PhantomGoal

Worldwide, very little is known about the Brazilian, besides the fact he played in Corinthians' Fifa Club World Cup win in December 2012 (in which they defeated European Champions Chelsea in the final) and has been a part of the Brazilian national team for the past few months. Corinthians also happened to be the team with least goals suffered in the 2011 Brasileirão aswell. I hope you all know about Corinthians’ remarkably strong defensive midfielder Ralf - much of the credit of the success of the team goes to the team's style of play and to this defensive weapon. But some don’t know that Paulinho is definitely an enormous part of that defensive system.

Paulinho has the stamina and the strength to run between his own and the opponent's 18-yard lines, switching his role as the match progresses and he’s a perfect example for a brilliant box-to-box footballer. Whenever an opposition player takes the ball off, this guy will start running with just an aim – to retain possession. If his opponent has the ball, he immediately positions himself behind the ball to compose the defensive system. A similar player we could take to compare with him is Chelsea midfielder Ramires. Both are apparently an integral part of their team at both club and national level. But Paulinho has better qualities than the Chelsea man.

Paulinho is a player that sprints up and down the pitch like a flash. He pops up in the penalty area unexpectedly and takes one touch to net the ball. You would be surprised to know that Paulinho was Corinthians’ leading scorer in 2012, not forgetting the fact that he’s a defensive midfielder.

Another exceptional attribute of the Brazilian is his powerful header which he perfects brilliantly. He uses his lower body strength masterfully to get the ball exactly where he wants it to go. You won’t be taking this quality of Paulinho as something big, but you should as he is a player who can change the outcome of a game with his headers. He is a type of player who couldn’t be replaced because when Paulinho is not scoring goals or stopping them, he is setting up his teammates to do the same. He is really a leader on and off the pitch and could easily be the future captain of the Brazilian national team. He has worn the captain’s armband at Corinthians several times.

Recently, Italian Serie A outfit Internazionale Milano tried hard to bring this exceptionally talented defensive midfielder to San Siro, but failed in their attempts to do so. Paulinho knows where he has been playing for the last few years and also understands how important he is to the Corinthians team. Even though top clubs are showing strong interest in him, I’d say that he should stay at Brazil for at least until after the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Rio which would be good for him. He is a player that would fit well in any top teams in Europe and expect more clubs to enter the race to sign this highly-rated footballer.

Viktor Fischer was born on the 9th of June 1994 (he is currently 18 years old). He is a Danish footballer, playing for Ajax Amsterdam. His preferred position his left wing (top line of a 4-3-3). He can also play at right wing, as a striker or even as a CAM.

Viktor Fischer played at FC Midtyjlland from 2009 till 2011, where he developed as a great young talent. A few European top clubs wanted him, but finally, on the 19th of April 2011, Viktor Fischer signed a deal at Ajax. He chose to come to Amsterdam because of their wellknown youth academy, and because of the fact they love giving game time to young players.

Ajax paid a rumoured fee of 1.3M Euros for Viktor Fischer, a huge amount for a 16 (almost 17) year old player. But at the time, Marc Overmars, Ajax’s technical director, already declared he knew the fee would be way higher if they sold Fischer in a few years.

The 2011/2012 season was the big revelation for Viktor. Ajax played in the NextGen Series, a kind of youth Champions League. Viktor Fischer ended as topscorer of the competition, netting 7 goals in 6 games. Mainly in the quarter-finals against Barcelona and in the semi-finals against Liverpool, Viktor Fischer showed his great abilities. Against Barça, he scored two goals and gave one assist, and against Liverpool, he managed to score a hat trick.

After those fantastic displays, Ajax manager Frank de Boer decided to give him a first team chance in the beginning of the 12/13 season. He played a lot in the pre-season, but made his official first team debut in August, against PSV, in the Johan Cruijff Cup. Ajax lost 4-2, and Viktor Fischer didn’t manage to get a great game: he was very disappointed.

After that disappointing display, Frank de Boer put him back the the youth team, and he didn’t appear anymore until the 20th of October 2012. He made his League debut, coming in as a sub against Heracles in the 84th minute. Everything went very quick since then. He appeared again two weeks later, against Manchester City, in the Champions League, again as a sub.

Finally, on the 11th of November 2012, he got his first full debut, against PEC Zwolle, in the Eredivisie. He scored his first official League goal for Ajax, and even grabbed a brace later on. He also got an assist, and was designated Man of the Match, for his first debut in the first team.

On the 1st of December, in the big game of the season against PSV, the leaders, Viktor Fischer got another Man of the Match award, for a fantastic game. He scored a goal and got a fantastic assist. Thanks to that, Ajax were back in the title race. Viktor Fischer also played at all the youth levels of Denmark, and even got his international debut on the 14th of November 2012, against Turkey.

Now, let’s talk a bit more about Viktor Fischer himself, and his playing style. First of all, I’ll let you watch this little video of the man, to get yourself an idea.

When you’ll see Viktor Fischer play for the first time, you won’t believe he’s only 18 years old. He’s a very mature player for that age. He’s smart, and tends to make good decisions on and off the ball. His technical abilities are also way beyond average.

As I said before, Viktor likes to play on the left side of a 3 men front line, but he can also play as a central striker if needed. His finishing is fantastic, which gives him the opportunity to play in different positions. Unlike some other players, he’s not afraid to go and beat a man 1v1 with his dribbling and his pace.

(Watch this video, his performance against PSV a few weeks ago, with a goal and an assist, to win the game 3-1 for Ajax.

By the way, look at the journalist’s head at 1:00 till the end. Quite funny.)

Fischer loves to cut in from the left side and curl the balls into the far corner. He’s very good at it. It’ll remind you of some Luis Suarez goals, for example against South Korea in the World Cup.

It’s very tough to define Viktor Fischer as a player. He’s got the pace, the dribbling, the finishing, the intelligence, the technique. Almost everything, and he’s still only 18. He’s gone from a youth player at Ajax into an important first team starter in less than a month. If he develops correctly and on that same rhythm, you won’t be finished hearing about the next Ajax wonderkid.

I’ll leave you with this quote on Viktor Fischer, which describes him pretty damn well.

“The difficulty is deciding which player the comparison should be made with. The creativity is reminiscent of a trequartista, the finishing of a prominent number 9 and the clever movement of any Spanish midfielder. There is an urge to say that he has a bit of Dennis Bergkamp in him, but there is a problem. He’s quicker than that.”

Actually, this piece isn’t finished yet. I wrote it on the 7th of December 2012. It was supposed to go up directly, but some things got into the way, and it hasn’t gone up yet. Since then, quite some things have happened, and I wanted to update the story.

Remember when I said that “if he develops correctly and on the same rhythm, you won’t be finished hearing about the next Ajax wonderkid”? Well, I couldn’t be any more right. Since the 7th of December, he played four games. He had a few tough games before the winter break in the Netherlands, and didn’t perform on his normal level. That is probably normal, given the fact he is still only 18, and it is his first top level season.

So, Ajax went on stage to Brazil. And their first game of the second part of the season was against nobody else than Feyenoord. For those who don’t know, Feyenoord and Ajax are historically the biggest rivals in the Netherlands. And the rivalry has been sparked up lately, because Feyenoord have finally found a good level back. Before that game, the two teams were equal on points. But that, that was before Viktor Fischer came into the game. After a fantastic performance, he brought Ajax a confortable 3-0 victory, scoring two goals.

His first goal was very nice. Great through ball, he calmly went around the goalkeeper and finished it with ease. The second was typical of Viktor too. Always working hard, he used a mistake by Mathijsen to score a great near post shot. Here are the goals, and his full performance:

But what struck me most were his declarations after the game.

“If we only count the goals, it was a good game, but I actually thought I played a mediocre game myself. I didn’t play that well. But as a striker it’s all about the goals, and I did that. But the rest wasn’t that good. I actully wanted to get a hat trick, but maybe that’ll come later this season. Before the game, I was a bit nervous. This is the most beautiful game in the Netherlands. It’s fantastic to live this moment.” 

For me, this quote sums him all up. A perfectionnist. A fighter. A football lover. This mentality will bring him far in this game.

I’ll finish this piece with a little video of his first season and a half at Ajax. Starting by the U19s, and after a season he’s already upgraded to the first team, where he’s slowly becoming a starter.

I’ll say it for the last time: if he makes the correct decisions in his career, for instance staying at Ajax long enough and making the right move at the right time, he’ll be a Ballon d’Or candidate in the coming years.

Viktor Fischer, remember the name.

  1. Do trust your club's local newspaper

If you are expecting transfer news and stories for your club, put your faith in the local newspaper. The chances are that their journalists will have close ties with people involved with the club, and will get information and 'leaks'. That is not to say that their information is always reliable, but the chances are that they won't want to upset the club by posting a load of horse shit to stir up rumours. Local papers can't wield the same amount of influence as a national paper, and therefore if they piss off the club, that could be it for their chances of any further business. Further to that, you should support your local newspaper because print media is dying on its ass, and it's a good thing to do.

2. Do not trust national newspapers

The absolute cardinal rule of the transfer window is to never trust a national newspaper. Newspapers exist to sell stories, and that will often lead to exaggeration and rumour-spinning, just to garner attention of the baying public. Statistics show that The Guardian is the most accurate newspaper in terms of rumours, however even then they only got just over a third of their stories right. That means that statistically in any copy of The Guardian that you read, two thirds of the transfer stories are bollocks. I highly recommend you look through this webpage which outlines the accuracy of newspapers from the start of the 2006 transfer window. In short, The Guardian, The Times, and The Telegraph are alright for transfer accuracy; the redtop tabloids (The Daily Mirror etc.) are awful; the Daily Mail is even worse, and the Metro is a fucking disgrace.

3. Do not trust Sky Sports News

There is one very specific reason to include this; Skybet. The fact that Sky have their own betting service means you should instantly take what they say with a pinch of salt. They can manipulate the odds of a transfer happening or not happening, simply by putting out a story which may or may not be true. A good example of this would be the transfer of Demba Ba to Chelsea. In the space of a month, Sky reported that Demba Ba was staying at Newcastle, moving to Arsenal, and then moving to Chelsea. In fact, after saying that he was moving to Chelsea, Sky Sports then reported that the move had broken down. One thing you'll notice is that beside each of these stories, there is a little Skybet section telling you about the odds of that transfer. Fact is, Sky Sports have something to gain from you believing or not believing a transfer might or might not happen, and therefore you should be dubious of the validity of their claims.

4. For the love of all that is holy, do not trust Twitter

I don't know if the fanbase for every club is like this on Twitter, but for me as a Liverpool fan, it is fucking hell when it comes to transfers. You will stumble in to the world of 'In The Knows' or 'ITKs'. That is, someone who claims to have some kind of inside information relating to transfers. Sometimes they claim to be a player agent, and sometimes they just claim to be someone close to a club. Fact is that they are almost always bullshitting. The purest example of this is Duncan Jenkins, who was an 'ITK' who garnered a huge following, and ended up writing for Paddy Power. Dunc had got a significant number of transfer stories right, in relation to Liverpool. In fact, he called the fact that Kenny Dalglish was on his way to Boston to get sacked while it was happening. Infamously, Jenkins' revelations cost the club about £300,000 in the Fabio Borini deal, after Roma got spooked after thinking there was a mole at the club. Duncan (real name Shaun Cummings) later revealed that he had no insider information. In fact, almost all of his 'scoops' were just intuition or outright guesses. He was bullshitting, and he fooled everyone.

5. Don't trust YouTube videos of a player your club might be signing

A three-minute video of a two or three year spell of a player's career can make almost anyone look like a 17 year-old Pele. Fact is that whoever is making the video is not going to include the times when the player skies a shot into Row Z, or plays a bad backpass which leads to a goal. Give me a mere two or three minute window of your time, and I could make Ali Dia look like Lionel Messi. Okay, probably not.

6. Don't watch Sky Sports' Transfer Deadline Day Special

When it comes to Deadline Day, the generally accepted required viewing is Sky Sports' Deadline Day Special. Jim White will be frothing at the mouth already at the thought of it. He, the star of the show, gets to shout and scream for hours on end as transfers happen and don't happen in the final hours of the window. It can be entertaining, for a while, but what it largely comes down to is this: reporters standing outside the training ground of a club, waiting for activity to happen while fans shout and chant behind them, and are generally very embarrassing. You're better off following a respected Twitter account such as BBC Sport, as they will be more up-to-date and don't take an ad break every three seconds. The Deadline Day Special is entertaining only for the footage of players coming and going from training grounds, however the pure cringeworthiness of the reporters standing outside getting harassed by fans is not worth the pain.

7. Do make sure to relax

There is very little point in getting yourself worked up over potential ins and outs to and from your favourite club. The fact is, your input is going to have no impact on whether or not transfers actually happen. If you invest yourself in a player who doesn't end up coming to your club (see: Liverpool and Clint Dempsey), then you'll be calling the Samaritans by the time the transfer window shuts. Until you see a story on your club's website confirming the deal, or you see a player holding up your club's shirt with their name on the back, there's no point fretting. It's taken me years to learn this, and it is not easy to do. If your club doesn't get a player, it's likely not the end of the world. If your club does get a player and you don't like them, give them time as every team is different; a player who is dogcrap for one team can be the dog's bollocks for another. There is no point worrying about it. Unless of course your club spends £35m on a largely unproven English talent. Yes, I'm still bitter about that.

So there you go, I hope these tips help you somewhat. It's not going to be easy, and the January window is often when some of the maddest shit happens, but you have to persevere. In essence, it all comes down to this: don't trust anyone except the club, and chill the fuck out. Consider laying low in some kind of nuclear bunker eating only baked beans until February 1st.

-Si

Atlético have always been good at replacing players but is replacing Falcao going to be as simple as buying a new striker? He's the best striker in the world. Prolonged interest from Chelsea and City means he is likely to leave; the lure of money and challenging for more trophies will surely affect the decision he makes.

The Colombian was bought for €45 million. Currently, Atlético are still paying that off and recently, general manager Miguel Marin was quoted as saying, "the €60 million for Falcao would solve all the economic problems at Atlético".

If the club uses the transfer money to get rid of debt, where will they find the funds to bring in a replacement? The cost of great footballers these days can cripple clubs. If Atlético are lucky, they'll find a good striker for £20 million and they can develop him into a top player the same way they did with Falcao.

With Atlético strengthening as a team over the last few years, Falcao is in a great environment. He's getting fantastic service which is what any good forward needs and he's got the players around him to take over when he loses form. But imagine the team without him. His shot to goal ratio is better than Ronaldo's and Messi's. Can anybody who comes in hope to do that? There can't be many players in the world that could be scoring as consistently and playing as well as El Tigre is.

When Torres was replaced by Aguero, Atlético had the financial capability to do it. When they bought Falcao, everything changed. They would struggle to sell him on for a bigger profit, and there was doubt for a short time about whether El Tigre would succeed in Spain. Atlético do not have money to burn. Debt will be paid off and then in the bank account they will have maybe £20 million if they're lucky? It's just not enough to cope with today's prices.

Personally I believe that if/when Falcao's transfer happens, Los Colchoneros will have to act very quickly. No doubt they will already be scouting just in case. Being honest, every Atléti fan knows they will struggle for goals when the time comes. Diego Costa is on limited game time right now but I doubt that he could make the transition from fringe player to world star over the course of a season.

The list of possible replacements is short, but there are a few who would be ideal:

Javier Hernandez: It is questionable that he's enjoying his time on the bench, no matter how many he's scoring from it. With pace, goalscoring instinct and an ability to sense where the ball will be could make him suitable for the Spanish club.

Robert Lewandowski: Dortmund's star striker. Perhaps a move to Spain is out of the question but there is no doubt that he knows where the net is. A large price tag and Premier League interest could put him off Atlético's radar.

Mario Balotelli: Rumours that Super Mario could leave City could pave the way for a player + cash deal for Falcao. If Balotelli calmed down he would definitely be one of Europe's hottest prospects. Perhaps Diego Simeone could succeed where Mourinho and Mancini haven't?

Realistically thinking, for now, Falcao is irreplaceable. How can Simeone bring more success to a team without a suitable forward? It's just not possible.

Now here are some funny facts. He had a trial at Liverpool on 2007, but has never offered a contract. He even had trials with Galway United and Finn Harps, in Ireland, but neither offered him a contract. Finally, he went on loan to Sparta Prague, at the reserve team. There, he won the League, and was signed on a permanent deal and joined the first team.

That’s when his career finally started. He scored 22 goals in 59 games, between 2008 and 2011. His agent offered him to many clubs in 2011, and Vitesse finally bought him for a fee of €3-4million. He signed a three-and-a-half year deal, and scored on his début game. His first season in the Netherlands was already pretty impressive, netting 12 goals, ending top scorer for Vitesse.

But it’s the current season that he has exploded and finally started fulfilling his potential. He has already scored 12 goals in as many games.

He scored a hat-trick against Heerenveen in a 3-3 draw, and he also scored two goals to beat Ajax single-handedly on 3 November. His fantastic start to the season, combined with Marco van Ginkel’s and Theo Janssen’s good starts helped Vitesse a lot. They are now third in the Eredivisie, one of their best starts ever.

In recent weeks, Wilfried Bony is hinting at an exit as soon as possible. He explained a few days ago that his family isn’t allowed to visit him in Holland, not even for a few days, and that for that reason he wants to leave for England as soon as possible. He was also quoted saying "I love English football and wouldn't be afraid to play there."

He has been linked to a lot of English clubs, especially Chelsea and Liverpool. A group of Liverpool scouts went to Vitesse v Twente this weekend to watch him play. Bony has talked a lot to the press, and hasn’t hidden the fact he desperately wants to leave as soon as possible to a bigger club. He is a fighter, and always looks for a higher target.

It is interesting to note that there is no release clause in his contract (which goes till 2015), which means that Vitesse can choose when to sell him. It seems logical that Vitesse will want to keep him 'til the end of the season, but if a good offer comes in this winter, they’ve admitted they would be ready to sell.

Enough talk about his career. Let’s talk about Wilfried Bony himself now. The man.

He is a very atypical striker, very atypical. His main strength, undeniably, is his strength. He’s a tank; a powerhouse. Pretty small for a striker at around 6ft, but he’s still able to jump very high, which helps him to score a few headers and to win a lot of aerial duels. But it would simply be insulting to the man to reduce his game to strength.

Start with watching this video:

It’s very tough (and nobody should do it) to judge a player only from a video. But some of his main qualities come out pretty well. Watch goals number 3 and 4. You’ll see his strength pour out all over the place. I mean, he’s just running, and two guys fall on the ground. Same with the fourth goal. That’s clearly one of his big qualities. He knows exactly how to use his strength, and that’s so important. He uses it for scoring goals, which his, after all, his main purpose.

And that’s another interesting point; his finishing. It is pretty damn clinical. He can score with his head, his right foot (which he prefers), but also his left. Finishing is very complete part of his game. You will clearly not need to give Wilfried twenty chances to score a goal. He’ll need one, and he’ll score it.

Little break to talk about another aspect of Bony’s game. Penalty taking. I'm not sure he missed one last year. He shoots them clinically. Hard, well placed; for sure a great quality.

Look at this video now. It shows he’s also more than “just” a strong man who knows how to head it in. Yep, it’s only one goal, but I can’t show you a whole game. Really, go and watch a game of his when you can, and form an opinion.

Another nice aspect of his game is his ball holding. The ball really sticks to his feet at any time, and I’m not joking. It seems to just stick at his feet the whole time. And when you combine that to his power, it’s somehow impossible to take the ball from him. That means he gives time for other players to play around him, which is a great strength. And yes, he is technical with his feet. He’s got good execution, but also technique. He can easily get past one or two players when needed, which helps a lot too.

Now, let’s talk about some of his weaknesses too. In some games, he can be a bit invisible for some time. He always finishes by scoring a goal, but sometimes you just miss him. I find myself screaming at him “Wilfried, why the fuck are you walking there? You should be at that spot on the field now.” That’s a shame. But it was way more obvious last year, and he seems to improve it game by game.

As I said, he likes to come down a bit lower on the pitch from time to time, to create an attack. His passing is alright, not bad, not unbelievable, but it’s good enough for him to deliver some assists and to be able to create some game from midfield. But sometimes, when he goes down too far on the pitch, he doesn’t rush up that quickly. But that’s something minor, as he really doesn’t do it that often.

Most importantly however, he is really young. Only 23, which gives him plenty of room for improvement.

As a conclusion, Wilfried Bony is already a great player. Strong, technical, he knows how to hold the ball, and he knows how to score, from whatever position, with his feet or head. He still can improve some aspects of his game, as any 23 year old can, but he’s on the road to glory right now.

There will be a lot of rumours surrounding him this winter already, and as Wilfried himself wants out of the club, the rumours won’t stop. There is a real chance to see him play in the Premier League after the African Cup of Nations, but nothing is more sure.

So, just watch a game of his whenever you can, Vitesse are enjoyable to watch, and you’ll form a true opinion. I hoped I helped though.

Wilfried Bony, the powerhouse.