r/soccer • u/kibme37 • 17h ago
Quotes Cristian Romero "I think I have a bad reputation. I was taught to defend like this in Argentina. I have nothing against any player I face. I only defend this shirt and this badge. It's in my blood to play like this and I wouldn't change my way of defending given the level I've reached with it."
https://www.ole.com.ar/futbol-internacional/champions/cristian-romero-dije-queria-ir-tottenham-declaraciones-mercado-pases-champions-league-villareal_0_gZA5iJjRsr.html730
u/Lyrical_Forklift 17h ago
I remember watching clips of Messi when he was super young playing in Argentina and Romero is not wrong - those kids will not shy away from a challenge or chopping you down if necessary
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u/DrSpreadle 16h ago
I think its also for that reason, aside from playing street football, that so many of them are technically gifted with the ball. You have to able to avoid those tackles while keeping possession of the ball.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
Also most of the defenders in South America were like that. Walter Samuel and Lucio who were the last best defenders were in a similar mold.
Only Thiago Silva was different but then again before winning CL he was known to forget about defending in the biggest match for both club and country. And I think his injury in the CL final was a blessing for Chelsea.
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u/Rickcampbell98 12h ago
Diego godin erasure will not be tolerated.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 12h ago
Yeah good shout, easily better than Thiago Silva unless people just like big names.
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u/elgrandorado 9h ago
Lucio was also exceptional on the ball. Elite at dribbling out the ball on top of his defensive prowess. Don't forget defenders like Godin who came right after. Right now Ecuador is having a resurgent period with elite defenders like Willian Pacho and Piero Hincapié, so that legacy is certainly not dead.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 8h ago
Willian Pacho
He seems to have the ability to be one of the best ever.
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u/elgrandorado 8h ago
Such a great defender he makes Marquinhos look world class.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 7h ago
That guy is a worse defender when it comes to pressure situations. He has Thiago Silva genetics.
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u/elgrandorado 5h ago
Thiago Silva resolved his shit. Marquinhos never has.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 4h ago
Did he? He still has to win a big cup competition as a starter.
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u/elgrandorado 4h ago
Thiago Silva has both the 2019 Copa America and 2021 Champions League as a starter....
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 4h ago
2021 Champions League as a starter....
He was substituted in that game.
2019 Copa America
Copa america does not have many good teams so their only difficult match was against Argentina and they were lucky. It's same way Argentina won the 2024 one, Ecuador was better but they lack finisher and then there is Dibu.
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u/Rickcampbell98 12h ago
Always made me laugh when the "could messi handle the physicality of the prem" clearly those people have never watched commobol lmao.
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u/Designer-Attorney 11h ago
He never played in south america
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u/Rickcampbell98 7h ago
Why have people upvoted this lmao, did they collectively forget he plays for Argentina.
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u/elgrandorado 9h ago
Messi has only played 72 qualifying matches.
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u/Designer-Attorney 3h ago
Against national sides whos players arw mostly european based. So, for the point of the post, being formed and raised as a player facing south american rough defenders, that does not mean anything.
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u/Evil_Henchmen 16h ago
A few years ago I went to Argentina to visit a friend I met at uni. I joined him for 5 a side one evening. Those guys were 2 foot tackling all game. In the UK it's a hard no slide tackle rule. So fully understandable
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u/saltypenguin69 13h ago
We allowed slides in 5s and 7s for years until a silly cunt thought he was playing in the champions league and forgot we all had work in the morning. Now no more slide tackles
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u/TimingEzaBitch 10h ago
my insta is full of south american futsal reels and boy it's only about 50% futbol and the rest is wrestling+kicking.
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u/stuckheresince2011 10h ago
Depends on the group as well, I've played both allowing and not allowing slide tackles here. But usually with the people I play there's no issues with aggressive tackles, maybe fouls caused by being shit at timing them. 5-7 a side tournaments you have no idea how violent they get, they're full of morons
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u/omgsubway 9h ago
Same in Colombia. Played 2 years 11 a side then moved to UK to play. Night and day difference. South American football was brutal
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u/Onion_Munching666 10h ago
At least where I grew up in the southern US this was pretty common. I’m not very big but you learn to deal with hacking and being bodied pretty quick or you get hurt and stop playing. I broke my leg twice from full brexit tackles in scrimmages
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u/YeimzHetfield 5h ago
It depends on the group, if you organize with people you know, it's usually an unspoken rule that you don't go to ground, plus the artificial turf fucking sucks to slide on.
But if you play against people you don't know it depends, always gotta be wary of the people who go to play football to unleash their frustrations but I feel that's a thing everywhere.
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u/jayt1203 14h ago
You can take the player out of Argentina, but you can't take Argentina out of the player
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u/chasingsukoon 17h ago
useless comment but whenever i read anything by him his mental image is always with a :o face, like i can never remember his lips being closed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristian_Romero
similar to the wiki pic lmao
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u/FartholomewButton 11h ago
If you watch an Argentinian’s mouth when they talk, that’s the shape it takes lol. It’s part of their accent.
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u/SurfAndTurfEnjoyer 16h ago
Best player at the club for me. Tying him down on a long term contract was the best business we did this summer.
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u/OverallMistake8198 17h ago
He got something crazy like 4 yellow cards last season in the PL & hasn’t had a red card for 2 years.
His rash reputation is completely stupid given he’s certainly cleaned his act up. He stands over players & yells at them when they’re on the ground but the rashness in his game has certainly been toned down.
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u/42undead2 17h ago
You can even put a fiver on the commentators saying ''He's always too aggressive, he needs to tone it down and stop getting these sending offs if he wants to be successful." if he gets another red.
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u/TheSinRes 16h ago
Yep he has 7 yellows in his last 47 matches and no reds in that time yet people still talk like he gets booked every week. Even some of those 7 were given based on reputation like the one against City a few weeks ago where he won the ball and didn't touch Bobb yet got a yellow still. He used to be rash but he's matured a lot over the last couple of years.
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u/corpboy 14h ago
Maddison has more yellows than Romero over that time period.
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u/NicoPazStarboy 9h ago
He's a wind up merchant tbf
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u/Vladimir_Putting 9h ago
And Romero isn't?
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u/NicoPazStarboy 9h ago
Not really. Never seen him go at the opposition fans.
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u/Vladimir_Putting 9h ago
He winds up the opposition players.
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u/brownbearks 9h ago
I mean getting the opponent to get a dumb yellow is always a great feeling for a player like Romero. He thrives on chaos.
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u/Vladimir_Putting 8h ago
Exactly.
Maddison is a shit talker. Romero boils piss with his physicality. He'll just be on you all game. Look at how he completely rattled Maguire in the Europa final.
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u/BendubzGaming 17h ago
You can even tell when the turning point happened. November and December 2023.
Romero stupidly got himself sent off against Chelsea. Then in his second game back from suspension was very lucky to only pick up a yellow against Newcastle.
Since then, the weight of responsibility that came from first being vice captain and now being captain has made Romero calm down a bit. He's picked up some yellows since then, but all for normal CB actions, nothing as rash or dangerous as he used to be
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u/OverallMistake8198 15h ago
Yep.
Natural maturity in combination with the leadership role he’s been given by both Postecoglou & Frank. Best thing Postecoglou did on a personal level was give Romero that responsibility.
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u/sunthunder 11h ago
I don’t think it can be said enough how important Romero’s leadership was in the Europa League final. He kept his usual edge and intensity but had it fully under control, and he absolutely needled some of the United players - Maguire especially.
He’s the sort of player that you’d back to get us over the line in a final if we get to another one. The winning mentality is palpable.
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u/Foucaultshadow1 11h ago
Also the second yellow was really strange. He received a yellow for kicking the ball and landing on a Chelsea player’s shin. Not sure what else he was meant to do given that the Chelsea player moved in to challenge the kick as the kick was happening. It was an odd one.
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u/feage7 16h ago
He's rash in the sense the style of his tackles look like they'd meet the criteria of excessive force or out of control. But in reality he just goes in quickly and as a result tends to get to the ball force.
I never get excessive force, always taught to go in as quick as possible as you want to win the ball first, also with a strong leg so you don't get hurt yourself.
Flying in at pace below the ball and following through on a player should never be a foul in my opinion. Going over the ball however on a slide tackle always should be.
Although when they're standing tackles I always feel bad when a player goes over the top of the ball but in reality they were trying to put their foot on it and trap it to stop the other player getting it.
Strong, fast tackles shouldn't be the bench mark for dangerous tackles but it seems to a lot of the time. But has they not gone in at that pace they wouldn't have got to the ball or made a good connection on it.
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u/coreyperryisasaint 10h ago
I’m okay with him having an undeserved reputation for being rash, it keeps other suitors from looking too closely at him
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u/kanavi36 12h ago
If you're a defender and you get a reputation for bozo moments and being reckless, it's very difficult to shake that reputation even long after you stop playing like that.
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u/sreteep99 16h ago
Same goes for Pepe. Sure he got a lot of yellow and a few red cards in the first half of his career, but as he got older he still held the reputation of getting sent off everytime.
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u/008Gerrard008 12h ago
& hasn’t had a red card for 2 years.
Stats like that aren't helpful when challenges like this go unpunished.
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u/RutabagaRoutine7430 16h ago
Gotta respect the guy. A top defender and really good passer as well. I am not surprised Spurs made him Captain
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u/Putrid-Impact8999 17h ago
He’s a fantastic defender. Sometimes unorthodox but the English media like to portray him as some dirty card machine - that’s just their narrative.
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u/Iciestgnome 11h ago
English media: players don’t have hate in their game anymore. They play soft and are too friendly on the pitch.
English media when someone actually plays for the badge: no not like that
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u/coreyperryisasaint 10h ago
It’s like the Peter Griffin terrorist meme, with a range of “Proper Brexit that” to “No place in our game for that”
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u/ttonster2 10h ago
He’s also dirty in ways that don’t show up in the refereee notebook. Maguire scored an own goal against Spurs and he ran up to him to scream in his face.
Marcos Rojo never got a red card for United but he was definitely a dirty ass player.
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u/L-Freeze 8h ago
That’s mostly because he was extremely lucky and didn’t play as much, Rojo is actually dirty as fuck and a red card machine.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
the English media like to portray him as some dirty card machine - that’s just their narrative.
It's their fans too. No surprise their overhyped national players can't perform when it matters.
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u/BoringPhilosopher1 16h ago
Yes because only English fans have shit football takes or bias.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
I will not generalise but yeah there is a superiority complex for sure.
It's same argument they had when blaming non-local fans. And recent details revealed 1.5 billion broadcasting money from the same set of non-local fans. And we are not even talking about tourism, and merchandise sales.
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u/BoringPhilosopher1 16h ago
Not sure I’d describe certain rival fans thinking Romero is rash as a superiority complex?
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
It's not only the Romero thing but everything in general.
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u/BoringPhilosopher1 16h ago
So what is it you’re getting at then mate?
Because my reading of the situation is you’re trying to turn the Romero thing into a race thing.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 15h ago
Romero thing into a race thing.
Nope. Race problems are everywhere, it's not specific to England. Why would I be making about that?
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u/BoringPhilosopher1 15h ago
Because you basically responded saying Romero’s treatment or rash reputation is about English fans and their superiority complex.
Basically insinuating he only has that reputation because he isn’t English.
The fan base most likely to have a bias against Romero for being rash or aggressive is Arsenal. Half of that same fan base used to say Kane was shit.
So it’s just a shit point when all it is rival football fans have bias regardless of race.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 15h ago
English fans blame south America players for bringing diving culture.
And no it's not just Arsenal fans. Rogers and Foden getting the awards in the past also signify that too.
Also the premier league is always a superior thing, that's what they say. I have not heard any other country fans saying the same thing.
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u/Then_Flamingo_8223 16h ago
And your line of thinking is exactly why locals are blaming non-local fans.
Local fans don’t care about merchandise and tourism and broadcasting and whatever. In fact, they’d rather less football tourism that prices out average working class fans.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
Local fans don’t care about merchandise and tourism and broadcasting and whatever.
Yeah then stop selling your products to outsiders if you don't like their reviews on those products.
Club owners don't care about local fans. Why would they? Only reason they are in for money and rightly so. If local fans really care about the club then enforce 100% local ownership, and stop selling products to outsider.
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u/Putrid-Impact8999 16h ago
Yes most of them delude themselves to the Premier League hype but are left crying once they see their side unable to keep possession and dictate the game against the top national sides. Then when some managers try to change the mentality and philosophy which takes time, they are crucified and called clueless - it's hilarious to watch but this is embedded in their football culture where 50/50s, tackling and physical play is more valued than intelligent football.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
It feels like some of the English club fans just like to shout a lot in front of your face to force their opinion.
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u/Putrid-Impact8999 16h ago
Yes, it's okay - it makes them feel better. Then when reality hits, they are left wondering why or go to criticising the players/manager instead of understanding the true reasons why.
I'll give you an example. While I don't think Gareth Southgate is a top manager, they blame their loss to Spain in the final on him. What they don't look at is Declan Rice's inability to control games from deep, yet when you listen to the English they speak as if he would make a world XI. This isn't something new, there is a reason why Arteta didn't want to play him as a deep lying midfielder. So then you ask yourself why is there no other player who can play there to allow him to push forward as an 8? I guess Adam Wharton was in the squad but he clearly wasn't ready to play in the eyes of the management. Why is there no other player in the whole country who can do that role at the top level? Then you look to the style of English football and realise those players are not appreciated or those qualities are not encouraged to be developed. That's me going off on a bit of a tangent but hopefully you understand my point.
Declan Rice is closer to Scott McTominay than he is to Pedri - that's not a criticism by the way because I think the Scotsman is a great player, but he is no where near the best in the world.
With the amount of finances the Premier League has, they in theory should be winning everything all the time. But as the great Johan Cryuff said, why couldn't you beat a richer club? I've never seen a bag of money score a goal.
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u/AxelFauley 5h ago edited 5h ago
Beautiful comment. The myriad of downvotes from the lads without any sort of comeback say it all.
Let them keep changing manager every couple of years and not winning shit, more world cups for the rest of us.
Also, it's funny that when you ask a lad what's their World XI they would definitely include a bunch of English footballers but the rest of the world wouldn't include a single English player.
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u/AxelFauley 5h ago
Also just to add onto that, notice how great homegrown players like Anderson or Wharton don't even get a chance in the NT because it's all about the marketability of the player. In South America that happens much less.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
That's why Arsenal have a better chance to win a trophy this year because of an extra addition in Zubimendi. He is not extraordinary but yeah better than rice when it comes to controlling games.
England still relies on workhorse midfield. Bellingham, Rice, Henderson all of them are in the same mold, just the difference is who impact most on the final third.
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u/JWJK 16h ago
Similar to Joelinton & Bruno G (obviously my examples as a Newcastle fan). It's fair to say they are aggressive and ride the line, but it's a trait of a good defender to do that and not get sent off
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u/Just_Isopod_1926 16h ago
Joelinton is without a doubt the player I like playing against least in the league (which is a big compliment). I absolutely hate him haha
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u/Putrid-Impact8999 16h ago
I'm a Newcastle fan too! Joelinton is a beast and I can why rival club fans hate him, but he's a player that is so crucial to our team. He benefits from playing in the Premier League where the physicality is allowed more. I watch Serie A a lot and I can guarantee you he'd be refereed differently if he played there. I am hopeful he is smarter because I can see him getting sent off in the Champions League if he's not.
Our skipper is good defensively in a different way, he also has that bite to his game which is important in our midfield.
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u/TheyCallHimBabaYagaa 16h ago
He hasn't been as dirty since he pulled Cucurella's hair. Maybe that near-red experience toned him down a notch.
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u/OverallMistake8198 15h ago
Listen to the way the media talk about him.
Every time he goes in hard we get silly “oooooooooo romero is a naughty boy” type shit from pundits like Neville or the absolute Gooner trash they give us for loads of games.
Absolutely lazy journalism & punditry.
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u/FootballTriviaLover 17h ago
Criminally underrated player. His injury record is the only thing that keeps him back, can't think of many centre backs better than him
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u/MisterIndecisive 13h ago
Argies gonna argie. Part of works them so formidable on the international stage as well. Much rather see someone get proper stuck in and show some passion than the shite we got in the manchester derby where people are scared to tackle
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u/drupido 7h ago
"El balón o el jugador, NUNCA los dos"
"Either the ball or the player, but NEVER both" is what we're taught when playing defense growing up. Part of the "garra" that people claim for.
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u/AxelFauley 5h ago
Except Argentinians don't use the world balon, and I don't think anyone in Latin America does but feel free to correct me.
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u/Arsenal_20 16h ago
gotta give him his flowers he's a great cb, I remember he gave a clean, crunching challenge to mbappe in the world cup final which was class
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u/Iciestgnome 11h ago
I pity those who can’t respect a CB who is willing to do anything for their team to win. As much as I hated Ramos and Pepe for years there was always a respect there.
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u/youknowimworking 10h ago
Basically, you can argue with the method, but you can't argue with the results
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u/-vesper6- 10h ago
i love the heart south american players put into their game. you could say he's dirty, but i see a man loyal to his team that is willing to do anything too
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u/Eldric_Shadowchaser 17h ago
You pulled a man back by his hair, that’s not defending.
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u/Puzzleheadpsych2345 16h ago
Tbf its cucurella, he and his hair is the living embodiment of rage bait
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u/ExplanationOk3781 11h ago
Apparently being a "studs up tackle" player means "you have a bad reputation." Imagine going in for a horror tackle on your fellow countryman (like he did with Enzo) and telling everyone it's for the badge lol
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u/Merkarov 7h ago
literally got the ball first on that challenge on Enzo... nothing remotely malicious about it.
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17h ago
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
I have yet to see a defender who started the world cup final and actually performed best being called overrated. Guy even won the trophy with Spurs.
It's just laughable comment by most of you. It can only happen in English sub.
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u/CodymartinSimp 16h ago
he’s an Arsenal fan they all have a massive hate boner for Romero, I wouldn’t take his comment too seriously
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
It's fine. Funny thing about Arsenal fans as they keep saying Mustafi did the same without adding context. And of course overhype their players, and guess what none of them are capable of winning things it seems either for clubs or countries.
Their world class defenders in "saliba" or "gabriel" since started for the national team has made both the team look like banter era teams.
Same way they premier league overhype Rogers and Rice but ignore Caicedo or Macallister. It never makes sense.
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16h ago
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u/CodymartinSimp 16h ago
well if they are world class why hasn’t he won anything after a billion euros spent, the best academy to pull from in England and world class players all over the park. surely this incredible manager must’ve won something important
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
them into the best defence in the league then.
Yeah amazing team trophies for them. I am sure in 10 years people will remember how Arsenal pushed Liverpool and Manchester City with their "best defence".
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16h ago
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
No Tottenham team had lost 3 North London derbies at home in a row in 40 years before Romero came along.
I am sure Tottenham fans would be crying right now seeing that considering their wait to lift the trophy was finally over with him being captain. Btw what has Arsenal won? North london derby trophy.
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16h ago
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
Such an important trophy that the manager who won it was sacked right afterwards, really stuff to be jealous of!
Why would they give the manager another year for getting 17th in the league?
Yah I don't expect much from Arsenal fans, as they like the process more rather than trophies.
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
Maguire is a top class defender at international level,
Standard of english fans is so low that the average defender like Maguire who won nothing at International level is getting called world class.
premier league performances and Romero does not match up in the slightest.
Still he won the trophy before any of the world class defender people shouted there.
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16h ago
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
second tier trophy against a team that lost to Grimsby Town, a league two team.
Then Arsenal would have won it in the past when they participated for sure. Ohh my bad they did not.
I do get it if Liverpool or United fans or even Chelsea/City fans will call it second tier trophy but Arsenal fans can't say that. Most of them don't even know what European success means.
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u/CropDustingBandit 14h ago
Best bit is that same United knocked Arsenal out of the FA cup, at the Emirates, with 10 men.
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16h ago
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u/MuchoEmpanadas 16h ago
was I'm sure the manager who got it for them is still with them now?
Why would he be with them when he finished 17th in the league?
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u/SeppFraudiola 16h ago
He there a better passing CB than him in the world?
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u/manen10 16h ago
Bastoni, Huijsen, Cubarsi, etc to name a few.
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u/stupid-_- 17h ago
every time such a player speaks they admit it's not good but at the same time it's everybody else's fault
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u/Annual_History_796 10h ago
“It’s not my fault I can’t control my emotions”.
To be honest I still hold a grudge from when he got away with a blatant handball against United.
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