Markel Susaeta ,   The Stylet.... 

"El Estilete" (The Stylet) as he's known and called by the fans of Athletic club , Markel Susaeta , was a youth product of Athletic Bilbao  has over these years established himself as one of the main fixtures in the starting XI. Seen as one the leaders in the team , Susaeta has contributed a lot and has stepped up from time to time when his team needed him. He's come leaps and bounds over these past years and has arguably been the most consistent player at the club.

 A real fan favourite at the San Mames , the 26 year old attacking midfielder  is a pacey customer and is a danger for any defence. He mainly operates on the right flank and is excellent at streching the opposition by making good runs. Calm and composed on the ball , he's a quick natrual dribbler who does like to cut in from the right flank and switch positions at times. 

Some of the major standout qualities he has is his ability to run at defenders and to cross. He's very intelligent in and around the penalty area , this is another unique quality possesed by the spainard. Being a set-piece specialist his freekicks and his crosses are second to none. He's scored some great freekicks over these years. A clinical finisher , he's also good at shooting from range and does take his chances when given time and space , be it on his favoured right foot or his left.  Susaeta is equally a provider and a goalscorer. Although he's always on the lookout for a killer pass , picking out a teammate via a cutback or laying off someone for a shot. His passes in the final third are very accurate aswell.  His pace , dribbling ability and his quality crosses are one of the main assets on which the team depends upon.

Unlike many players who are often criticized for not playing thier defensive part , Susaeta does track back from time to time and is not afraid of making  a tackle or two. The 2011-12 campaign proved out to be his best season with 13 goals and 15 assists. So far this season , he has 5 goals and 7 assists to his name in all competitions. A consistent player indeed. In the summer of 2012 , Susaeta was linked to many clubs like Arsenal ,Manchester united and Chelsea as he was out of contract the following year. The feeling in spain was that he was going to leave for pastures new , but he signed a contract extension after a few months. It would've been brilliant to see a player of his quality in the premier league but it just wasn't in the script. Though , you never know what the future holds...

At 26 years of age , he's a gem of a player entering the peak of his powers. El Estilete is rightly considered as a quality Attacking Midfielder in spain. His perfomances justify that.  

This Article is also published on Sportskeeda.com & Inoffthewoodwork.blogspot

 Patrick Herrmann :- One of Uchtelfangen's finest products

It's been two years since this lad scored twice in a big 3-1 win over league leaders Bayern Munich. He's come a long way from that perfomance , and has developed into quite a player .

The talented German has been the standout individual at Borussia Mönchengladbach for some time time now. One of the highly rated youngsters in the Bundesliga , He's been in the spotlight for his club since the departure of Marco Reus , who left for Borussia Dortmund .
Hermann , a right winger by nature  can play on the left wing and also as an Attacking Midfielder (as a No.10). He's an unpredictable player with great dribbling skills. He does like to play one-two touch football whenever possible. He's also a good header of the ball when presented with a chance. A clinical finisher with excellent off the ball runs.

  A very intelligent player indeed .  Hermann has been critiscized for being a poor crosser when it comes to putting the ball in the box. In recent games over the past year he looks to have improved that side of his game  .He also tracks back to help his fullback every now and then. This is certainly a player with bags of promise who's en-route to become a top winger in the near future. The 23 year old winger already has 110+ apps under his belt for the Die Fohlen. He's been as impressive this season with 3 goals , 5 assists and has created a total of 72 chances for the german side.
 Yes , he is the one who makes them tick all boxes. He's also scored three times for Germany's U21's and even though being called up for the Senior squad , Joachim Löw  is yet to give him a chance with the seniors . Throughout the summer and  the january windows , English clubs like Manchester United , Arsenal and Spurs were reportedly interested in Hermann .  He'll probably leave for nothing less than a fee in the reigon of  €15 million euros .

Who signs him , remains to be seen. Whoever it is , will have invested in a talent well worth investing !! 

Pablo Piatti , It's about time you know him...

An ordinary story of a Unique Talent from Argentina not known to many. The player who rejected the advances of Stade Rennes a year ago is finally finding his feet and flourishing into a star at the Mestalla.... 

Pablo Daniel Piatti , a youth product of  hometown club Estudiantes de La Plata, a small sized player (5ft 4inch)  having a rare flair , a great crosser of the ball with a sudden burst of pace and a Left Foot that can hurt any Defense . The native from La Carlota has many Characteristics quite similar to that of Leo Messi. Piatti has everything but a sincere recognition of his talent by the Football world....

It all Started....

A young Piatti had put in many good perfomances in Argentina to impress European Clubs. He was subject to a record undisclosed bid from spanish side UD Almeria which was later accepted. His coach at the time and Mentor Diego Simeone (present manager of Club Athletico de Madrid) was also certain that a new star was about to hatch.Piatti joined an Almeria side which had the likes of Alvaro Negredo playing for them. In the next three years he turned out to be the main man at Almeria and "Pablo Piatti" was the name to watchout for in the south of spain. His development had taken a huge leap. By then , Spanish Heavyweights Valencia were interested in him and saw him as a replacement for Joaquin , who had joined Malaga. The reported 8 million euro deal went through and Piatti was presented as a Valencia player in a fortnight.

Valencia CF

Piatti found it hard in his first few months at Valencia. The club wasn't having the best of times. Managers like Unaï Emery, Mauricio Pellegrino and Ernesto Valverde did not actually have the confidence in him. He was under the likes of Andres Guardado and Sergio Canales in the pecking order. Competition was tough , but Piatti never really gave up. In 2013, french club Stade Rennes made Valencia known of thier interest in Piatti. Piatti though , declined for a move as he wanted to fight for his place at Valencia. He always had the mind and will to do so.

Appointment of Argentinian coach Pizzi 

The sacking of  Djukic didn't come as a shock considering the embarrasing results Valencia had under him.

Juan Antonio Pizzi took over the role at Valencia. Under pizzi , Piatti has been a revelation so far in that young Valencia side. He's mainly played as a left winger, or in the no.10 role behind Paco Alcacer / Jonas.

Suddenly , Piatti has finally found a coach who has the confidence in him which others didn't have in the last three years. Is it the Argentinian connection ?? well , maybe . whatever it is , it's resulting in amazing perfomances from Piatti and the whole team.

Piatti is still 24 years old and has a bright future ahead of him. He has more than enough talent to be a star at the Mestalla in the coming years. So yes , It's about time you know this Little Genius....

Sergio Canales :- The “Stop-Gap” Golden boy of Spanish Football.

There was a sense of belief among the Valencia Faithful when the news came out that Sergio Canales was about to join the club from Real Madrid on a two year loan deal with an option to buy. Arguably the best young prospect at the time in the whole of spain , Canales had an aura about him. Sublime on the ball with great awareness , Technically excellent with a sweet left foot .

Everything was in place for this young lad from Santander to make a top player out of himself. Unfortunately, all these things panned out in the wrong way for the Cantabrian. Injuries have ruined his recent years. Notably the Cruciate Ligament Ruptures he suffered in the 2011/12 season.

It  actually never worked out for Canales at Valencia. Immensely Talented but sadly , injury-prone. Still 22 ,he needs to play regularly .Canales , when at Real Madrid was as highly rated as Isco(when at Malaga) and rightly so. The Real Madrid effect obviously played a big part. Everyone knew that the Talent was there but that luck factor wasn’t. Canales remains one of the best talents in spain .

It will be interesting to see Canales' development at La Real. He can be a top Midfielder if he's able to stay fit and remain consistent . Not to forget that a few years ago he was expected to hit it “Big Time” at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.The reported €3.5ml spent by Real Sociedad for Sergio Canales might prove out to be a Bargain in the near future. But for a player as talented as him , It’s a risk worth taking. I personally reckon that he’d prove out to be a bargain.

Article also published on Sportskeeda.com & Inoffthewoodwork.blogspot .