Oumar Diakité: The Ivorian Winger Poised for Greatness

They say that modern football is losing something. “Recipes”, some on Twitter call it. The overwhelming sentiment being that the game no longer has enough players at the top level with flair, flamboyance, magic even. Players who have the ability to consistently come up with their own solutions, dribble past players and perform silky moves, players with the freedom to express themselves.

They mourn the loss of individuality and the monster mentality that made players of previous eras seem godlike, with their supreme technical abilities. These critics of the modern game argue about how early players are fed overwhelming information and over-coached, stifling their expression and hindering the development of their technical skills, leading to football now producing top-division players with half-baked technical ability. In truth, they might have a point. 

Player Analysis: Keito Nakamura

One thing people don’t talk about, however, is how much modern football is missing bravery; the persistence to execute and repeat actions relentlessly, even after repeated failures, and keep knocking, even when previous attempts have proven futile. That isn’t to say that such players are rigid and unimaginative, sticking to things that aren’t working. Rather, players who understand the power of persistence and volume, of knocking until the door opens.