Re: ADAM LALLANA Official Thread
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:17 amFrom The Guardian:
Adam Lallana was again England’s best player until he went off, the key component of an aggressive and disciplined front four. Deprived of his increasingly ponderous captain, Southgate did something simple, setting up his England team to play the way the best Premier League teams play right now, pressing and harrying high up the pitch, coiling behind the ball and breaking quickly when Spain had control. There was confirmation here, too, that England have a new No10 and a new, encouragingly workmanlike point of focus. It is a mark of his slight outsider-dom that Lallana had not met Southgate properly until England’s interim manager paid a visit to Liverpool’s training ground shortly before naming the squad.
Lallana did not play in the Premier League until he was 23. It took him 26 caps to score an international goal and yet in the last year he has become, almost imperceptibly, England’s best attacking player, most convincing creative midfielder, the real grown-up in that attacking trio. Here his immaculately-groomed features were captured in full page Stalinist close-up on the cover of the match programme.
It was Lallana who produced England’s outstanding moment with nine minutes gone, conjuring a sublime piece of creative play from the right flank. Jesse Lingard won the ball by the touchline and fed Lallana. His turn was instant, the low curling pass around Iñigo Martínez a thing of beauty. Jamie Vardy took the ball around Pepe Reina and was tripped. Lallana took the penalty, burying it easily for his third goal in three games. Lallana was the best player on the pitch in those opening minutes, scarcely misplacing a touch and constantly dragging Spain’s midfield out of position, with that unusual ability to take possession on the half-turn and swivel into space.
Lallana is a rare bird in other ways, a role model for modern English players, who may well find themselves emerging at lower levels or taking a step back to go forward. Five years ago Sergio Busquets and Thiago Alcântara, Spain’s central midfield here, won the Champions League with Barcelona on this ground. At the same time Lallana was playing for Southampton in League One. England’s other scorer, Vardy, was in the Northern Premier League with FC Halifax Town.
What stands out with Lallana is his willingness to learn. In the last year he has become a Kloppist convert, buying in completely to the synchronised attacking blitz. Lallana even managed to get the lovely little passing sprite Thiago to foul him, which as it happened was the end of his match. Watching Lallana limp off the field half an hour into a meaningless friendly you feared slightly for Jürgen Klopp’s plasma screen.
Adam Lallana was again England’s best player until he went off, the key component of an aggressive and disciplined front four. Deprived of his increasingly ponderous captain, Southgate did something simple, setting up his England team to play the way the best Premier League teams play right now, pressing and harrying high up the pitch, coiling behind the ball and breaking quickly when Spain had control. There was confirmation here, too, that England have a new No10 and a new, encouragingly workmanlike point of focus. It is a mark of his slight outsider-dom that Lallana had not met Southgate properly until England’s interim manager paid a visit to Liverpool’s training ground shortly before naming the squad.
Lallana did not play in the Premier League until he was 23. It took him 26 caps to score an international goal and yet in the last year he has become, almost imperceptibly, England’s best attacking player, most convincing creative midfielder, the real grown-up in that attacking trio. Here his immaculately-groomed features were captured in full page Stalinist close-up on the cover of the match programme.
It was Lallana who produced England’s outstanding moment with nine minutes gone, conjuring a sublime piece of creative play from the right flank. Jesse Lingard won the ball by the touchline and fed Lallana. His turn was instant, the low curling pass around Iñigo Martínez a thing of beauty. Jamie Vardy took the ball around Pepe Reina and was tripped. Lallana took the penalty, burying it easily for his third goal in three games. Lallana was the best player on the pitch in those opening minutes, scarcely misplacing a touch and constantly dragging Spain’s midfield out of position, with that unusual ability to take possession on the half-turn and swivel into space.
Lallana is a rare bird in other ways, a role model for modern English players, who may well find themselves emerging at lower levels or taking a step back to go forward. Five years ago Sergio Busquets and Thiago Alcântara, Spain’s central midfield here, won the Champions League with Barcelona on this ground. At the same time Lallana was playing for Southampton in League One. England’s other scorer, Vardy, was in the Northern Premier League with FC Halifax Town.
What stands out with Lallana is his willingness to learn. In the last year he has become a Kloppist convert, buying in completely to the synchronised attacking blitz. Lallana even managed to get the lovely little passing sprite Thiago to foul him, which as it happened was the end of his match. Watching Lallana limp off the field half an hour into a meaningless friendly you feared slightly for Jürgen Klopp’s plasma screen.
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