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Nicolò Barella: The best box to box midfielder since Lothar Matthäus?

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#21 ·
Barella fanboy here. He has his faults but look at it this way...look at how Inter have been able to win against teams like Barça and Liverpool. As a mezzala, he's a nightmare and knows how to open up the opponent's midfield for onslaughts. Before he arrived, we weren't able to penetrate like that and we definitely weren't winning against any of the big boys since the Treble players left.

Barella and Lautaro have been the 2 biggest protagonists in that regard. Barella hasn't been the kind of player who will take each game by the scruff of the neck (neither was Pirlo though) but once he gets a sniff of blood, expect huge problems.

There's a difference between Inter and NT performances due to position. At Inter, he can quarterback the team from the mezzala role. Putting him in a strict box-to-box role or the Brozovic role now looks like it limits his impact.
 
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#22 ·
First time I saw Barella play I told my twin he's gonna be a star. Good combination of agression and technique.

Valverde a batter player though.
 
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Discussion starter · #23 ·

He's already better than that overrated Pirlo.
Barella is a beast defensively.
 
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#30 ·
Pirlo getting some serious underrating in this thread. He did take almost every game by the scruff, and he was better than Verratti and Barella by far. Pirlo is a legendary player for Italy and he performed in a very consistent and meaningful way both for Milan and Juve.
 
#32 ·
I wasn't saying anything that diminishes the greatness of Pirlo. He just wasn't the guy who takes the game by the scruff but that's not what you counted on him for anyway. That doesn't make him a luxury player like Pogba, who can't function unless everyone else is a star, firing on all cylinders.

The kind of guy who took the game by the scruff is Gerrard. It doesn't mean Gerrard is a better player than Pirlo.

The question for Barella is: should he be the guy who should take every game by the scruff? Maybe...and that's a good debate to have. He isn't that right now but that hasn't stopped him from cooking top midfields in Europe.

Btw, Vieira was a top midfield general but he wasn't truly a "scruff" guy either, imho, although I think he really should have been.
 
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#33 ·
Firdaus said:
Barella fanboy here. He has his faults but look at it this way...look at how Inter have been able to win against teams like Barça and Liverpool. As a mezzala, he's a nightmare and knows how to open up the opponent's midfield for onslaughts. Before he arrived, we weren't able to penetrate like that and we definitely weren't winning against any of the big boys since the Treble players left.

Barella and Lautaro have been the 2 biggest protagonists in that regard. Barella hasn't been the kind of player who will take each game by the scruff of the neck (neither was Pirlo though) but once he gets a sniff of blood, expect huge problems.

There's a difference between Inter and NT performances due to position. At Inter, he can quarterback the team from the mezzala role. Putting him in a strict box-to-box role or the Brozovic role now looks like it limits his impact.
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With Italy he was basically given the mezzala role also in a 4-3-3, but I think it was too much to handle at once for him (more defensive duties, less players around to support him). Let's also remember that at Inter he played with world class midfielders like Hakan and Brozovic, whereas with Italy it was Jorginho, a bit of Verratti and definitely worse forwards.
 
#34 ·
You're right...I think the important difference is that at Inter his role was much more defined. That's really thanks to Conte who operates with pretty strict boundaries. Inzaghi has made adjustments, allowed some more freedom but the mold is still there. With the NT, I see a lot of overlap between midfielders. If he was used not just as a mezzala but a mezzala "quarterback", and if other midfielders had their own regular channels, you should see him replicate his Inter form in spite of the different personnel and different qualities. He can operate with different kinds of midfielders, as we've seen with Inter (Brozovic and Hakan are not alike). Pirlo as regista would be a dream if he was still playing.

What Barella does need that's lacking is the interplay and understanding from the forwards. Lautaro drops back and uses his intelligence to help launch big counters. Players know where to be when Barella is charging down the channel and know he'll want to swing the cross in. That's a major weapon being offered and the counterparties are needed to buy what he's selling.
 
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Discussion starter · #37 ·
ToniSamp said:
lol

This is something I can hardly let go even now that Pirlo is the (mediocre) coach of the club I support.
Anyway, come back when Barella plays one game in the world cup first of all! It might happen when he is 29 yo...
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I'm sorry, but I don't rate Pirlo at all.
He's always been the 3rd option, at best, for the most part of his career.

Bresica? BAGGIO and PEP came before him.
Inter? Failed miserably.
MILAN? The only reason why he was purchased was to replace an injured REDONDO. I lost the very little amount of respect I had for him after he allowed the likes of Dinho and Beckham push him aside as the main free-kick taker of the team.
JUVE - Milan didn't want to pay him, so he left to join the MAFIA that is Juventus. He got lucky...both Inter and Milan became utter rubbish and Juve won/stole all the titles.

In short, he's a poor-man's Xabi Alonso. Pirlo couldn't play defense worth a lick and it's highly doubtful he would be better than Nicolo, one tooth longer than other, Barella...in today's game!

Barella is the complete package, the best Italian talent since one Alessandro Magno NESTA!

Are we really going to compare international performances? PIRLO played during one of Italia's golden ages and only managed to win one international trophy (and he wasn't the main man in that squad either). BARELLA, unfortunately, has had to endure one of Italia's very worst talent droughts in history; but yet, he has still managed to win an international trophy. Give him time, he'll come around. I hope REAL MADRID signs him. He's both Kroos and Modric rolled into one.
 
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#38 ·
Dagoods said:
I'm sorry, but I don't rate Pirlo at all.
He's always been the 3rd option, at best, for the most part of his career.

Bresica? BAGGIO and PEP came before him.
Inter? Failed miserably.
MILAN? The only reason why he was purchased was to replace an injured REDONDO. I lost the very little amount of respect I had for him after he allowed the likes of Dinho and Beckham push him aside as the main free-kick taker of the team.
JUVE - Milan didn't want to pay him, so he left to join the MAFIA that is Juventus. He got lucky...both Inter and Milan became utter rubbish and Juve won/stole all the titles.

In short, he's a poor-man's Xabi Alonso. Pirlo couldn't play defense worth a lick and it's highly doubtful he would be better than Nicolo, one tooth longer than other, Barella...in today's game!

Barella is the complete package, the best Italian talent since one Alessandro Magno NESTA!

Are we really going to compare international performances? PIRLO played during one of Italia's golden ages and only managed to win one international trophy (and he wasn't the main man in that squad either). BARELLA, unfortunately, has had to endure one of Italia's very worst talent droughts in history; but yet, he has still managed to win an international trophy. Give him time, he'll come around. I hope REAL MADRID signs him. He's both Kroos and Modric rolled into one.
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I hope you are trolling in which case you are doing a bad job. You've been opening Barella and Bastoni threads ffs...
 
#39 ·
Andy Christ said:
if Barella is so good then why is he still in Serie A? :unsure:
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He rejected Newcastle last summer and then they went for Tonali. Inter also refused to sell him. It's common knowledge.

As to why he is still in Serie A (one of the best 2-3 leagues in the world, not exactly the Burundian league) simply because he's well settled in Italy with his family, plays for the club he supported as a child, plays CL, wins trophies, NT starter (Euro winner, some forget) and makes a lot of money. Why sacrifice beautiful Italian weather and food for rain, fish and chips?

Image
 
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#40 ·
Firdaus said:
I wasn't saying anything that diminishes the greatness of Pirlo. He just wasn't the guy who takes the game by the scruff but that's not what you counted on him for anyway.
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What is your definition of taking a game by the scruff? The man was only the best player on the park in a World Cup final, and arguably the best player across both that World Cup and the following European Championship.

It might not quite be a last minute goal from 30 yards in an FA Cup final, but an Andrea Pirlo team probably wouldn't have been in that situation to start with because of how he not only took control but maintained it for the full 90 or 120 minutes.
 
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