The Fragility of a Legacy
Some times it's better to read an excerpt rather than the whole story.
Hello all. I’m Casey Evans and this is Played on Paper, a pay-to-read football newsletter written by yours truly. If you’re reading this, you’ve either received it in your inbox, had it shared with you or you’ve come across it on social media.
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Now that’s all out of the way, let’s get into it….
Sometimes a story is better without an ending.
In the movies we watch and the books we read, we often expect everything to be neatly tied up with a little bow at the end, but that’s not how real life works.
Life is messy and unpredictable and sometimes it is better to remember the best moments and quit while we’re ahead.
Football is no different. We raise these players up to be kings and icons; revelling in their finest hours… but then often we have to witness their falls from grace.
Some slowly and quietly fade into the background, while others finish their meteoric rise and then quickly plummet back down to earth.
This has unfortunately been the case for several stars born in the early 1990s; players who burst onto the scene with the weight of expectation firmly on their shoulders, but seemingly having the strength to carry it… until they didn’t.
So this week’s Played on Paper is going to be a number of short essays discussing a handful of these stars. Honourable mentions go to the likes of Marco Verratti, Paulo Dybala and Mario Gotze but there is only one player that we can truly start with:
Paul Pogba
When Paul Pogba departed from Manchester United, I wrote for the Manchester Evening News that the club’s recruitment department should keep a poster of him in their office to symbolise why it is important to properly profile a player.
The narrative made sense for Pogba’s return to Old Trafford, but the fit never did. Hence the player that tore opponents apart in Italy and delivered France their second World Cup was rarely seen playing in areas with an 0161 dial code.
So when Pogba was allowed to return to the Bianconeri via a free transfer, many hoped that La Pioche would be able to rediscover his best form. Adrien Rabiot had been keeping his ‘free role’ on the left-hand side of the field warm while he was away.
What happened next though began the unfortunate end to Pogba’s story; the chapters we hope will be lost in time.
As for many of the players we will discuss today, a significant subtitle to all of their stories could be headlined as ‘The Injuries’. Pogba suffered multiple injuries during his time at United and these persisted when he returned to Juventus.
He missed the majority of his first season back in Turin and on his return this season he failed a drug test which could see him banned for a minimum of two years unless he wins his appeal.
This could be the end of La Pioche’s career at the top level and unfortunately, it seems like a sad one rather than the triumphant one he deserved.
Neymar
On paper, Neymar’s career is airtight. He is the all-time top goalscorer for Brazil, surpassing Pele and at club level, he has carved out a fruitful career.
He has won a Champions League, multiple league titles in Spain and France and also domestic trophies as well. The only blot on his copybook could be his failure to deliver Brazil a major trophy (if we excuse the gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games).
This is a CV for a modern great if not an all-timer. However, the issue with legacies is that although they are always attributed to the individual, they are subject to the context of the game around them.
They are also subject to timing.
Neymar may have earned the nickname the ‘Heir to Pele’ in his younger years, but when Barcelona paid €86.2m to bring the Brazillian to the Nou Camp, he also became known as the successor to Messi.
His European career was born in the shadows, moulded by it, but unlike Bane in The Dark Knight Rises he never saw the light.
I think the players Neymar has played alongside often taint the image of his own individual talent. He was part of the now legendary MSN trio - Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
131 goals were scored by this unstoppable force of nature and every obstacle fell in their wake. But whereas Suarez as the top goalscorer and Messi as, well, Messi gets raised up by their inclusion, Neymar is characterised as a passenger despite his contributions.
When Barcelona came back against PSG in the 2016/17 Champions League knockouts it was Neymar who led the charge. The game was described as unforgettable, but maybe due to the saturation of the sport (and let’s be honest PSG letting it happen to them again and again), it is barely mentioned.
Maybe there is some resentment and bitterness towards Neymar from fans of MSN and Barcelona that comes from the fact he broke the band up. Like Robbie Williams and Take That, he stepped out on his own to try and forge his own path and move out of the shadow of Messi.
Messi and Suarez however, kept on scoring (at an ever-reducing rate but no one seems to mention that) and Neymar's path crossed with yet another player who was destined to condemn him to a supporting role, Kylian Mbappe.
Now Neymar has left the French capital and moved to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. He has forgone chasing the spotlight in favour of a quiet life and it feels like a disappointing end. There is no triumphant overcoming of the odds, just a whimper in the night.
Isco
When Isco was in his pomp he was one of my favourite players to watch.
He was part of a Malaga team managed by Manuel Pellegrini and beloved by football hipsters everywhere. Then he moved to a Real Madrid side where he was a pivotal creator feeding Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Then 2017 came around and Isco’s role at Madrid began to get smaller and smaller until under Carlo Ancellotti he became a permanent fixture on the bench.
While some may argue that the trophies he won with Madrid more than make up for the years that were ‘wasted’, it still is sad to see a player’s best years be spent at a team that doesn’t value him.
Luckily he is only 31 and has a chance to at least end his career well with a team like Real Betis after a short spell at Sevilla. That’s a blessing that some players on this list aren’t so lucky to have.
Eden Hazard
“…One time I was explaining it to one journalist, and he was laughing at me! I said why are you laughing? He said, but why are you talking about his bum? His bum is there! Where you put your feet, he puts his a** like that in the turn!
“People don’t realise that his dribbling was good, but his low centre of gravity, the way he turned and used his bum and body.” - Yaya Toure
There was a time when Eden Hazard was one of the best wingers on the planet.
Whenever he entered the opponent’s final third they had to make sure to lock him down quickly otherwise they would face the consequences. Some teams even took it a step further, placing a man on him throughout the match to never give him a second on the ball (Ander Herrera come on down).
So with all this in mind, plus a standout performance at the 2018 World Cup, it made sense when Real Madrid paid Chelsea an initial £88.3m to bring him to Bernabeu with add-ons that could have seen the fee rise to £150m.
So how did this blockbuster move turn out?
In four seasons in Spain, Hazard played 3736 minutes for Los Blancos, scoring seven goals and registering 12 assists. He has been consistently blighted with injuries and unable to find fitness.
Now is without a club and despite having offers from the Middle East, he is considering retirement at the age of 32. However, this would only be the official announcement, as it feels like he mentally retired years ago.
Romelu Lukaku
Even an arsonist would be impressed with how good Romelu Lukaku is at burning bridges.
Everton, Manchester United, Chelsea and Inter fans (twice over) all dislike him for how he played and acted during his time at their clubs, the way he left and the comments he made after the fact.
Inter fans have the extra incentive to dislike him after he tried to manufacture a move to Juventus this summer despite saying how much he loved the club and wanted to return permanently after his loan spell.
The thing is Lukaku is still good. He still is banging them in at international level for Belgium and he has a chance to get back to his best on loan at Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
But the thing is, what is a career if no one wants to remember it? As it stands, only West Brom fans will remember Lukaku fondly for his loan spell at the club a decade ago.
Maybe Lukaku doesn’t care, but in a sport that is all about legacy building, it seems like the Belgian forward has made more than one error along the way.
Fantastic read,,as always.