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David Trezeguet doesn't get his proper due
Comments (9)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 | 02:17 PM ET
I'm not sure why he never gets mentioned alongside the likes of Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba, but for my money David Trezeguet is one of the best strikers in the world.
The Juventus star oozes class, scoring beautiful goals like this one against Livorno this past Sunday.
Trezeguet leads Serie A in scoring this season with 15 goals - not a bad tally in a league renowned for putting a premium on defence and where strikers have a lot less time on the ball and not as much free space to operate compared to Spain's La Liga or the English Premiership.
Ever since coming to Italy - just weeks after burning the Azzurri with his "golden goal" in the final of Euro 200 - the Frenchman has established himself as one of the game's most lethal and potent goal poachers.
His arrival at Juventus made no less of a player than Pippo Inzaghi surplus to requirements, as the Turnin outfit quickly sold off the Italian legend to AC Milan and began to build its offence around the Frenchman.
It proved a wise move.
Since his debut in Italy, Trezeguet has scored with alarming regularity (his best season coming in 2001-02 when he led Serie A in scoring with 24 goals), earning the nickname "Trezegol," a tribute to his idol Gabriel Batistuta - the Argentine star was referred to as Batigol during his time in Serie A.
Trezeguet may not be pretty to watch - he floats in and out of games and he totally relies on service from his midfielders - but there's no denying his effectiveness (he's bagged over 150 goals for Juventus and ranks as the highest-scoring foreigner in the club's illustrious history).
The Frenchman is also noted for his versatility, able to score goals on the volley, inside the penalty area and, unlike Thierry Henry, he's strong in the air and can score headers.
And yet Trezeguet doesn't garner the same attention as Henry, Drogba and the host of other high-profile strikers that hog all the headlines.
But if I'm a new manager who is taking over a club and the chairman tells me I can have any forward in the world regardless of price, I'd tell him to spend some big money and buy Trezeguet.
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John F. Molinaro is a reporter for CBC Sport Online whose chief love is international soccer. John served as senior editor of Sports Online's Euro 2004 website, which helped him win a CBC.ca Award of Excellence, and was the driving force behind our coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He holds an honours BA in sociology from York University and a print journalism diploma from Sheridan College, and is also the author of The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time (Stewart House, 2002).
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Comments (9)
Carlo
Montreal
Trezeguet perhaps lacks some of the flash of Drogba and Henry, he also lacks some of the playmaking skills they posess. He also tends to disappear completely during some games, and can not turn a game around by himself.But that being said, he is as deadly finisher as they come. Remember, Henry could not cut it in Serie A with Juve. A healthy Trezeguet is a consistent goal scorer and I agree would be an extremely valuable player to any team. It should not surprise anyone that Juve refused to sell him while they were in Serie B.
Posted January 30, 2008 05:34 PM
Kris Fernandes
Toronto
Absolutely on the button John. David Trezeguet is easily one of the world's top 3 underated strikers.
Not too many players can lay claim to both a European and World Cup titles by the age of 22 such as Trez did and he has averaged a goal every other game- at both club and national level since- 1998. I wonder if Barca ever second guesses which 30 year old Frenchman they should've bought last year.
Posted January 30, 2008 07:49 PM
pippo99
austria
wise move to sell inzaghi???? amazing..
Posted January 31, 2008 02:49 AM
Jon
NL
Agreed. Ibrahimovich on Inter Milan is also a very under rated striker in the Serie A
Posted January 31, 2008 08:34 AM
David Silver
Winterpeg
While Trezeguet is a deadly poacher and finisher, Eto’o, Drogba, Henry, Rooney, Adebayor, Messi, Robinho, Torres, Berbatov, Pato, etc all bring far more to the table and I would start with any of them first. They can all create goals, make passes and blow through defences. Trezeguet is a one dimensional “pure striker”, and great at that role, but modern football requires flexibility and creativity from all attacking players.
Posted January 31, 2008 11:42 AM
Alex
Calgary
There are plenty of players like him under rated. Humberto Suazo with Internazionale is also a stricker to consider.
Posted January 31, 2008 09:37 PM
special1
Lagos
Trez is by far the most underraed striker in the world. true henry drogba anelka and d rst create chances for the other players, but of them all, if i am to chose a striker that can score 9 out of 10, none in d world does it better than trez. so as a coach of a team with a license to buy, i would buy trez and 2passers of the ball so other strikers can et serice. afterall hs duty s goalscoring and not playmaking!
Posted February 1, 2008 06:21 PM
Inter
Toronto
Simply...Trez is not a playmaker he is a finnisher!! and probably one of the best. He reminds me of a Luca Toni they are very simular in style not to good on the ball but a one touch closer. you can cover Trez for 90 min...and give him an inch of breathing room and he could turn that game around. Seria A is known for its defensve stle of play and very hard to score and for Trz to put up those numbers is an accoplishment. he is worth every penny.
Posted February 5, 2008 04:22 PM
Terry
London
Trezeguet defo one of the best for me, he is doing better than his pal henry in the goal scored right now, top scorer in serie a. unbeleiveable record for france aswell, he has scored 35 something like dat in bout 70 games. If trez went to the preimer league and to one of the big four, thats 20-30 goals guarentted, then he would get the headlines like Henry did. Juve done well to hold on to him over the years. TREZEGOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted May 15, 2008 07:40 PM