Club: AC Siena
DOB: 14 December 1985 (Age 23)
Nationality: Colombian
EU Passport: No
Position: Right Back, Right Midfielder
An attacking full back, Zuniga, burst onto the world stage in the 2005 under-20 World Youth Cup. AC Siena picked him up, in the summer of 2008, for a reported fee of €3 million. The lad has blistering pace; combine that with excellent control over the ball and beautiful dribbling skills, you get yourself a nightmare for Serie A defenders. Zuniga has that extra yard of pace that helps him breeze past defences in the opposition's third. He is at his best when given the freedom to move forward. He provides defence splitting through passes, very good long balls and loves to run at defenders. Very Brazilian in style, Zuniga enjoys the occasional moment of flamboyance. Blessed with such attacking skills, he can easily play as a right sided midfielder. His pace can be used in swift counter attacks. He possesses good vision and and puts in good crosses for strikers.
Despite being attack minded, defensively, he is rock solid. He proved his worth against AC Milan at the San Siro, where he held his own against the likes of Alexandre Pato, Kaka, Gianluca Zambrotta & Clarence Seedorf. His tackles are excellent, timed to perfection and he is a match to most in one on one situations. He is a strong lad and holds off players while in possession. Though, what makes him a quality player is his calm and confident demeanour and fearlessness. Even in a tricky situation he looks to dribble his way out of trouble. These are the hallmarks of a future world beater. Defenders like Giorgio Cheillini, Fabio Cannavaro etc possess these traits. Not that I am saying he is in that league, yet. But he has the qualities to get there.
But as with any player he has his flaws. Due to his short stature he is unable to challenge in the air and as a result has poor heading and jumping skills. Occassionally he gets caught out of position but that is only natural with an attack minded full back. With experience he should improve in this area.
I reckon Zuniga has a very bright future ahead of him and should one day have his name spoken in the same sentence as Emmanuel Eboue, Maicon & Dani Alves. I would recommend clubs to break their bank for this lad. Currently should not cost more than €10 million.
Competition includes Emmanuel Eboue, Maicon, Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Jonathan Zebina, Bakary Sagna, Valon Behrami, Gianluca Zambrotta etc.
Matches scouted in
AC Milan v/s AC Siena - 29/10/2008
Napoli v/s AC Siena - 7/12/2008
AC Siena v/s Reggina - 17/1/2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Claudio Marchisio
Club: Juventus FC
DOB: 19 January 1986 (Age 23)
Nationality: Italian
Position: Central Midfielder
A product of the Juventus youth academy, Marchisio returned to Juventus, this summer, after spending a season on loan at Empoli. A central midfielder, he has been compared to the legendary Marco Tardelli, though, in my opinion, of contemporary players, he most resembles fellow teammate, Cristiano Zanetti.
Marchisio is defensively very sound and has all the qualities that go into the making of a world class midfielder. He is an excellent tackler, closely marks his man and has very good positioning sense. He reads the game really well and therefore is able to intercept numerous passes. Do not go by his fragile body as he has displayed considerable strength for his size. He has blistering pace and is able to get back quickly to help out the defence. This trait is very useful in countering "counter attacks". Like most quality central midfielders he tends to collect the ball in the midfield and distributes to the wings. His creative side comes out when he tries to chip the ball over the defence in an attempt to break the off-side trap, a quality handy in a team with quick forwards. He is also a good dribbler and tries to get forward whenever possible, occasionally taking the odd long range shot. But his inconsistency is keeping him from becoming a star player at Juventus. He tends to dissappear in some of the matches, which is unacceptable at a club like Juventus.
But at 23, he has a long career ahead of him and a lot of time to become consistent. He is a player to watch out for in the future and should, in all likeliness, become world class one day. He deserves nothing less than a title challenging team.
Competition includes Alberto Aquilani, Daniele De Rossi, Marek Hamsik, Francesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Ricardo Montolivo, Felipe Melo etc.
Matches scouted in
Juventus v/s Fiorentina - 24/1/2009
Juventus v/s AC Milan - 14/12/2008
Juventus v/s Siena - 11/1/2009
DOB: 19 January 1986 (Age 23)
Nationality: Italian
Position: Central Midfielder
A product of the Juventus youth academy, Marchisio returned to Juventus, this summer, after spending a season on loan at Empoli. A central midfielder, he has been compared to the legendary Marco Tardelli, though, in my opinion, of contemporary players, he most resembles fellow teammate, Cristiano Zanetti.
Marchisio is defensively very sound and has all the qualities that go into the making of a world class midfielder. He is an excellent tackler, closely marks his man and has very good positioning sense. He reads the game really well and therefore is able to intercept numerous passes. Do not go by his fragile body as he has displayed considerable strength for his size. He has blistering pace and is able to get back quickly to help out the defence. This trait is very useful in countering "counter attacks". Like most quality central midfielders he tends to collect the ball in the midfield and distributes to the wings. His creative side comes out when he tries to chip the ball over the defence in an attempt to break the off-side trap, a quality handy in a team with quick forwards. He is also a good dribbler and tries to get forward whenever possible, occasionally taking the odd long range shot. But his inconsistency is keeping him from becoming a star player at Juventus. He tends to dissappear in some of the matches, which is unacceptable at a club like Juventus.
But at 23, he has a long career ahead of him and a lot of time to become consistent. He is a player to watch out for in the future and should, in all likeliness, become world class one day. He deserves nothing less than a title challenging team.
Competition includes Alberto Aquilani, Daniele De Rossi, Marek Hamsik, Francesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Ricardo Montolivo, Felipe Melo etc.
Matches scouted in
Juventus v/s Fiorentina - 24/1/2009
Juventus v/s AC Milan - 14/12/2008
Juventus v/s Siena - 11/1/2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Ever Banega
Plays for Atletico Madrid
Owned by Valencia
The young Argentine plays as a defensive midfielder. Unfortunately he does not possess the qualities of a good defensive midfielder. He has a very low work rate and looks lethargic at best. He is a decent tackler but his positioning and short passing are mediocre. At times he gives the impression of being clueless. He tends to distribute the ball to the wings and switches play to the opposite flank. This is a good trait and helps the team in attacking quickly from either flank. It appears that his game is built on regaining possession in the midfield and passing the ball to creative players. But since he has a low work rate, poor positioning and rarely intercepts passes, he is yet to become a successful and established player. At the age of 20, he has a long time to improve his game and settle in at wherever he plays. Though, Valencia would be regretting the €18 million they spent on him as it is highly unlikely they would ever recover that fee. I would not recommend title contenders to sign this player. He may improve if he gets regular first team football at a club where expectations are much lower.
Barcelona v/s Atletico Madrid – 14/1/2009
Marseille v/s Atletico Madrid – 9/12/2008
Atletico Madrid v/s Real Madrid – 18/10/2008
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