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The 2018/2019 football season in Europe is up and running. It promises to be an exhilarating experience for all involved. Already, the season is beginning to take on a recognizable form and permutations and calculations are already being made.
In the Premier League, Jose Mourinho & his 3rd season syndrome is already the dominant headline and it does not like ending happily for the Special One or Manchester United. In Spain’s La Liga, Real Madrid has started its new era under Julen Lopetegui like a house on fire with 6 goals and 6 points from 2 matches.
One fascinating feature of the 2018/2019 season will be the need for redemption as it concerns certain superstars.
These footballers who have been world class for a majority of their careers underperformed badly last season (some had abysmal World Cup performances as well).
Here is a look at 5 top players for whom the current season offers a shot at redemption;
#5 Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
How Muller has gone from arch-Raumdeuter to arch disaster remains a mystery. The German international had been one of the most consistent players in the world between 2010-2016 and was frequently mentioned in the just-below Messi/Ronaldo world class category.
However, the last two seasons and national competitions have been a disaster for the 29-year-old. While Bayern has continued to dominate the Bundesliga, Muller's contributions have not been as important as they once were. He has been abysmal in the last two UEFA Champions League campaigns with a miserable goal tally.
The less said about his performance at the 2016 Euros and Russia 2018 World Cup the better as he was completely anonymous. In fact, the whole sad episode surrounding Mesut Ozil has helped to deflect attention from the likes of Muller who were just as culpable for Die Mannschaft’s nightmarish outing in Russia.
He started the season with a goal in Bayern's first game against Hoffenheim and will be hoping to play a crucial role in the new manager; Niko Kovac's setup.
#4 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
The aftermath of Germany's disappointing elimination from the group stages of the World Cup has been ugly with a lot of it revolving around Ozil. The Arsenal playmaker has left national team football due to perceived racial discrimination.
What all this has done is to distract from the reality that Ozil has been on a downward spiral in the last couple of seasons.
A world-class playmaker, there were few sightings of that world-class talent in Arsenal and Germany colours last season. His numbers for the last two seasons: 12 goals and 19 assists in 59 Premier League games are below the standards expected of a world class player (though Arsene Wenger and Joachim Loew's tactics did not help).
He has started the new season in the same fashion under new manager Unai Emery who has wasted no time in sidelining him when he underperformed against Chelsea.
With Emery’s emphasis on pressing and winning the ball back quickly, the 29-year-old former Real Madrid star knows he will have to work harder than he has ever done to get his starting place back.
#3 Neymar (PSG)
While Neymar didn’t have a bad 2017/2018 season like the other players on this list, there has been a noticeable drop in the performances of the Brazilian superstar ever since his world-record move to PSG and the French Ligue 1.
He had lit up French football with his brilliant dribbling, passing and goal scoring in the first part of the season until he got injured in February which had kept him out for the rest of the season. Without him, PSG strolled to the Ligue 1 title while winning the French League Cup and Coupe de France as well.
It was expected that following the extensive rest and rehabilitation, Neymar would prove to be one of the key players at the World Cup. While his performances were above average, it was overshadowed by his constant diving and theatrics. The avalanche of criticism which followed after Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Belgium and his omission from FIFA’s #TheBest World Footballer of the Year nominees list would have been a wake-up call for him.
With new PSG manager Thomas Tuchel a notorious stickler for rules, Neymar will have to buckle down and deliver that which the club’s fans and owners desire above all: the UEFA Champions League trophy. For a long while, the 26-year-old had been seen as the natural fit to take over from Messi and Ronaldo as the best player in the world, this would be a good season to prove it.
#2 Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona)
What in God’s name has happened to Suarez? El Pistolero’s “seeming decline” in the space of just three seasons has been one of great concern to Barcelonistas.
The phrase “seeming decline” was deliberately used as a look at his statistics in La Liga over the last two seasons tells a different story. He has hit 54 goals and made 29 assists in 68 league games over the last two seasons, a phenomenal record by any standard.
However, this is one of those situations where statistics do not tell the full story. Suarez has been profligate and nowhere as influential for Barcelona in the last two seasons. Messi-dependence became an issue for Ernesto Valverde and Barca last season because Suarez was not delivering especially in the big matches. This is in sharp contrast to his form for his national team; La Celeste of Uruguay where he continues to deliver game-on-game.
His UCL record in the same time frame has been a disaster with 4 goals and 4 assists in his last NINETEEN (19) games in Europe’s premier club competition. His teammates will be hoping he finds his goal touch again this season as with the exit of Paco Alcacer, he is now the only recognized striker on the club’s books.
He has looked sharp in his first two La Liga games (has made one assist so far) and it is hoped that he will get back to the form he showed in his debut season at the Camp Nou where he propelled the team to a historic treble.
#1 Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United)
The 2017/2018 season was a rollercoaster for the Chilean terrier. All through the summer of 2017, the news had been that Manchester City was going to sign Alexis from Arsenal following the Gunners’ failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
The deal didn’t go through due to Wenger’s refusal to countenance his prize asset, a situation which led to Alexis sulking and failing to deliver the same returns as he had done the previous season; 30 goals and 18 assists in 51 matches.
Given his contract situation (he was in his last year), it was assumed that the Gunners would have to accept Manchester City’s bid in January to avoid losing such a brilliant player on a free transfer. However, Jose Mourinho and Manchester United offered Alexis and his agent more money than was being offered by Pep Guardiola and the Cityzens and the rest, as they say, is history.
His first 5 months at Old Trafford were a washout as he struggled for form and consistency and never came close to playing up to his full potential getting 3 goals and 5 assists in 18 games. It is expected that the 29-year-old would be unleashed fully this season after a long summer break (as Chile failed to qualify for the Mundial).
It has not been an auspicious start with the Red Devils in crisis mode after two defeats in 3 Premier League games and Alexis yet to register a goal or an assist in two games.
