Yep, that’s right. Playalikes.
Lookalikes are ten-a-penny – anyone can make Dirk Kuyt look like Sloth from the Goonies, or Peter Reid look like a monkey.
It takes more to put two people together stylistically and functionally; players who remind you of one another, players with similar styles – players that could be clones of one another.
The first in our series:
Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick
These two players have virtually created their own position – the defensive midfielder who doesn’t actually defend, but sits in front of the back four picking passes.
They cannot tackle, cannot head, have no pace, don’t score many goals – but still play an invaluable role keeping the side ticking over, picking up the pieces and playing the simple ball, delivering delicious cross field passes.
They don’t get assists – theirs is not the final pass – but more often than not have played the ball early in the move, or picked up the loose ball and started the phase of play that led to the goal.
Both are immensely technically gifted with two good feet, and both have great footballing brains. They are ‘intelligent’ players, ‘technical’ players, ball players. They would be unique players, but there are two of them…
Xabi Carrick and Michael Alonso, for creating your own position, not tackling, scoring, heading, or creating, yet proving invaluable to your side, we salute you.
Most apt phrase: ‘Has a great range of passing’
Least apt phrase: ‘Tigerish tackling, burst of pace, won the header’
What are you talking about?
They both have an average of a goal every ten games for their respective teams. That is as prolific as David Healy at Fulham.
Hi Jhon. Thanks for your contribution. I hope you enjoy Footballsup, if only to prompt shotgun reactions to isolated elements of articles…
Michael Carrick, in his career, has scored 17 goals in 281 matches. Xabi Alonso has scored 21 in 256.
Let me compare them to Ronaldo, who is also a midfielder, and has scored 39 in his last 44 league games. Or Frank Lampard, a central midfielder, who has scored 20 goals in each of the last three seasons – more than Carrick has scored in his whole career.
Of course if you are selective in your stats – only including their most recent clubs, and picking one isolated striker who has a bad goalscoring record at one club, as you have done, you can manipulate the data. As I have, to prove my point.
If you had used other stats regarding the same players – e.g. Carrick scored 2 in 64 for West Ham, Alonso has scored 3 in 53 for Spain, and Healy has scored 35 in 69 for Northern Ireland – your point would be completely invalid.
Anyone can manipulate statistics. If you come back with a proper argument, with words, I’ll listen!
Furthermore, the point was not solely about their goalscoring records. It was about them as players, their style and mode. That is what I was ‘talking about’ – not just their goals for column. If you want to contest that, I await your considered response…
I like the comparison between Alonso and Carrick but I don’t think how they play is new nor have they created their own position.
According to Jack Charlton, what made Bobby Moore so good was his skill in anticipating and negating attacks. And he was a defender!
Anticipation is one of the major reasons these players are so effective. Who needs to tackle when you you can intercept? Why head a ball when you find enough room to bring the ball down?
For the record, I think they can both tackle, they can both score goals (Alonso in particular makes sacrifices for the sake of Gerrard) and can create.
They are true footballers.
Hi John – thanks for your comment.
They are interesting points that you make – but you highlight the fact that Moore was a defender, surely negating him as a forerunner of the two players mentioned?
I don’t claim they are the first to anticipate and intercept without flying into tackles – Moore by all accounts did that, as did many others that I have and haven’t seen – Beckenbauer, and latterly Rio Ferdinand spring to mind.
Maybe Carrick/Alonso don’t head or tackle because of their footballing ability – that could certainly be true – but that doesn’t detract from the fact that they do not.
I agree they are true footballers – and play in the way they do because of that – but I would be interested to hear of any other players you can think of that play in the same position AND in the same style – the point I was trying to make.
Perhaps Andrea Pirlo? He is the closest I can think of that I have seen.