Erling Haaland scored 52 goals in his first season for Man City, but not every player has such a pleasant experience in a new environment.
After 18 months at Tottenham, striker Ahmed Mido returned to Roma and received a call from coach Martin Jol. "You have to come back to Tottenham immediately," Jol said.
Jol was coaching Tottenham for the 2006-07 season, but he was not happy with the performance of new signing Dimitar Berbatov. He wanted Mido back, and told the Egyptian striker: "I made a big mistake buying Berbatov."
Midfielder Hossam Ghaly also convinced his compatriot Mido to return to Tottenham with him, as Berbatov failed to impress after his move from Bayer Leverkusen. "Berbatov is too slow, so if you come back here, you will be a starter," Ghaly told Mido.
The two former Egyptian players reunited on a TV show 14 years later, laughing and joking as they recalled the 2006 story. "Berbatov is a great player," Ghaly said in 2020. "But in the first training days at Tottenham, he was too slow, even though he didn't let anyone get the ball."
In August 2006, Tottenham bought Mido outright from Roma. But when he arrived at White Hart Lane, things were not as Jol and Ghaly had described. "When I returned to Tottenham, Berbatov had turned into Johan Cruyff," Mido joked. "Jol said I would easily take Berbatov's starting spot. But in training, he dribbled past everyone, flicked the ball over defenders' heads and shot into dead corners. I couldn't compete with him because he was too good."
Berbatov scored 12 Premier League goals in his first season, while Mido only managed one and was sold to Middlesbrough after a year. The following season, Berbatov scored 15 goals, before joining Man Utd. He finished his Premier League career with 94 goals in 229 games, a success beyond Jol's initial expectations.
Berbatov in a Tottenham match at White Hart Lane in the 2007-2008 season. Photo: Standard
Adapting to football is more difficult than many people think . When playing in another country, no matter what level, players are human and have to adapt to a new environment. They don't just go there to play football.
Clubs will try their best to make new players feel comfortable, but there are still barriers such as culture, language, or homesickness. For example, a 20-year-old player going abroad will experience a completely new world , away from family and friends, which can lead to psychological pressure. Whether or not the player overcomes the barriers, there will always be an initial period of adaptation.
A new football environment can also be a barrier, as the intensity and style of play vary from place to place. New recruits often wonder about things like what the atmosphere in the dressing room is like, what groups the team is divided into, and which groups they should make friends with.
New players are not guaranteed to be in their old positions, or in the old system, so they need to change. A coach will not want to change his football philosophy for one player, so each individual needs to adjust his own way of playing. This process is not usually completed in a short time.
Not every player has made an immediate impact like Sergio Aguero, who scored twice on his Man City debut against Swansea in August 2011. He added 21 more goals in the Premier League season, including a final goal against QPR that was a classic as it sealed the title for the club.
Ruud van Nistelrooy with 36 goals for Man Utd in the 2001-2002 season, Fernando Torres with 33 goals for Liverpool in the 2007-2008 season, N'Golo Kante winning the Premier League in 2015-2016 with Leicester with odds of 1 to 5,000. And now Erling Haaland has broken the league's scoring record in his first season with Man City.
Haaland in the match between Man City and Brighton at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League on May 24, 2023. Photo: Reuters
However, there are still other good players who need time to integrate before showing their abilities.
In his first season at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah was a phenomenon, scoring 32 goals to become the Premier League's top scorer in 2017-18, a record that Haaland broke. But when Salah left his native Egypt to play for Basel in the summer of 2012, things were not as easy as they would later be.
Salah told ON in May 2018 that the biggest challenge for him in adapting was the culture. In Egypt, he had to spend time with his family and meet friends every night. "But suddenly I was alone at the age of 19, and it was a big shock," he added. "I would come home at 1pm after training and not know what to do until the evening. I didn't know anything about Switzerland and I didn't have any friends here."
The Liverpool striker said it was easier to adapt when he moved to Chelsea in January 2014. But he had another problem: pressure from the media. "I wasn't playing regularly, and I always felt like I wanted to leave," he said.
Another example from the Premier League is Robert Pires. During his first season with Arsenal in 2000-2001, he asked manager Arsene Wenger if the intensity of the game in England was always the same. Wenger replied: "Yes, even more intense."
Italy were no exception. Striker Hernan Crespo did not enjoy his early days at Parma in 1996-97, after moving from River Plate. Crespo scored just one goal in his first 15 games, and was whistled at.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was then working at Parma, understood Crespo's potential and continued to use the Argentine player. "Crespo was talented and serious about his work, but the fans did not like him," Ancelotti wrote in a book.
Crespo lived up to Ancelotti's expectations with 12 goals in 28 games in all competitions that season, helping the team finish second in Serie A, two points behind Juventus.
Professional football is also a job, and players also need time to get used to the new environment. Harsh climates can also be a problem for players in the long term.
Striker Nolito had few opportunities to play for Man City, after leaving Celta Vigo in the summer of 2016. Due to his limited English, he could not adapt to life in Manchester. The British lifestyle and weather there were also not easy for the Spanish striker's family. "After a year, my daughter looked like she was living in a cave," he said. "Her face changed colour too."
Nolito in the match against Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on September 17, 2016. Photo: Mirror
Nolito hinted that the weather in Manchester is not very sunny, unlike in Spain. He also only played one year at Man City, scoring six goals in 30 games, before returning home to Sevilla. Nolito now plays in Spain's second tier for Ibiza, where there is no shortage of sunshine.
Even the way players communicate with each other can be a barrier to integration. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was fluent in English, but when he joined Leeds United in 1997, he still struggled with communication. The Dutch striker found that speaking directly to his teammates could be seen as arrogant. "In Holland, I could say, 'Do this, do that,' and no one would mind," Hasselbaink wrote in his autobiography. "But in England, I had to say, 'Do you mind doing this?' The English wanted to hear more polite language."
The difficulty of integration in football does not spare world-class players. In the summer of 1993, Dennis Bergkamp joined Inter after two consecutive years in the Top 3 of the Golden Ball. He felt uncomfortable when the club's president Ernesto Pellegrini promised a beautiful attacking style of play. But in the end, Inter played a defensive style that did not suit Bergkamp's style. "I faced 100 new things in life, and 200 other problems in football," he wrote in his autobiography.
Bergkamp scored eight goals in 11 UEFA Cup games in his first season at Inter, helping them win the trophy. But he left after just two seasons, having scored 22 goals in 74 games. Bergkamp moved to the Premier League and played another 11 seasons for Arsenal, earning his place in the league’s hall of fame. A player like Bergkamp can be a legend at one club, but a laughing stock at another.
The adaptation process needs to be carefully considered before judging a new signing’s success. Even superstar Lionel Messi has said he struggled to settle into life in Paris during his first year. But in the age of social media, players and coaches can be judged after just one game.
Behind every football player with extraordinary talent, tattoos and luxury toys, there is just a human being. Not everyone is comfortable with a new environment. Some people take a long time to integrate.
It doesn't mean they aren't good enough, it's just that life works that way.
Xuan Binh (according to Athletic )
Source link
Comment (0)