An unknown kid from Turkey started making waves in Bundesliga around 2009. He was praised for his exquisite footwork and technical ability. He had the knack for the final pass and always wished to be at center of the pitch dictationg play. After some dazzling performances in the last couple of years for the German giants Borrusia Dortmund, Nuri Sahin has almost created a niche for himself in that league. Producing some of the best plays in chase for the Champions League spot, he dethroned Bastian Schweinsteiger as Bundesliga’s best pass-master. He successfully marshaled the midfield of Borussia and helped them to glory at last. But as is the case with young exciting players in Bundesliga,he made the move abroad to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are almost willing to do anything for their La Decima. Mourinho in his second year will be doing everything he can to end the domination of their arch-rivals FC Barcelona. What is he all about and how will he play in his new club? All questions answered right below!
Style of play
Sahin likes to take control of the play in the midfield, giving his forwards the freedom to push up and positioning himself for swift passing from the back. He loves the ball at his feet and fancies raiding the enemy flanks. His long balls are exquisite and his technical prowess drips from his through balls. He has a great vision which Madrid are in a desperate need for. He is able to play in the air with ease and has no difficulty going forward. He likes to track back and help in the defense to recover ball and quickly initiate counter-attack just the same as Xabi Alonso does at Real Madrid. He has powerful left foot with a shot full of sting and he never hesitates in testing the keeper from long range. He is well equipped with dead-ball techniques as he is a quality free kick specialist,but of course with CR7 at Madrid his opportunities will be limited. His pace is in tune with Real Madrid so he will definitely bolster their counter attack mentality.
Position in Madrid
Nuri Sahin loves to dictate play from deep-lying positions. He is solid in defense and spot on in tackles. He welcomes body defending and all-action style but is elegant in both defending and attacking. Nuri would form a great partnership with play-mogul Xabi Alonso. Let’s looks at the positions that Mourinho would install this season:
- Prime Pivot.
- Double Pivot.
- Trivote.
Sahin fits perfectly in Madrid. He is young and superbly talented for the club. He has his best friend Mesut Ozil playing there who is already a fan-favorite after only one season. Sami Khedira is also a friend it is said,whereas Hamit Altintop is his national compatriot. So that means it should be easy for him to settle down. In his first season he would be expected to be the understudy of the aging Xabi Alonso,but if he plays well maybe Mourinho will pick him.
4 Responses
I believe Mou will continue with 4-2-3-1.
There is no buzz about switching to 4-3-3, only one story in Marca. No one else is saying it (as far as I know), and they didn’t really follow up on this story.
Marca needs to sell a lot of papers, but has very little to write about in this period of time. That’s why they make up stories. A couple of weeks ago the headline was “Mas Equipo, menos Galacticos” (my favorite headline of the summer). But just 2 days later it was all about ‘Kun’ again. Marca does however have a lot of insider knowledge, and the way to spot this is to look for patterns. If they keep saying all summer they Mou will switch to 4-3-3 I will believe it, but now I don’t.
However, I think it’s likely that we will see more of 4-3-3 (like against Barcelona) in the next season. But 4-2-3-1 will continue to be the main formation.
And now to Sahin. Perhaps it’s my lack of knowledge about how good this kid is, but I believe he will start out as Xabi’s reserve. In your description of him he sounds more like Xabi, than any other player. In Dortmund he had Bender next to him, who plays very much like Khedira. And I don’t have much doubt that his prefered position is next to a Bender/Khedira.
But he is a versatile player and will be given time in the other positions you mention. And if he’s impressive enough he can make those spots his own.
And as a final note, I think a Pepe, Xabi, Sahin formation can be very effective against Barcelona next season. And I expect a lot of those matches.
Mou will be careful to use PEPE again in mid because we don’t have a good backup CB and Rafael Varane is too young to be used against Barcelona. I think 4-3-3 is ideal for Real Madrid since mou likes to rotate his squad and we already have a stacked midfield and bench.
Well, the attack is stacked too. The 4-3-3 looks more like an attempt to accommodate Kun/Neymar next to Ronaldo and Higuaín/Benzema. But can’t see the point in that and would leave both Özil and Di Maria on the bench too much.
seems sahin didnt have good time at real madirid. I didnt event hear him anymore yet.whats happen? Injury like Kaka?