His armband said he was a red, Torres, Torres. You’ll never walk alone it said, Torres, Torres. The ever endearing song the Kop used to belt out at its much loved striking hero, Fernando Torres, for the best part of four years summed up everything the fans thought of this great Anfield legend and great Liverpool number 9.
The former Liverpool number 9 was once simply adored by the fans for all his time at the club despite the fact that for the last two and half years almost the Spanish striker has been badly out of form as the club’s position and stature in the Premier League has plummeted. It seemed that even the arrival of another Anfield legend in Kenny Dalglish couldn’t convince El Nino to stay on and play for the club he once confessed to loving as he grew up as a child.
Fernando Torres for a time was the badly needed striker that could win Liverpool the title. In his first season he scored over 20 goals for Liverpool, a feat many Kop strikers at the time were struggling to accomplish. He linked up fantastically with the likes of Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Mascherano and even Dirk Kuyt. But as Alonso left for Real Madrid and Mascherano for Barcelona, Liverpool have looked like a shadow of their former selves and the “will he won’t he” sagas floating around Torres come every transfer window since his arrival seemed to test his seemingly unending loyalty to the club.
However his recent switch to the “Pride of London” Chelsea F.C. seems to reinforce what everyone thinks lately, that there’s no loyalty in football anymore. Many Liverpool supporters seemed to think Torres would never leave the club, that his contract was somehow like a marriage certificate, he couldn’t leave, it wouldn’t be allowed. The problem here lies in the notion of loyalty that hangs around Liverpool. The saying around Anfield is “no one is bigger than the club” and to ask for a transfer or go to a rival club is something that a Liverpool player simply does not do. Liverpool let’s go of you, not the other way round.
The truth is however, loyalty in Football probably doesn’t exist. The idea that Torres is a lifelong Liverpool fan has probably been taken too far by PR people and Liverpool fans. The sad, sad truth is that Torres’ heart probably never lied with Liverpool. His first love is and always will be Athletico Madrid and I’d dare say Torres still remains fiercely loyal to the club and probably the reason why he did not return to Spain to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona. Instead he chose Chelsea, and for a man who has won the European Cup and the World Cup, he’ll most likely want to win a League title at some point. With Chelsea it is more likely to happen unfortunately.
In reality Chelsea is the only club big enough and rich enough to afford El Nino and for Liverpool and for Torres himself, it was probably the right deal. To put it into context, Chelsea have paid £50million for a player that has been out of form for the past two years, injury prone and out of sorts. Torres will have to start scoring quickly and consistently for the London club otherwise he’ll quickly look like another expensive flop, another Shevchenko. Chelsea will also have to adapt their strategy for a striker who has expressed how he prefers to be the lone target man, in a team that combines the attacking trio of Drogba, Anelka and Malouda. Then of course there’s club captain, John Terry, who has a dislike for the Spaniard, which many Liverpool and Chelsea fans will know has a long history behind it.
As Torres leaves as Liverpool fans we have to look at the future. Luis Suarez made his debut against Stoke in good fashion, nicking a tidy goal, complete with nimble footwork and placement. Let’s ignore the fact it was unlucky the defender couldn’t clear it off the line quicker because even coming from the Dutch league, Suarez has more Van Nistelroy about him rather than another Afonso Alves. Then of course there’s the Andy Carroll, a true lad in every sense of the word, who jets off to Dubai to get over injury and gets smashed on 30 Jagerbombs only to aggravate his injury further by falling off a bar stool. His ability may be under scrutiny at the moment but at least the Liverpool Christmas parties will be significantly better.
At the end of the day Liverpool have lost one legend yet gained to promising talents, that potentially can link up together incredibly well and it will be the first time for a fair few years that the Merseyside club will have two damn good strikers in the team. Dalglish loves his striking duos and maybe just maybe, as Liverpool players we may finally see a striker play up front, rather than out wide and out of position. After all, that’s all we really want.
At the end of the day though, good luck to Torres at Chelsea, he may no longer be a Liverpool player but I’m sure he’ll receive a warm reception from Liverpool fans who still sing him a song: Fernando Torres! Terry’s bit on the side!
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Fernando Torres we loved you so...
Labels:
Andy Carroll,
Chelsea,
Dalglish,
Fernando Torres,
Liverpool,
Luis Suarez,
Premier League
Are there enough English managers in Football’s Top Flight?
The number 4 is a very crucial number that sums up everything wrong about English football at the minute. Forget the influx of foreign players or even foreign owners that don’t know anything about the game or how to run a football club. Instead take some time to consider how many managers in the Premier League are actually English? The answer is of course just 4; Ian Holloway, Harry Redknapp, Steve Bruce and Alan Pardew. Of course there are plenty more in the lower leagues, but out of 20 Premier League clubs only 1/5 are actually English. This is a horrendous amount when put into perspective against the other major leagues of Italy – 18 Italian managers out of 20, Germany – 16 German managers out of 18 and Spain – 16 Spanish managers out of 20.
Some may argue that the amount of domestic managers is irrelevant when the Premier League is the best in the World; whilst I tend to agree you have to look at the evidence that suggests otherwise. The recent Ballon D’or award boiled down to a final three of Iniesta, Xavi and eventual winner Messi, all of whom play in the La Liga and play for Barcelona, managed by the Spaniard Pep Guardiola. The best manager of the year award went to Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho and even the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, boasts that Spain has the best domestic league in the World, with the Premier League in second place.
It’s not just a lack of managers or coaches in the Premier League however, it’s a severe lack of coaches across the entirety of England. Before the World Cup only 2769 English coaches held a UEFA Pro Licence, which allows you to manage in the country’s top flight on a permanent basis and allows you to manage in the Champions League. Germany had 34,970, Italy 29,420, Spain 23,995, and even France had 17,000. The figures show a severe lack of depth within the English coaching system which affects the overall quality of a countries youth development and national team performance. The England National team for instance haven’t reached a final since 1966; Spain, Germany, France and Italy however, have been in a combined 8 finals since 1998 in the World Cup and Euro Cup.
With Fabio Capello to step down after the 2012 Euro Cup, the FA have already stated their intention to appoint an Englishman as manager of England, a wild idea considering the last one was Steve McClaren, but the past most successful England managers have been Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey, both of which were English, one of the them won us the World Cup.
The question is however which current English managers in the Premier League would take the England job and who would have success? Harry Redknapp is the obvious candidate and many wanted his appointment after the World Cup in South Africa last year, but would he take it now Spurs are becoming a dominant force in the League? Have Ian Holloway and Steve Bruce got the credentials or experience to even warrant being considered? Is Alan Pardew even worth mentioning? Then of course there’s the unemployed Roy Hodgson, probably one the most successful English managers without a job at the minute, but would he be welcomed as the next England manager?
Whoever it ends up being, we should wish them success and give them our support. Because with the way the Premier League is going at its current rate, English managers are going to be as hard to come by as decent English players in an import heavy league.
It would perhaps be of benefit to the ‘English’ way of playing football if more Englishmen were given chance to manage the bigger clubs in England, instead of owners getting managers who’ve had success abroad. However before that happens there has to be a drastic improvement on the standard of coaching and that begins at youth level. The quality of youth coaching is detrimental to the development of our national team and the development of coaches themselves, just look at Germany for proof.
English coaches need to improve drastically in order to even stand a chance of getting a Premier League job and for the England team to stand a chance of winning another major tournament. It’s a necessity though to create coaches that think beyond hoofing the ball 60m up towards Peter Crouch or Wayne Rooney otherwise the England team is going to continue to suffer the embarrassment that met them in South Africa over and over again.
As of right now we’re nowhere near solving the problem. The FA are striving to improve their coaching systems and are currently looking for more people to step into football coaching, focusing on youth development and working their way upwards. But for now all we can do is hope that the number of English Premier League managers begins to grow, we’ve fallen way behind other countries and whilst our clubs may continue to do really way, we need to consider the future of our National team for our country’s pride which has taken a substantial hit over the years.
Some may argue that the amount of domestic managers is irrelevant when the Premier League is the best in the World; whilst I tend to agree you have to look at the evidence that suggests otherwise. The recent Ballon D’or award boiled down to a final three of Iniesta, Xavi and eventual winner Messi, all of whom play in the La Liga and play for Barcelona, managed by the Spaniard Pep Guardiola. The best manager of the year award went to Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho and even the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, boasts that Spain has the best domestic league in the World, with the Premier League in second place.
It’s not just a lack of managers or coaches in the Premier League however, it’s a severe lack of coaches across the entirety of England. Before the World Cup only 2769 English coaches held a UEFA Pro Licence, which allows you to manage in the country’s top flight on a permanent basis and allows you to manage in the Champions League. Germany had 34,970, Italy 29,420, Spain 23,995, and even France had 17,000. The figures show a severe lack of depth within the English coaching system which affects the overall quality of a countries youth development and national team performance. The England National team for instance haven’t reached a final since 1966; Spain, Germany, France and Italy however, have been in a combined 8 finals since 1998 in the World Cup and Euro Cup.
With Fabio Capello to step down after the 2012 Euro Cup, the FA have already stated their intention to appoint an Englishman as manager of England, a wild idea considering the last one was Steve McClaren, but the past most successful England managers have been Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey, both of which were English, one of the them won us the World Cup.
The question is however which current English managers in the Premier League would take the England job and who would have success? Harry Redknapp is the obvious candidate and many wanted his appointment after the World Cup in South Africa last year, but would he take it now Spurs are becoming a dominant force in the League? Have Ian Holloway and Steve Bruce got the credentials or experience to even warrant being considered? Is Alan Pardew even worth mentioning? Then of course there’s the unemployed Roy Hodgson, probably one the most successful English managers without a job at the minute, but would he be welcomed as the next England manager?
Whoever it ends up being, we should wish them success and give them our support. Because with the way the Premier League is going at its current rate, English managers are going to be as hard to come by as decent English players in an import heavy league.
It would perhaps be of benefit to the ‘English’ way of playing football if more Englishmen were given chance to manage the bigger clubs in England, instead of owners getting managers who’ve had success abroad. However before that happens there has to be a drastic improvement on the standard of coaching and that begins at youth level. The quality of youth coaching is detrimental to the development of our national team and the development of coaches themselves, just look at Germany for proof.
English coaches need to improve drastically in order to even stand a chance of getting a Premier League job and for the England team to stand a chance of winning another major tournament. It’s a necessity though to create coaches that think beyond hoofing the ball 60m up towards Peter Crouch or Wayne Rooney otherwise the England team is going to continue to suffer the embarrassment that met them in South Africa over and over again.
As of right now we’re nowhere near solving the problem. The FA are striving to improve their coaching systems and are currently looking for more people to step into football coaching, focusing on youth development and working their way upwards. But for now all we can do is hope that the number of English Premier League managers begins to grow, we’ve fallen way behind other countries and whilst our clubs may continue to do really way, we need to consider the future of our National team for our country’s pride which has taken a substantial hit over the years.
Labels:
Coaching,
England,
Harry Redknapp,
Pep Guardiola,
Premier League
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Can King Kenny stabilise Liverpool?
After a lot of pre-match hype following the sacking of Roy Hodgson and Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish stepping in to the end of the season, anticipation was high for the 3rd round FA Cup tie against North-West rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the end result was nothing unexpected it seemed.
Whilst ‘King Kenny’ took charge of his first match as Liverpool manager since 1991, he could only look on in disbelief as two first-half decisions went against his team. Liverpool fans showed their anger as Howard Webb gave Man United a penalty inside the first minute that was converted by Ryan Giggs, but as much as they argue that it wasn’t a penalty, Daniel Agger shouldn’t be flicking his leg out at Berbatov whilst inside the box and Howard Webb was helpless to award a penalty. The second decision to give a red card to Steven Gerrard for his challenge on Michael Carrick after 31 minutes was duly deserved. You can’t go two footed into challenges in the modern game and whilst Gerrard isn’t the recklessly dangerous type, it isn’t the first two footed tackle he’s put in his career but as a captain he should be setting a better example when his side’s down 1-0, without further extending the handicap.
The second half Liverpool came out better, taking Meireles off for Shelvey who was prepared to work for the ball and proved to be one of the most dynamic players on the pitch along with Martin Kelly at Right Back. Both players put in extremely promising performances with Kelly looking good all down the right wing, overlapping with Dirk Kuyt to whip in a good cross to the near the post only for Babel to pull it wide. Shelvey continuously proved a nuisance to the United players, robbing Anderson in the midfield to start a good counter-attacking move, to then go on and pick Rafael’s pocket on the wing to set up Babel for a disappointing effort on goal.
Looking at Sunday’s performance against United though, it’s clear to see that Dalglish is almost immediately having a positive effect on the team. The switch from Roy Hodgson’s rigid 4-4-2 formation back to the fluid 4-2-3-1 system Liverpool used to play, with Gerrard behind the striker. It gave some much needed freedom to the skipper and some fluidity to the team’s attacking movement that was missing under Hodgson’s system. Some of the other players that hadn’t been given much of an opportunity under Roy seemed to shine with Dalglish at the helm, Ryan Babel in particular looked like a different player, providing a deft first touch on the left wing and constantly cutting inside to attack, only to often find himself dribbling into trouble against the United defence.
Other changes at Anfield, including the appointment of Steve Clarke, Jose Mourinho’s former assistant manager and new Liverpool First Team coach should be seen as encouraging news. During his first spell as Liverpool manager, Dalglish played attractive, attacking football and get the ball firmly on the ground. No one will be happier if Dalglish continues this tradition than Fernando Torres who looked a frustrated figure under Hodgson’s direct, long ball game. It has been a rough season for Torres so far, with poor performances at last year’s World Cup and he’s struggled to find consistent form all season for Liverpool, but hopefully the appointment of Dalglish will give the striker some hope. After all, Gerrard’s red card means he misses the next three league games, and with a lack of real stars in the squad at the moment, Dalglish will be looking to the Spaniard to motivate his squad into winning form.
With Liverpool now having no chance of winning any domestic silverware Dalglish will be looking towards the Premier League and securing a decent finish for next season, with the prospect of Champions League football looking out of the question, it leaves just Europa League to play for, which may not sound like much but not achieving any European football at all will be the biggest disappointment both for club moral and financial status.
If Dalglish is to achieve a decent League position however he must strengthen a woefully inadequate squad left behind by Rafa Benitez, and not sufficiently improved upon by Hodgson. Whilst Fabio Aurelio had a good time against United, the Brazilian’s frailties are well known, a general lack of pace and width however are the squad’s main problems and a striker of sufficient flair to match the ability of Fernando Torres would be a great benefit to Liverpool’s attacking threat. An adequate player to match the contribution that Xabi Alonso made is also still required, with Lucas Leiva’s ability on the ball still in doubt and Christian Poulsen failing to impress the Kop.
However the real question still remaining is who will take over on a permanent basis as the Liverpool manager. Anyone brave enough to take on the job will have to contend with an expectant fan base and boardroom that still remains an unknown quantity as far as financial freedom is concerned. It does seem however that with John W Henry as the new owner and Dalglish at the helm, some stability will return to a once great football club. But the future of Liverpool FC still remains in doubt, but there is hope which brings optimism. It will be Liverpool’s next match away at Blackpool however that may just define how the rest of Liverpool’s season goes.
Let’s just hope that all goes well for Dalglish and that his reputation as a great Anfield legend remains intact after what will most definitely prove to be his toughest job in football yet.
Michael Smith
Whilst ‘King Kenny’ took charge of his first match as Liverpool manager since 1991, he could only look on in disbelief as two first-half decisions went against his team. Liverpool fans showed their anger as Howard Webb gave Man United a penalty inside the first minute that was converted by Ryan Giggs, but as much as they argue that it wasn’t a penalty, Daniel Agger shouldn’t be flicking his leg out at Berbatov whilst inside the box and Howard Webb was helpless to award a penalty. The second decision to give a red card to Steven Gerrard for his challenge on Michael Carrick after 31 minutes was duly deserved. You can’t go two footed into challenges in the modern game and whilst Gerrard isn’t the recklessly dangerous type, it isn’t the first two footed tackle he’s put in his career but as a captain he should be setting a better example when his side’s down 1-0, without further extending the handicap.
The second half Liverpool came out better, taking Meireles off for Shelvey who was prepared to work for the ball and proved to be one of the most dynamic players on the pitch along with Martin Kelly at Right Back. Both players put in extremely promising performances with Kelly looking good all down the right wing, overlapping with Dirk Kuyt to whip in a good cross to the near the post only for Babel to pull it wide. Shelvey continuously proved a nuisance to the United players, robbing Anderson in the midfield to start a good counter-attacking move, to then go on and pick Rafael’s pocket on the wing to set up Babel for a disappointing effort on goal.
Looking at Sunday’s performance against United though, it’s clear to see that Dalglish is almost immediately having a positive effect on the team. The switch from Roy Hodgson’s rigid 4-4-2 formation back to the fluid 4-2-3-1 system Liverpool used to play, with Gerrard behind the striker. It gave some much needed freedom to the skipper and some fluidity to the team’s attacking movement that was missing under Hodgson’s system. Some of the other players that hadn’t been given much of an opportunity under Roy seemed to shine with Dalglish at the helm, Ryan Babel in particular looked like a different player, providing a deft first touch on the left wing and constantly cutting inside to attack, only to often find himself dribbling into trouble against the United defence.
Other changes at Anfield, including the appointment of Steve Clarke, Jose Mourinho’s former assistant manager and new Liverpool First Team coach should be seen as encouraging news. During his first spell as Liverpool manager, Dalglish played attractive, attacking football and get the ball firmly on the ground. No one will be happier if Dalglish continues this tradition than Fernando Torres who looked a frustrated figure under Hodgson’s direct, long ball game. It has been a rough season for Torres so far, with poor performances at last year’s World Cup and he’s struggled to find consistent form all season for Liverpool, but hopefully the appointment of Dalglish will give the striker some hope. After all, Gerrard’s red card means he misses the next three league games, and with a lack of real stars in the squad at the moment, Dalglish will be looking to the Spaniard to motivate his squad into winning form.
With Liverpool now having no chance of winning any domestic silverware Dalglish will be looking towards the Premier League and securing a decent finish for next season, with the prospect of Champions League football looking out of the question, it leaves just Europa League to play for, which may not sound like much but not achieving any European football at all will be the biggest disappointment both for club moral and financial status.
If Dalglish is to achieve a decent League position however he must strengthen a woefully inadequate squad left behind by Rafa Benitez, and not sufficiently improved upon by Hodgson. Whilst Fabio Aurelio had a good time against United, the Brazilian’s frailties are well known, a general lack of pace and width however are the squad’s main problems and a striker of sufficient flair to match the ability of Fernando Torres would be a great benefit to Liverpool’s attacking threat. An adequate player to match the contribution that Xabi Alonso made is also still required, with Lucas Leiva’s ability on the ball still in doubt and Christian Poulsen failing to impress the Kop.
However the real question still remaining is who will take over on a permanent basis as the Liverpool manager. Anyone brave enough to take on the job will have to contend with an expectant fan base and boardroom that still remains an unknown quantity as far as financial freedom is concerned. It does seem however that with John W Henry as the new owner and Dalglish at the helm, some stability will return to a once great football club. But the future of Liverpool FC still remains in doubt, but there is hope which brings optimism. It will be Liverpool’s next match away at Blackpool however that may just define how the rest of Liverpool’s season goes.
Let’s just hope that all goes well for Dalglish and that his reputation as a great Anfield legend remains intact after what will most definitely prove to be his toughest job in football yet.
Michael Smith
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Why Belgium could be a force to be reckoned with come 2018
With all the attention of the recent 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, I think we’ve all forgotten that it doesn’t matter where the World Cup is held, it only matters who wins it. Yes it would have been nice for England to host the 2018 World Cup, but since we’re not let's start focusing on rebuilding the nation. Something which the Belgium Football association have been doing for awhile now and whilst Brazil 2014 may be too soon for their budding squad, Russia 2018 may be the time for the Belgians to really take on some of the other top teams in the World.
Belgium in the 80s and 90s where after all, a very god side giving England a tough game in Italia 1990 until David Platt nicked a winner in extra time. It was the time of the midfield maestro Jan Ceulemans and the attacking midfielder Enzo Scifo, both of whom were highly regarded players in their time. Now however a new breed of Belgium footballer is rising. As far as football is concerned, Belgium is famed for created strong, physical defensive players, just look at Thomas Vermaelen or Vincent Kompany as examples, now however the Belgium squad has some bright attacking talents.
Romelu Lukaku is the newest sensation in European Football at the minute, with clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all interested in the 17 year old striking sensation. And there’s good reason because at just 16 Lukaku became the Belgium league’s youngest ever top goal scorer, netting 15 goals in 25 games for Anderlecht. That achievement began many to liken Lukaku to Chelsea’s own Didier Drogba and with good reason because he’s the complete package as far as strikers go, with pace, power, precision and positioning all bundled together in a giant 6ft 4in muscular frame.
It wasn’t just his goals in the Belgium League that got all the big clubs raving. Lukaku performed in Europe for Anderlecht when he became the youngest goal scorer ever in a UEFA competition when he put 2 goals past Ajax in the Europa League. He then went on to score again against Hamburger before Anderlecht was knocked out.
But one player doesn’t make a team, however a strong midfield backing up Lukaku will certainly help the Belgium National team. With a potential midfield line-up including Eden Hazard –dubbed the next Zinedane Zidane and said to have more potential than Messi, Everton’s Marouane Fellaini who’s a defensive rock in the Premier League and playmaker Steven Defour who has attracted big attention from Manchester United with passing and attacking abilities likened to Paul Scholes.
Then of course there’s Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany, a £6m bargain signing by Mark Hughes and now a key player in Roberto Mancini’s defence for the Blues. He’s also proved to be a key man for the Belgium defence after being capped 32 times by his country and even scoring a goal.
It’s of no surprise then that three of the key players in the new look Belgium squad are actually some of the youngest players to ever play for their country, with Hazard, Kompany and Lukaku all playing for Belgium since they were 17 and currently the first three names on the team sheet. Better yet all three will be in their prime and either 30 or younger come 2018, with a strong attacking force up front, a solid defence at the back and a midfield packed with talented playmakers such as Defour and Fellaini, things are starting to look good for the Belgium National Football team which has lost its identity over the past few years.
Belgium in the 80s and 90s where after all, a very god side giving England a tough game in Italia 1990 until David Platt nicked a winner in extra time. It was the time of the midfield maestro Jan Ceulemans and the attacking midfielder Enzo Scifo, both of whom were highly regarded players in their time. Now however a new breed of Belgium footballer is rising. As far as football is concerned, Belgium is famed for created strong, physical defensive players, just look at Thomas Vermaelen or Vincent Kompany as examples, now however the Belgium squad has some bright attacking talents.
Romelu Lukaku is the newest sensation in European Football at the minute, with clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all interested in the 17 year old striking sensation. And there’s good reason because at just 16 Lukaku became the Belgium league’s youngest ever top goal scorer, netting 15 goals in 25 games for Anderlecht. That achievement began many to liken Lukaku to Chelsea’s own Didier Drogba and with good reason because he’s the complete package as far as strikers go, with pace, power, precision and positioning all bundled together in a giant 6ft 4in muscular frame.
It wasn’t just his goals in the Belgium League that got all the big clubs raving. Lukaku performed in Europe for Anderlecht when he became the youngest goal scorer ever in a UEFA competition when he put 2 goals past Ajax in the Europa League. He then went on to score again against Hamburger before Anderlecht was knocked out.
But one player doesn’t make a team, however a strong midfield backing up Lukaku will certainly help the Belgium National team. With a potential midfield line-up including Eden Hazard –dubbed the next Zinedane Zidane and said to have more potential than Messi, Everton’s Marouane Fellaini who’s a defensive rock in the Premier League and playmaker Steven Defour who has attracted big attention from Manchester United with passing and attacking abilities likened to Paul Scholes.
Then of course there’s Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany, a £6m bargain signing by Mark Hughes and now a key player in Roberto Mancini’s defence for the Blues. He’s also proved to be a key man for the Belgium defence after being capped 32 times by his country and even scoring a goal.
It’s of no surprise then that three of the key players in the new look Belgium squad are actually some of the youngest players to ever play for their country, with Hazard, Kompany and Lukaku all playing for Belgium since they were 17 and currently the first three names on the team sheet. Better yet all three will be in their prime and either 30 or younger come 2018, with a strong attacking force up front, a solid defence at the back and a midfield packed with talented playmakers such as Defour and Fellaini, things are starting to look good for the Belgium National Football team which has lost its identity over the past few years.
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