Thiago's potential

dnmac4 wrote:I voted top 10 in his position and I'm not as high on him as other Barca fans.

I just don't think he will ever be as good as Cesc and he doesn't fit Xavi's role at all. I don't know why people keep saying that as he is sloppy with the ball at times and always wants to be a lot further up the field then Xavi. IMO, he plays more like Cesc then Xavi.

He is a wonderful talent and at one point he was underrated and now I think he's a little overrated. HE also needs to cut the tricks out because the last couple games he has given away the ball trying to be cute.

Top 10 LOL.
He has far more talent than Cesc and has outperformed cesc every single game this season.
But I agree with you that he cant replace Xavi.Nobody can.

Agree with alex, except on the Xavi bit.

Not saying I watched the game and this may be a knee-jerk from youtube, but that video of the u/21's game that just passed he did some very Xavi like passes and dribbles. Was very impressed, and IMO I think he will be better than Xavi, with Rafinha allegedly going to be better than Thiago it is very scary

a very good player imo...
but to say he's going to be a contender for ballond'or? no.
even though he will never reach the level of cesc or xavi or messi (who are players born once in a decade) he will be recognized like alonso or busquets (i mean, the level)

alexjanosik wrote:
Thiago has outperformed cesc every single game this season.

That's completely untrue sir, and you know it. In fact Cesc has outperformed Thiago, in almost every game, and I don't see a problem of that, now just some games I remember vs Valencia, vs Athletic Bilbao [even though Thiago was a late substitute], vs Viktoria, vs Sevilla [when he substituted Thiago he was immense] etc.

...on-topic: Top 10, maybe Top 5.

I personally chose the top 30 potential.

Thiago does show some great deal of potential, but as we know, potentials are not necessary converted to abilities. Saying that Thiago has outplayed Fabregas in every single game is something that I cannot agree with personally. Thiago is enjoyable to watch, specially with his Deco-like dribbles. It seems like he is learning that too much of anything is simply too much, and I like it; he is dribbling less than before. Position wise, he might play in Xavi's position, but the role Xavi puts in the field disappear the moment Xavi steps out of the field; a Xavi only comes one time.
It's like watching a game of the Spanish national team without Xavi, Alonso and Busquets in DM with three attacking midfielders and a striker. In the future it can be Thiago playing in a position in front of Fabregas, or it can be played the other way around. We will have to wait and see, but I personally would like Fabregas to play in Xavi's position while Thiago as an attacking midfielder.

Fabregas right now is in a recovery stage in my opinion. The player has so much emotions that it seems like he wants to do everything for the team. Fabregas in reality doesn't have his position available, which is Xavi's. Pep, being his therapist, is playing him as a center forward sometimes mainly because 1. He is taking advantage of the current emotions and the fire inside Fab. 2. He doesn't have any place else to play Fabregas, specially with our shortage in attackers (due to injuries and underperformance). Fabregas is the right Xavi successor, it is not Thiago.

Thiago is more like Deco in position and like Iniesta in condition. To clarify the second part, Iniesta's true colors were exposed once Ronaldinho left the team, even though he played for many years before that with Rijkaard. Samething applies to Thiago, once he replaces Iniesta (assuming that he reaches his potentials), his true colors will be exposed. OR, Iniesta can play as a LW and Thiago takes his midfield role. Thiago can fulfill Iniesta's poor scoring ability.

urbaNRoots wrote:

alexjanosik wrote:
Thiago has outperformed cesc every single game this season.

That's completely untrue sir, and you know it. In fact Cesc has outperformed Thiago, in almost every game, and I don't see a problem of that, now just some games I remember vs Valencia, vs Athletic Bilbao [even though Thiago was a late substitute], vs Viktoria, vs Sevilla [when he substituted Thiago he was immense] etc.

...on-topic: Top 10, maybe Top 5.

A couple of tap ins doesnt mean cesc has been better.
Watch the games again.Thiago has been clearly better.

People are living in 04. Cesc doesnt play and hasnt played a position similar to Xavi´s in years. I dont know what people are seeing now and I dont see why there is this assumption he going to suddenly do it.

He plays this false 10 role now, this is his position because this is what his attributes are.

Thiago being better then Cesc this year just isn't true.

And please, don't even try the whole tap in argument it's such a bad argument. A goal is a goal, you see people miss easy goals all the time and you have to be in position for the tap in.

Players like Cesc come around a couple times a generation, and for people saying look at Thiago on the Spanish under 21 team are really showing there age as Cesc was immense in Spain's junior teams.

The point is I hope to god Thiago turns out to be better then Cesc but that will be very hard as Cesc is really a great player and the odds are that Thiago wont reach his level and there's nothing wrong with that. Not to mention at age 20-21 Cesc was better then Thiago is now.

Guys, Cesc is on our team now so you don't have to keep up the Cesc is overrated act, he is a great footballer.

I agree with my man Alex here. Xavi has redifined the modern MF role, and I think that Thiago, while he may not become as good as Xavi will become a great player in his own right. And yes, Thiago has done far better than Cesc when they have both played CM, it's clear for all to see. It is clear tha Thiago actually grew up in la masia becasue his positioning is far superior to Cescs. Hell when Cesc is deployed on the wings he always drifts centrally, his positional discipline is woeful compared to the rest of the barca players, and whenever barca press he looks lost sometimes.

jibers wrote:And yes, Thiago has done far better than Cesc when they have both played CM, it's clear for all to see. It is clear tha Thiago actually grew up in la masia becasue his positioning is far superior to Cescs. Hell when Cesc is deployed on the wings he always drifts centrally, his positional discipline is woeful compared to the rest of the barca players, and whenever barca press he looks lost sometimes.

You can say that he outperformed Cesc in positioning [since this is your only argument], but not as a player. Cesc has been superior to Thiago, in all other things. Goals, assists, link-up, passing and all these playing less minutes then him. Stop crediting someone who hasn't done nothing this year, just to bash the other player.

urbaNRoots wrote:

jibers wrote:And yes, Thiago has done far better than Cesc when they have both played CM, it's clear for all to see. It is clear tha Thiago actually grew up in la masia becasue his positioning is far superior to Cescs. Hell when Cesc is deployed on the wings he always drifts centrally, his positional discipline is woeful compared to the rest of the barca players, and whenever barca press he looks lost sometimes.

You can say that he outperformed Cesc in positioning [since this is your only argument], but not as a player. Cesc has been superior to Thiago, in all other things. Goals, assists, link-up, passing and all these playing less minutes then him. Stop crediting someone who hasn't done nothing this year, just to bash the other player.

It doesnt matter if he a better player or not lol.

Thiago has been much better in midfield than Fabregas and he will be the one replacing Xavi not Fabregas.....

Fabregas best performances has been playing basically upfront where his skills are shown off.

In midfield tho i agree with Jibers he looks lost.

Immaculate_Mole wrote:

urbaNRoots wrote:

jibers wrote:And yes, Thiago has done far better than Cesc when they have both played CM, it's clear for all to see. It is clear tha Thiago actually grew up in la masia becasue his positioning is far superior to Cescs. Hell when Cesc is deployed on the wings he always drifts centrally, his positional discipline is woeful compared to the rest of the barca players, and whenever barca press he looks lost sometimes.

You can say that he outperformed Cesc in positioning [since this is your only argument], but not as a player. Cesc has been superior to Thiago, in all other things. Goals, assists, link-up, passing and all these playing less minutes then him. Stop crediting someone who hasn't done nothing this year, just to bash the other player.

It doesnt matter if he a better player or not lol.

Thiago has been much better in midfield than Fabregas and he will be the one replacing Xavi not Fabregas.....

Fabregas best performances has been playing basically upfront where his skills are shown off.

In midfield tho i agree with Jibers he looks lost.

lol Alexjanosik said that Thiago has outperformed Cesc as a player, not as a CM, and Jibers agreed with him. And Thiago isn't either the one replacing Xavi, Thiago is a more Iniesta type of player. Fabregas is the pass master, Barca is looking to approximately replace Xavi. His positioning will improve, since he isn't even in his prime, and that Thiago is faaaaaaaaar more talented than Cesc is such a joke, when Cesc was 20, he was better than Thiago nowadays.

Thiago isnt an Iniesta type player, when will this myth end lol?

He's Xavi with samba like skills, his pass completion rate is 95% this year in most games ffs

He may have more pace and individual ability than Xavi but he knows when and where to use it now.......

Cesc is more like Lampard with better technique he is not a pass master like you assume......

He doesnt have the positional sense, agility etc etc that Xavi has and never will hes a totally different type of player he will never replace him he cant.

Neither Thiago or Fabregas are anything like Iniesta.

Thiago is the most unique player to come out of the academy in quite some time.

Immaculate_Mole wrote:Thiago isnt an Iniesta type player, when will this myth end lol?

He's Xavi with samba like skills, his pass completion rate is 95% this year in most games ffs

He may have more pace and individual ability than Xavi but he knows when and where to use it now.......

Cesc is more like Lampard with better technique he is not a pass master like you assume......

He doesnt have the positional sense, agility etc etc that Xavi has and never will hes a totally different type of player he will never replace him he cant.

Neither Thiago or Fabregas are anything like Iniesta.

Frimpong last game had a 100% accuracy of pass, that doesn't make him Xavi. Anyway did you check Cesc stats? 86% average pass accuracy playing in the final third, now that's impressing.

And Cesc is definitely the pass master, he can make through balls, can deliver long passes, short passes, key passes in final third, stuff that is much more difficult than passing the ball back.

It's another thing that Cesc is versatile and can play upfront and back, and Pep is using this. We can predict all we want, maybe we just should let the time doing his job, and we'll see who will play in Xavi's position [I'm not saying replacing him, that's impossible].

Give it a break, why do you need to defend Cesc. He dont even play for you anymore.

In terms of being a midfielder and doing what job you expect out of a midfielder, Thiago has been far better then Cesc. Its not even close.

The Franchise wrote:Give it a break, why do you need to defend Cesc. He dont even play for you anymore.

In terms of being a midfielder and doing what job you expect out of a midfielder, Thiago has been far better then Cesc. Its not even close.

Exactly.

The Franchise wrote:Give it a break, why do you need to defend Cesc. He dont even play for you anymore.

In terms of being a midfielder and doing what job you expect out of a midfielder, Thiago has been far better then Cesc. Its not even close.

I'm not defending him mate, I just find it funny how massively underrated Fabregas is, and how you Barca fans praise Thiago just to push Fabregas down.

Why would we want to push down Cesc? He is our player, the better he does, the better for us.

However, we aint going to lie and say he is doing great things which he isnt doing.

I dont think anyone is saying Cesc isnt talented, nobody thinks he is less talented now, its just he isnt doing the role people expected out of him.

He is scoring goals, thats all he is doing. That isnt enough, especially not for a midfielder.

He Won't fit well in the Formation this season. He has been playing in a system which was built around him since last 5 years or so. He is doing what he used to do at Arsenal, but less effectively.

As Mole mentioned the passing success rate, i checked the whole Barcelona's team stats ( my secret source ) And despite the fact he is the 3rd most productive player, his passing success was 88%, 12th best in the squad. That is not cesc. He has always prefered passing to goal scoring.

That's the only reason why i think he isn't working well in the midfield, Either it's the classic case of " too many cooks " or that he isnt playing the la liga game . Give him time do adjust back in la liga, and mainly in barca's set up. I mean a 24 year old world class midfielder should be doing better than a 21 year old

RealGunner wrote:He Won't fit well in the Formation this season. He has been playing in a system which was built around him since last 5 years or so. He is doing what he used to do at Arsenal, but less effectively.

As Mole mentioned the passing success rate, i checked the whole Barcelona's team stats ( my secret source ) And despite the fact he is the 3rd most productive player, his passing success was 88%, 12th best in the squad. That is not cesc. He has always prefered passing to goal scoring.

That's the only reason why i think he isn't working well in the midfield, Either it's the classic case of " too many cooks " or that he isnt playing the la liga game . Give him time do adjust back in la liga, and mainly in barca's set up. I mean a 24 year old world class midfielder should be doing better than a 21 year old

I have never ever seen the Xavi style of midfielder or even Thiago tbh in Cesc tbh even when he played deep at Arsenal i never saw it.....

I always saw him as a Spanish Lampard with more technique and a better range of passing.....

Nothing against the lad i just dont see him having the skillset to be the midfield general Barca want to replace Xavi hes a totally different type of player.......

From what i have seen Thiago is alot closer to Xavi in skillsets than Fabregas is.

I actually think Fabregas is more likely to replace Iniesta( even tho he's nothing like him either) than Xavi.

As i said nothing against him just i dont see the controlling midfielder in him of say a Xavi, Xabi, Sahin, Pirlo etc etc

Thiago IMO can be better then xavi. Xavi doesn't have the skills this guy has, not to mention a great shot. I can see him contending for the ballon d'or, he's very professional as well.

Giggity5313 wrote:Thiago IMO can be better then xavi. Xavi doesn't have the skills this guy has, not to mention a great shot. I can see him contending for the ballon d'or, he's very professional as well.

Better in what way though mate? Xavi has th best 1st touch and short passing in the world and probably ball control. Thiago has a long way to go. Thiago has a better shot on him, but doing Xavi's role? It would be very difficult as he would need extreme discipline. I reckon he can do it as he will learn from pep and Xavi.

urbaNRoots wrote:

The Franchise wrote:Give it a break, why do you need to defend Cesc. He dont even play for you anymore.

In terms of being a midfielder and doing what job you expect out of a midfielder, Thiago has been far better then Cesc. Its not even close.

I'm not defending him mate, I just find it funny how massively underrated Fabregas is, and how you Barca fans praise Thiago just to push Fabregas down.

Almost all the Barca fans agree with me that Thiago has been better and yet you tell me that Cesc has been better.
At Barca goals are not the criteria for judging a midfielder's performance.
You only have to watch Cesc's movement to infer that he has been average.Just to put it in perspective, right now he is the worst mover off the ball in our team.
As for replacing Xavi,Fabregas wont.He just doesnt have the technique,positioning and footballing brain of the maestro.
Thats not to say he is not a great player.He is but he is no Xavi.

jibers wrote:

Giggity5313 wrote:Thiago IMO can be better then xavi. Xavi doesn't have the skills this guy has, not to mention a great shot. I can see him contending for the ballon d'or, he's very professional as well.

Better in what way though mate? Xavi has th best 1st touch and short passing in the world and probably ball control. Thiago has a long way to go. Thiago has a better shot on him, but doing Xavi's role? It would be very difficult as he would need extreme discipline. I reckon he can do it as he will learn from pep and Xavi.

Well thiago has alot more skills as well, and has a bit more dimension then him. Xavi is a specialist, a dam good one as well, and I agree it will be hard for him to reach that level of control and disipline. But the very thought of him making it is a bit scary.. he will be crazy good

Cesc is not necessarily worse, just a very different player then thiago

He is a worthy contender in a year or two. He has looked great in all the matches he has played.