Euro: UEFA U-21 in Poland 2017

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

He has proven himself. But nowhere near the quality of Busquets or Verratti.

Well that wasn't the argument. Nobody claimed he was as good as either player.

Think Ceballos is better than Saul.

Offensively sure but all around as of now it's Saul. Plus he comes without the baggage.

Not yet, but maybe pretty soon.

I would say Saul's the best player there at this moment and Asensio has the most potential. But those three players are better than any other player brought to this tournament.

Asensio is a class above any Spanish player his age group. Luckily Barca have Douglas.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Not yet, but maybe pretty soon.

I would say Saul's the best player there at this moment and Asensio has the most potential. But those three players are better than any other player brought to this tournament.

Talking about general quality or performance at this tournament? I'd say there are a few others with similar class. Not how they've played though.

Well that wasn't the argument. Nobody claimed he was as good as either player.

I think Barca could do better. We'll see in a year though.

 

[Incubajerks]

Spain's U21s starting XI last night had 56 Champions League appearances between them. Other semifinalists: Germany 31, England 17, Italy 4

 

[cgf]

How can anyone see how much more comfortable Spain were playing with the ball in our half, than defending in their own; and not realize that our best bet is to block them in with possession and keep them from getting into any rhythm?

 

[Bon Esprit]

Weiser scores.

 

[Bon Esprit]

Well done, boys.

 

[cgf]

Really happy for those kids to pull it off with 9 eligibles that could've started for this team missing because of the Confed Cup and injuries/other-surgeries; and an idiot on the bench.

Between Werner, Sane, Brandt, Weigl, Kimmich, Henrichs, Goretzka, Sule, and Tah; I'm pretty sure that you have at least 8 starters from our best possible lineup for this age range.

Edit:

Brandt - Werner
Gnabry - LeGo/Mo - Henrichs - Sane
Weigl
Sule - Tah - Kimmich

----------------------------------

Brandt - Werner
Gnabry - LeGo/Mo - Weigl - Sane
Henrichs - Sule - Tah - Kimmich

----------------------------------

Brandt - Werner - Sane
Goretzka - Dahoud
Weigl
Henrichs - Sule - Tah - Kimmich​

With Weiser / Toljan as the only u21ers other than Dahoud / Amiri and Gnabry who get into the lineup for me...and that only if we preferred to use Henrichs and/or Kimmich in the midfield.

 

[jniklast]

Why is Kuntz an idiot? I'd say he managed pretty well overall in this tournament. You can hardly blame him for anything, as the team played very well, especially in the semifinal and final.

 

[cgf]

Why is Kuntz an idiot? I'd say he managed pretty well overall in this tournament. You can hardly blame him for anything, as the team played very well, especially in the semifinal and final.

I'll agree that this has been his best tourney and I can not rip into him for the errors he did make, since they worked out for him. But previously he has made numerous selection mistakes; poorly matched his formation to his talent; made nonsensical substitutions; failed to give his team a strong attacking structure, especially when dealing with parked buses; and left them badly exposed to counters. This tourney I think he was fortunate that failing to integrate Dahoud and Amiri didn't cost him; and he really should've gotten more out of Weiser prior to the final.

Even with those gripes; this is easily his best work with our youth teams so far...but I can't help but wonder whether this was an isolated run where his limited options helped him get it right; or if this was a sign of actual progression in his coaching ability / tactical understanding.

So it's still more impressive to me that these kids won with arguably the weakest coach we have at the head of one of our youth teams...even if at this particular tourney, this particular coach's biggest mistakes worked out.

 

[Deficient Mode]

I thought their collective defensive work in this tournament was pretty strong, though. Especially in the final. Far from a perfect coach, and I groaned every time Haberer touched the ball. Still, the team tactically dominated a more talented but younger Spanish team, so you have to give him some credit.

I had a good chuckle when the English commentator said no one on this German team will ever be a star. lol.

 

[cgf]

I thought their collective defensive work in this tournament was pretty strong, though. Especially in the final. Far from a perfect coach, and I groaned every time Haberer touched the ball. Still, the team tactically dominated a more talented but younger Spanish team, so you have to give him some credit.

I had a good chuckle when the English commentator said no one on this German team will ever be a star. lol.

Getting me to wonder if maybe he's might be turning a corner should say a lot about the job he did at this tourney

 

[jniklast]

I'll agree that this has been his best tourney and I can not rip into him for the errors he did make, since they worked out for him. But previously he has made numerous selection mistakes; poorly matched his formation to his talent; made nonsensical substitutions; failed to give his team a strong attacking structure, especially when dealing with parked buses; and left them badly exposed to counters. This tourney I think he was fortunate that failing to integrate Dahoud and Amiri didn't cost him; and he really should've gotten more out of Weiser prior to the final.

Even with those gripes; this is easily his best work with our youth teams so far...but I can't help but wonder whether this was an isolated run where his limited options helped him get it right; or if this was a sign of actual progression in his coaching ability / tactical understanding.

So it's still more impressive to me that these kids won with arguably the weakest coach we have at the head of one of our youth teams...even if at this particular tourney, this particular coach's biggest mistakes worked out.

He basically just coached some friendlies before this tourney, so I don't know when he did something gravely wrong for our youth teams.

Of course his club coaching career was short and forgettable, but it's been some time since then. And it's not like Löw or Hrubesch were better coaches before their NT careers.

In the end they beat an individually better team and even dominated them over large stretches - that has to be a plus for the coach.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

It's a youth team DFB posting...they're hardly gonna get top end managerial talent for those jobs.

The exact purpose of the U21 teams is a bit shadowy anyway. Most of the players are playing first team football in the upper tiers of the league pyramid and their work in their clubs is going to be the key for their development as players. A coach who has these guys a few times a year isn't going to teach them fundamentals of tactics or playing their positions.

The most relevant aspect is perhaps to get them used to the mechanics of international football, developing chemistry with players you only see once in a while, dealing with tournament situations and so forth. It doesn't take Pep to do that; in fact someone with other strengths than Pep as a leader of men might be a lot better suited for the task.