 

[Lord SInister]

Already reached higher level than Zidane ever did for Madrid.

Basically in the midfield CM GOAT category of Matthaus, Xavi at this point

I don't remember Bellingham scoring an iconic volley in Champions League final for Madrid

 

[carvajal]

I understand that the comparisons with Zidane are pure sarcasm but at the moment he is doing great.
It may seem obvious but it is often the ambition, the desire to improve and perseverance as important as talent, which he also has .
The socios are used to caviar but like all fans, the Bernabéu like players who run, defend and give their all and the guy plays with the same passion against Getafe as he does in a Champions League match.
In fact against Getafe - famous for being the kings of shithousery- it was striking how he faced the Getafe players without being intimidated.
Currently in this system, which is a diamond but not exactly a diamond, he is surprising for his mobility, for his sudden appearances. We will have to see if at some point someone will get the hang of it and see what he will do when he has to move in an inch of ground the whole game.
On the other hand he seems to be well advised, when he speaks publicly he does not give a stitch without thread. Either he remembers how happy he is here and how he has improved or he names some hierarch of the dressing room (when he made the Modrisquesque pass against Girona he took the opportunity to name Modric,when Luka seemed unhappy and had complain about the lack of minutes).

 

[devaneios]

Neither do I. He plays nothing like Zinedine Zidane. Bellingham, is a superb talent, but his ability is applying that drive, the box-to-box type power he has. He is good on the ball, for sure, but I wouldn't say he is a 'baller' though. KDB is a baller. Modric, Kroos, a different type of baller... Maddison, not on their level, but he's a baller. Eriksen, Bruno would be our closest comparisons (and Casimero can also play, wonderful on the ball when he isn't having to run around trying to win the ball back on his own.... it frustrates me that ETH hasn't addressed this) These are essentially ball-players. That isn't Bellingham's role. He brings power, focus, and commits the opposition through his dominant runs from midfield. And he wants to score goals. This has become a rarity amongst midfielders in the last decade, that's why SMT looks such an asset when he gets forward and scores goals. So important. Bellingham will inspire midfielders to be more direct, all-action, and dominant. Halaand will do the same for centre-forwards, because he has a similar approach to the game as Bellingham.. dominant, single-minded..and he looks like he's playing a different game sometimes because of it. I love watching these players...

De Bruyne is not a "baller"; his ball manipulation is not good enough to qualify him that way.

 

[JogaBonitoRooney]

De Bruyne is not a "baller"; his ball manipulation is not good enough to qualify him that way.

I wouldn't call Modric and Kroos ballers either. Ballers are the talented technical phenomenal players who aren't afraid to show off their skills and amaze the crowd.

Excluding Messi and Ronaldo (and I wouldn't even call them the best ballers despite being the best players) current or recent ballers are Vinicius, Hazard, Benzema, Iniesta, Firmino, Neymar, Isco, Ozil and even Dortmund Sancho.

 

[GatoLoco]

Modric not being a baller. We have a picky crowd here at RedCafe at times.

 

[mancan92]

I wouldn't call Modric and Kroos ballers either. Ballers are the talented technical phenomenal players who aren't afraid to show off their skills and amaze the crowd.

Excluding Messi and Ronaldo (and I wouldn't even call them the best ballers despite being the best players) current or recent ballers are Vinicius, Hazard, Benzema, Iniesta, Firmino, Neymar, Isco, Ozil and even Dortmund Sancho.

Modric is one of the best "ballers" in the world. One of the few with total control of the ball at all times.

 

[stefan92]

Modric not being a baller. We have a picky crowd here at RedCafe at times.

Bit weird indeed... I would agree on Kroos as he is much more focused on his passing, but Modric does fulfill that definition I think.

 

[Amar__]

Already reached higher level than Zidane ever did for Madrid.

Basically in the midfield CM GOAT category of Matthaus, Xavi at this point

This is a joke, right? Seems obvious, but with so many different opinions I have to ask.

 

[GatoLoco]

One day he will stop scoring.

But that day is not today.

 

[Remember the geese]

One day he will stop scoring.

But that day is not today.

He stopped at the weekend.

 

[Reapersoul20]

He stopped at the weekend.

 

[JogaBonitoRooney]

Bit weird indeed... I would agree on Kroos as he is much more focused on his passing, but Modric does fulfill that definition I think.

Fair enough actually. I would say Modric is a baller. I saw him get lumped with Kroos and maybe thought he shouldn't be labelled one.

 

[JogaBonitoRooney]

I'm on his bandwagon now. His finesse shot goal against Braga was brilliant and he almost scored an awesome chest and volley.

 

[André Dominguez]

Already reached higher level than Zidane ever did for Madrid.

Basically in the midfield CM GOAT category of Matthaus, Xavi at this point

If you look at G&A, yes. Back on the days nº10s attacking midfielders most important mission was not scoring or assisting. The playmaker main role was to unlock games either by making use of their amazing dribbling or by making that precise pass that would finally make their team start an attacking pattern successfully.
Zidane did that very well: he would dribble a couple of opponents or would make a precise pass in a congestioned game, and suddenly the opponent's defense balance was lost and the path to create a successful attacking play was set. But in those days teams focused too much in man-marking. With zonal marking these kind of players lost their space (literally).

 

[Oranges038]

I wouldn't call Modric and Kroos ballers either. Ballers are the talented technical phenomenal players who aren't afraid to show off their skills and amaze the crowd.

Excluding Messi and Ronaldo (and I wouldn't even call them the best ballers despite being the best players) current or recent ballers are Vinicius, Hazard, Benzema, Iniesta, Firmino, Neymar, Isco, Ozil and even Dortmund Sancho.

Wtf? Modric doesn't do the flash skills, but not a baller? Look at his first time outside of the boot crosses on the run? Is that not a skill?

Ridiculous take.

 

[golden_blunder]

I thought this thread was about Bellingham?

the last 2 pages have been about Messi, Ronaldo etc. they have their own threads, do they need to be discussed in detail here?

 

[Grande]

Have I come to the right thread if I want to discuss David May?

 

[B20]

Have I come to the right thread if I want to discuss David May?

He scored that diving header once. Baller.

 

[Grande]

He scored that diving header once. Baller.

Let’s not overhype a young potential who’s hopes may come crashing, but cheer on those with the hunger and daring for lifting trophies at any opportunity!

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I wouldn't call Modric and Kroos ballers either. Ballers are the talented technical phenomenal players who aren't afraid to show off their skills and amaze the crowd.

Excluding Messi and Ronaldo (and I wouldn't even call them the best ballers despite being the best players) current or recent ballers are Vinicius, Hazard, Benzema, Iniesta, Firmino, Neymar, Isco, Ozil and even Dortmund Sancho.

So baller is a just means flashy then? Because substance matters a whole lot more. And played are a product of their times. I’m sure Modric would do a lot more fancy tricks if it was made sense in his era as it may have done in previous ones.

For me a baller is a technically incredible player. And Modric is more that than nearly everyone you’ve listed (barring Neymar and Iniesta). And light years more than Bellingham of course.

 

[Andrade]

I think the hype around his start at Madrid has been a bit way over the top (early talk of the Ballon D’or, going on to become Englands greatest, eclipse Zidane etc etc). He’s scored a load of goals, most of them pretty straight forward finishes in games they ought to be winning. But he’s really ghosted at a couple of tougher venues now.

He's a different type of player from Zidane so it's hard to make a direct comparison, especially of the two players at age 20.

He potentially could be England's best ever player but it depends a lot on what he actually achieves. The only player it would be very difficult for him to supplant is Bobby Charlton. No other English player is beyond being caught. It's not like we're talking about Brazil's best ever player here.

 

[Gringo]

He's basically in a bit of good form akin to Dele Alli's hot run at Spurs. Gets the headlines but if and when he doesn't score, what does he contribute..

 

[Dozer]

He's basically in a bit of good form akin to Dele Alli's hot run at Spurs. Gets the headlines but if and when he doesn't score, what does he contribute..

Assists, sublime touches, tenacity, tidy passing, lung busting runs that beat the press and carve out space for others (see England v Italy Rashford goal), vocal leadership on the pitch…

Aside from that and the goals, you’re right. He’s rubbish.

 

[Bluelion7]

He's basically in a bit of good form akin to Dele Alli's hot run at Spurs. Gets the headlines but if and when he doesn't score, what does he contribute..

He gets fouled … a lot. His presssing stats are very good and his successful tackle percentage is 83.

Successful dribbles, key passes, number of take ons, expected assists and actual assists are all very good as well.

In the metric analysis I pulled up he was very strong in 5 areas, strong in 4 others, and weak in none. Which seems about right from the full games of him at Madrid I’ve had the chance to watch.

 

[JogaBonitoRooney]

Wtf? Modric doesn't do the flash skills, but not a baller? Look at his first time outside of the boot crosses on the run? Is that not a skill?

Ridiculous take.

So baller is a just means flashy then? Because substance matters a whole lot more. And played are a product of their times. I’m sure Modric would do a lot more fancy tricks if it was made sense in his era as it may have done in previous ones.

For me a baller is a technically incredible player. And Modric is more that than nearly everyone you’ve listed (barring Neymar and Iniesta). And light years more than Bellingham of course.

I have already corrected myself to say I was wrong about putting Modric there and why I did initially. Read above. I agree Modric is a baller.

Also all the other players I listed have strong substance too.

Anyway this is a Bellingham thread. Going to stick to discussing him.

 

[GatoLoco]

The referee stopped him at the weekend.

Fixed.

 

[GazTheLegend]

He's basically in a bit of good form akin to Dele Alli's hot run at Spurs. Gets the headlines but if and when he doesn't score, what does he contribute..

I mean like... his assist for England vs Italy had him tackling on the edge of his box, busting a gut to get forward, showed awesome skill and pace, technique, weight of pass and decision making to find Rashford, and the presence of mind to take a runner with him. But BESIDES all that, what did he contribute?

 

[UnitedWA]

If we got him, he'd be 007 or some crap all english media spams after player fails in United. Next year we would be interested to get rid of him cause of massive salary and call him english overpriced wood.

 

[GeneralKenobi]

I mean like... his assist for England vs Italy had him tackling on the edge of his box, busting a gut to get forward, showed awesome skill and pace, technique, weight of pass and decision making to find Rashford, and the presence of mind to take a runner with him. But BESIDES all that, what did he contribute?

What have the Romans ever done for us

 

[Zehner]

I don't think Bellingham should be compared with Modric or Kroos as he's playing a different role. The latter two were responsible for ball retention and progession under pressure and bringing other players into play. Bellingham maybe plays a similar position on paper but he's got much more of a free role. He's more similar to Kevin de Bruyne or Bruno Fernandes I'd say as he takes lots of risks. Might be less technically gifted than Modric and Kroos but it doesn't really matter as long as he's as effective as he is.

Will be interesting how far Real can go with their current system. We haven't really seen a 442 diamond at the highest level for quite a while.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

He's basically in a bit of good form akin to Dele Alli's hot run at Spurs. Gets the headlines but if and when he doesn't score, what does he contribute..

Loads. He's a massive presence on the field, as demonstrated by some of the metrics others have shared above, but just in general his demeanour and the way he goes about his business means he has a big (positive) impact for his team.

 

[Samid]

The one that got away.

 

[horsechoker]

Pick that out!

 

[VorZakone]

What an impact he's having.

 

[FriedClams]

@Samid @horsechoker you two are ALWAYS the first to bump threads. how do you stay on top of it so well?