Lucas

[Angryred]

This thread is now getting interesting again!

[RedReet]

This thread is now getting interesting again!

[BubbaZanetti]

Lucas Leiva: An appreciation

In recent years there has been an explosion of great football writing across the blogosphere. One of the most pleasing aspects of this has been the increasing coverage of tactics generally and ''deep tactical analysis'' in particular. Any number of blogs analysing any number of matters have sprung up - this has been great for those of us who love good writing, good analysis and can't stand listening to an ex-pro tell us that nobody has heard of a man capped by France on numerous occasions.

This proliferation of content has undoubtedly been good for our game and our understanding of the game. However, one of the downsides has been the occasional fetishisation of statistics at the cost of an appreciation of beauty in the game. How does one assess Zlatan Ibrahimovic? One of his nonchalant flicks that finds the back of the net counts for exactly the same as a Darren Bent tap-in but as football lovers we should surely appreciate the former more. Equally, a 'Hollywood Ball' that nearly comes off but is intercepted by some fine defensive work is a finer thing to view than a misplaced pass in the middle of the pitch. Hell, it is probably better to watch than a placed sideways pass.

An army of geeks now exists in the footballing blogosphere who understand graphs and put them to varying uses - some good, some bad and some so mind-bendingly clever I don't really understand. The problem is that the use of these statistics can be used in any number of ways and, further, massive emphasis is put on certain statistics.

Denilson has a 92% pass completion rate but Steven Gerrard only has a 76% pass completion rate.

There are bloggers out there seriously arguing that a fairly agricultural midfielder is better than an artisan because X stat says so. They know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Never mind that the two players may be very different; or that their teams play different styles of football; or that the teams set out in different formations. Unimaginative bloggers use their statistics, as the old quote goes, like a drunk uses a lampost: for support rather than illumination.

The very best blogs (the likes of Zonal Marking - who is the gold standard regarding tactical analysis) understand that statistics only tell a small part of the story.

It might be appropriate for a creative central midfielder to have a lower pass completion rate because they are playing the sorts of high-risk passes that set up attacks. Such passes are more likely to be unsuccessful because they are more likely to be difficult to execute, more likely to be intercepted and are more likely to rely on movement from a team-mate.

For certain midfielders though, a good measure for how they are doing is their pass completion rate (but also the number of passes they make in a game). Possession is increasingly important and hoarding midfielders (particularly allied with ''mugging'' tactics) are important to a possession-based game.
All this leads us rather circuitously to Lucas Leiva.

For a long time Lucas was the bête noire of Liverpool fans and, to many, he isn't exactly Noma of Copenhagan. It wouldn't be a bad bet, if online betting is your thing, to plump for him ahead of Dirk Kuyt as Liverpool's player of the season - for a growing number of Reds fans that is how well he has been playing.
What does he do?

Well, despite some reports to the contrary I'm not certain he is a hoarder nor is he a Makelele-esque defensive midfielder as such. Like so many players, he is more than the sum of his stats.

In many ways he is a 'tender ship' on the pitch - someone who ensures that everybody else can excel in their jobs. Always busy, covering a lot of ground, harrying and pressing whilst not in possession and being Liverpool's link man when they have the ball.

His pass completion rates are usually very strong if not the sort of thing that makes armchair pundits point and stare in slack-jawed wonder. He isn't a basic defensive midfielder but he is an increasingly tidy player who has completed more successful tackles than anyone else in the league this year. This allied with his fine pressing game mean that he not only helps Liverpool in possession, he is key to them gaining it. Many fans will jump on his passing statistics, his ball retention rate and his tackling - all key features of his game - but his presence, and work-rate, are more important. Just him being there opening up space when Liverpool have the ball and closing it down when they don't is more important. It is difficult to evaluate him through traditional evaluation methods.

He brings the best out of the more attacking players around him. Meireles, Kuyt, Suarez and Gerrard all benefit from his work-rate and his rounded contribution to the team. When Liverpool roar, his work is unnoticed. When Liverpool stutter, it is he who often shoulders the blame when it is he who is leading the firefight in midfield.

It isn't just at Anfield - both on and off the pitch - where he is impressing and gaining new fans. The new Brazilian manager, Mano Menezes, has marked him out as Brazil's number 5 and he looks to be playing a key role for the Brazilian eleven.

Whilst the Brazil number 10 shirt is probably the most iconic shirt, and number, in world football (if not world sport). The number 5 is just as important to the Brazilian footballing psyche. In the past the likes of Clodoaldo, Toninho Cerezo and Dunga have occupied that shirt and for many Brazilians it is an important one - the deep-lying playmaker, the heartbeat, the man who runs the game plays in the Number Five shirt. As Lucas put it in a recent interview ''it is where everything starts'

He is key to Liverpool's continuing charge up the table. He is unlikely to get the credit if they do catch Spurs. Check out Boylesports.com for the odds on whether he, and Liverpool, can do it.

RCM
Posted by Rob Marrs at 14:10

http://leftbackinthechangingroom.blo....html?spref=tw

[barnes10]

the difference seems to be some recognising what he was - a young brazilian adapting to a new league/team/life/country/language etc etc and a bunch of champ manager nobodies expecting him to be on a par with alonso.

he struggled at times sure. but from the very start he was showing glimpses of what we're seeing now. i for one am utterly delighted he's shoved it straight back down the throats of those unwilling to allow a young talent a bit of room to make mistakes.

[RedReet]

Lucas Leiva: An appreciation

In recent years there has been an explosion of great football writing across the blogosphere. One of the most pleasing aspects of this has been the increasing coverage of tactics generally and ''deep tactical analysis'' in particular. Any number of blogs analysing any number of matters have sprung up - this has been great for those of us who love good writing, good analysis and can't stand listening to an ex-pro tell us that nobody has heard of a man capped by France on numerous occasions.

This proliferation of content has undoubtedly been good for our game and our understanding of the game. However, one of the downsides has been the occasional fetishisation of statistics at the cost of an appreciation of beauty in the game. How does one assess Zlatan Ibrahimovic? One of his nonchalant flicks that finds the back of the net counts for exactly the same as a Darren Bent tap-in but as football lovers we should surely appreciate the former more. Equally, a 'Hollywood Ball' that nearly comes off but is intercepted by some fine defensive work is a finer thing to view than a misplaced pass in the middle of the pitch. Hell, it is probably better to watch than a placed sideways pass.

An army of geeks now exists in the footballing blogosphere who understand graphs and put them to varying uses - some good, some bad and some so mind-bendingly clever I don't really understand. The problem is that the use of these statistics can be used in any number of ways and, further, massive emphasis is put on certain statistics.

Denilson has a 92% pass completion rate but Steven Gerrard only has a 76% pass completion rate.

There are bloggers out there seriously arguing that a fairly agricultural midfielder is better than an artisan because X stat says so. They know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Never mind that the two players may be very different; or that their teams play different styles of football; or that the teams set out in different formations. Unimaginative bloggers use their statistics, as the old quote goes, like a drunk uses a lampost: for support rather than illumination.

The very best blogs (the likes of Zonal Marking - who is the gold standard regarding tactical analysis) understand that statistics only tell a small part of the story.

It might be appropriate for a creative central midfielder to have a lower pass completion rate because they are playing the sorts of high-risk passes that set up attacks. Such passes are more likely to be unsuccessful because they are more likely to be difficult to execute, more likely to be intercepted and are more likely to rely on movement from a team-mate.

For certain midfielders though, a good measure for how they are doing is their pass completion rate (but also the number of passes they make in a game). Possession is increasingly important and hoarding midfielders (particularly allied with ''mugging'' tactics) are important to a possession-based game.
All this leads us rather circuitously to Lucas Leiva.

For a long time Lucas was the bête noire of Liverpool fans and, to many, he isn't exactly Noma of Copenhagan. It wouldn't be a bad bet, if online betting is your thing, to plump for him ahead of Dirk Kuyt as Liverpool's player of the season - for a growing number of Reds fans that is how well he has been playing.
What does he do?

Well, despite some reports to the contrary I'm not certain he is a hoarder nor is he a Makelele-esque defensive midfielder as such. Like so many players, he is more than the sum of his stats.

In many ways he is a 'tender ship' on the pitch - someone who ensures that everybody else can excel in their jobs. Always busy, covering a lot of ground, harrying and pressing whilst not in possession and being Liverpool's link man when they have the ball.

His pass completion rates are usually very strong if not the sort of thing that makes armchair pundits point and stare in slack-jawed wonder. He isn't a basic defensive midfielder but he is an increasingly tidy player who has completed more successful tackles than anyone else in the league this year. This allied with his fine pressing game mean that he not only helps Liverpool in possession, he is key to them gaining it. Many fans will jump on his passing statistics, his ball retention rate and his tackling - all key features of his game - but his presence, and work-rate, are more important. Just him being there opening up space when Liverpool have the ball and closing it down when they don't is more important. It is difficult to evaluate him through traditional evaluation methods.

He brings the best out of the more attacking players around him. Meireles, Kuyt, Suarez and Gerrard all benefit from his work-rate and his rounded contribution to the team. When Liverpool roar, his work is unnoticed. When Liverpool stutter, it is he who often shoulders the blame when it is he who is leading the firefight in midfield.

It isn't just at Anfield - both on and off the pitch - where he is impressing and gaining new fans. The new Brazilian manager, Mano Menezes, has marked him out as Brazil's number 5 and he looks to be playing a key role for the Brazilian eleven.

Whilst the Brazil number 10 shirt is probably the most iconic shirt, and number, in world football (if not world sport). The number 5 is just as important to the Brazilian footballing psyche. In the past the likes of Clodoaldo, Toninho Cerezo and Dunga have occupied that shirt and for many Brazilians it is an important one - the deep-lying playmaker, the heartbeat, the man who runs the game plays in the Number Five shirt. As Lucas put it in a recent interview ''it is where everything starts'

He is key to Liverpool's continuing charge up the table. He is unlikely to get the credit if they do catch Spurs. Check out Boylesports.com for the odds on whether he, and Liverpool, can do it.

RCM
Posted by Rob Marrs at 14:10

http://leftbackinthechangingroom.blo....html?spref=tw

the difference seems to be some recognising what he was - a young brazilian adapting to a new league/team/life/country/language etc etc and a bunch of champ manager nobodies expecting him to be on a par with alonso.

he struggled at times sure. but from the very start he was showing glimpses of what we're seeing now. i for one am utterly delighted he's shoved it straight back down the throats of those unwilling to allow a young talent a bit of room to make mistakes.

[Mostar]

Red Leiva.

[Fernandinho]

thanks mostar. all of your photos are entering my slide show background.

[Shanks]

Lucas Barbecue !!!

With Dad..

[Mostar]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Lucas-is-confident-of-fighting-off-all-comers-for-his-place-in-Liverpool-midfield-as-they-club-prepare-to-buy-in-the-summer-article728101.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Lucas: Liverpool new boys won't take me place

Lucas claims he is confident of fighting off all comers for his place in Liverpool’s midfield.

The Brazilian knows the club will strengthen in the summer and he could face competition from the likes of Blackpool’s Charlie Adam next season.

Lucas, dubbed the new Dunga in his homeland after forcing his way into the national side, believes he can hang on to his place after recently agreeing a new Anfield contract.

“A new season is a new season, but I don’t think I would have signed a new contract if the club did not have a plan for me,” he said.

“We will sign some players for next season, that’s for sure. But I think I’m showing that I’m capable of playing in the team all the time.

“A lot of players have come already and I’m still here, still playing, so that means that the club believes in my football and my qualities.

“I’m really confident and happy with the way I’m playing and I just have to improve and next season fight for my place.”

[red g]

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva believes this season has proved he has the quality to be a long-term success at Anfield.

The Brazil international was a much-derided figure among fans during his first three years after signing from Gremio in July 2007.

However, following the departure in successive summers of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano the 24-year-old has grasped the challenge of added responsibility and is enjoying the best form of his Reds career.

In January Liverpool tried and failed to sign Blackpool's central midfielder Charlie Adam and it seems likely they will renew their efforts in the summer.

Other signings, in addition to the return of injured captain Steven Gerrard, are expected but a confident Lucas welcomes the competition it will bring.

"I think every single season is a different season," said the Brazilian, who signed a long-term deal last month.

"I don't think I would sign a new contract if the club did not have a plan for me in the future.

"I am happy with the way I am playing. A lot of players have come already and I am still here and playing so that means they believe in my football and my qualities.

"Next season we will see what happens. They will sign players, of course, but I think I have shown I am capable of being in the team all the time.

"I have to finish well and keep that up next season, improve and fight for my place."

Only centre-back Martin Skrtel (with 45) has made more outfield appearances than Lucas (43) this season.

In previous campaigns he was criticised by supporters for being a favourite of former manager Rafael Benitez but this term has fully justified the belief the Spaniard had in him when others had their doubts.

Being seen as a key player has also helped build the player's self-belief.

"This season I am trying to take the responsibility more than the previous season because a couple of players have left and I want to step up and show my real qualities," he added.

"We have to make sure the youngsters are comfortable and they try everything they can.

"They will make mistakes, as everyone does, but they are doing really well and we are delighted with the way they have come in and played.

"There are some important players injured but we are on a good run and they deserve to be playing at the moment."

http://www.teamtalk.com/news/2483/6897607/Lucas-confident-for-future

[cream]

Don't think he needs to worry about Adam taking his place.

[SB]

Can anyone tell me the last time he was injured?

He seems to be fit to play more than most I think !

[Roboklopp]

With Lucas being so slated & turning to gold, it kinda makes you wonder how Aquilani wouldve turned out given time. Xabi, Mascher, Momo*, Lucas -Rafa had a great eye for a CM.

*Pre-nasty occular occurence.

[Mostar]

Don't think he needs to worry about Adam taking his place.

Not at all.

They are completely different type of players and they can in fact complement each other and create a very nicely partnership.

[Roboklopp]

Can anyone tell me the last time he was injured?

He seems to be fit to play more than most I think !

Aaargh, dont curse him FFS.