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Friday 22 March 2013
Remember the Name: Antoine Griezmann
17:14 | 
Posted by
Bappo |
We had taken a break from the Remember the Name series. That's partly because the next name on our list was going to be Raphael Varane before he made himself known with some superb performances. But we're still heading to La Liga, and once again it's a young French player, this time Antoine Griezmann of Real Sociedad.
Remember Gael Kakuta? He was meant to be the new poster boy of French football, especially when the U-19 beat their Spanish counterparts in the 2010 European Championships final. Kakuta was the one player destined for great things, and it was assumed that Chelsea had done very well in bringing him over to London, even if cost him a certain amount of money and Kakuta was subsequently suspended.
We all know how Kakuta turned out. You don't know? He's on loan at Vitesse Arnhem. Yawn.
But another France U-19 player caught the eye at that tournament, even though he was a complete unknown to the wider public and many football insiders. His name was Antoine Griezmann.
Griezmann, like Alessandrini previewed here before him, did not come out of the famed French system. He didn't go to Clairefontaine to rub shoulders with the future prima donnas of French football. Deemed too little when he was 14, Griezmann wasn't offered a youth contract anywhere in France. But scouts from Real Sociedad, in the Basque country close to the French border, were impressed by his talent. Despite doubts from his own parents, Antoine integrated the reputed Sociedad academy w from which the Alonso brothers graduated before him. OK, who cares about Mikel, but Xabi Alonso is one hell of a player.
And so he grew there, studying during the day in Bayonne in France, and then going to his academy in the evening. Despite the tiring schedules and demands, Griezmann graduated to the first team in 2009, with La Real still in La Segunda.
Griezmann literally exploded onto the scene that season, playing 39 matches in the league and scoring 6 goals, not bad for a recently turned 18 year old winger. Antoine played an influential role in his side, helping Sociedad return to La Liga within his first professional season.
With promotion came expectations and, despite the higher level of football, Griezmann adapted wonderfully to La Liga, keeping his place and scoring 7 goals in his second full season, and first in one of the top leagues in the world. Playing down the left wing, and using his wonderfully silky left foot, Griezmann was not only a serious goal threat, but also a vital creative source for his club. Griezmann kept up his level of performance in his third season, scoring another 7 league goals to help Sociedad stay in La Liga.
As a player and character, Griezmann is quite exuberant. He's been criticised for his over-complications with the ball at his feet, and has also been involved in some controversy. His celebration for his goal against La Coruna was criticised in Spain, despite the obviously cringy and comical nature of his joy. He is also suspended from all France national teams until the end of 2013 for having gone on a bender with some U-21s prior to a big game which they subsequently lost. Both times, however, Griezmann took the criticism head on and focused on his game again.
His 2012-2013 season has been even better than his previous ones. The left winger has partnered Arsenal 'reject' Carlos Vela (better than Chamakh and Gervinho put together by the way) to devastating effect in La Liga, and has already equalled his best goal return with 7 goals from 25 games, not all of them as a starter. Having just turned 22 on the 22nd March, Griezmann is undoubtedly an exciting prospect who's already proven his value with nearly 100 games in La Liga for Sociedad. When you consider how over-rated some English players are who've played only 20 games in the Prem (hello Jonjo Shelvey and Tom Cleverley) without having to carry their team, you'll understand that there's a reason why Griezmann has been linked with a number of top clubs, including Atletico Madrid, and even Barcelona after he scored against them at the start of the season. Definitely a player to watch out for.
Scoring a Suarez-like goal against Valladolid last week-end
Worst case scenario: Hatem Ben Arfa
Best case scenario: A left-footed version of Pedro. Or better.
 |
| Griezmann: enchanting Real Sociedad and La Liga |
Remember Gael Kakuta? He was meant to be the new poster boy of French football, especially when the U-19 beat their Spanish counterparts in the 2010 European Championships final. Kakuta was the one player destined for great things, and it was assumed that Chelsea had done very well in bringing him over to London, even if cost him a certain amount of money and Kakuta was subsequently suspended.
We all know how Kakuta turned out. You don't know? He's on loan at Vitesse Arnhem. Yawn.
But another France U-19 player caught the eye at that tournament, even though he was a complete unknown to the wider public and many football insiders. His name was Antoine Griezmann.
 |
| His breakthrough at the U-19 Euros in 2010. |
Griezmann, like Alessandrini previewed here before him, did not come out of the famed French system. He didn't go to Clairefontaine to rub shoulders with the future prima donnas of French football. Deemed too little when he was 14, Griezmann wasn't offered a youth contract anywhere in France. But scouts from Real Sociedad, in the Basque country close to the French border, were impressed by his talent. Despite doubts from his own parents, Antoine integrated the reputed Sociedad academy w from which the Alonso brothers graduated before him. OK, who cares about Mikel, but Xabi Alonso is one hell of a player.
And so he grew there, studying during the day in Bayonne in France, and then going to his academy in the evening. Despite the tiring schedules and demands, Griezmann graduated to the first team in 2009, with La Real still in La Segunda.
Griezmann literally exploded onto the scene that season, playing 39 matches in the league and scoring 6 goals, not bad for a recently turned 18 year old winger. Antoine played an influential role in his side, helping Sociedad return to La Liga within his first professional season.
With promotion came expectations and, despite the higher level of football, Griezmann adapted wonderfully to La Liga, keeping his place and scoring 7 goals in his second full season, and first in one of the top leagues in the world. Playing down the left wing, and using his wonderfully silky left foot, Griezmann was not only a serious goal threat, but also a vital creative source for his club. Griezmann kept up his level of performance in his third season, scoring another 7 league goals to help Sociedad stay in La Liga.
As a player and character, Griezmann is quite exuberant. He's been criticised for his over-complications with the ball at his feet, and has also been involved in some controversy. His celebration for his goal against La Coruna was criticised in Spain, despite the obviously cringy and comical nature of his joy. He is also suspended from all France national teams until the end of 2013 for having gone on a bender with some U-21s prior to a big game which they subsequently lost. Both times, however, Griezmann took the criticism head on and focused on his game again.
His 2012-2013 season has been even better than his previous ones. The left winger has partnered Arsenal 'reject' Carlos Vela (better than Chamakh and Gervinho put together by the way) to devastating effect in La Liga, and has already equalled his best goal return with 7 goals from 25 games, not all of them as a starter. Having just turned 22 on the 22nd March, Griezmann is undoubtedly an exciting prospect who's already proven his value with nearly 100 games in La Liga for Sociedad. When you consider how over-rated some English players are who've played only 20 games in the Prem (hello Jonjo Shelvey and Tom Cleverley) without having to carry their team, you'll understand that there's a reason why Griezmann has been linked with a number of top clubs, including Atletico Madrid, and even Barcelona after he scored against them at the start of the season. Definitely a player to watch out for.
Worst case scenario: Hatem Ben Arfa
Best case scenario: A left-footed version of Pedro. Or better.
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2 comments:
As a life-long Real Sociedad supporter, I was caught off-guard by Griezmann when the club was still in the second division. We had spent years hearing about great young players such as Pardo, Illarramendi or Íñigo Martínez, but no one expected Griezmann to make it into the first team. He was too small, too skinny, too irregular and childish... and yet he became a regular starter well before all the other kids from his generation.
Now we see why: back when Real Sociedad were managed by Martín Lasarte, they were a rocky team. Xabi Prieto, on the right wing, and Antoine Griezmann on the left were the only two men who provided some imagination to the team. That's why Griezmann became so important, his speed - both physical and mental - made him key in a team that had few goal-scoring opportunities in an average game.
With time, things have changed. 3 more kids from the 1990/91 generation have entered the team, as has Carlos Vela. The squad is now filled with top-notch players, and the goal is now to score goals rather than on not conceding them. Griezmann's relative importance to the team has gone down, because he is now surrounded by a bunch of players who are just as good as him. He went through a tough patch at the start of the season - banned from the French national team until 2014 for off-the-pitch stupidity, struggling to score for Real Sociedad... However, Montanier kept believing in him, never left him out of the starting line-up, and since December, Griezmann has gone back to being the great player he was in previous seasons. If Real Sociedad are to make it into the Champions League, it will be largely thanks to this French kid.
And the greatest thing of it all is that Griezmann is not the best player of his generation. Many expect Ruben Pardo (a Xavi-like creative midfielder) to lead the Spanish national team from 2014 onwards. Our young central defender, Íñigo Martínez, has made a name for himself through 50-yard goals, great defending and playing for the Spanish under-19s. And my personal favourite, Asier Illarramendi, reminds me so much of Xabi Alonso it's almost scary. These are good times to be a Real Sociedad supporter, I tell you.
As a French fan, I've been following Griezmann as closely as I can as I'm hoping he gets a deserved (in my view) call to the France team.If it was strictly on merit, he'd be there in my opinion, but his ban is playing against him. I also like the fact he had the guts to go to the Basque country as a kid to make it. Tough guy.
Real Sociedad strike me as a very well-run club who've always given their chance to youngsters, partly through need (lack of funds) as well as philosophy. I get the feeling Denoueix had a huge influence on that. I've heard of Illarramendi and Martinez but will definitely check out Ruben Pardo (thanks for the tip!).
From what I've heard, you're absolutely spot on with regards to Montanier and his change of attitude. It's refreshing to see it go that way rather than the other way round, and Sociedad were brave to hire him in the first place.
Thanks for the comment and I hope you enjoy the blog. Always good to have a football discussion. And thanks again for the Ruben Pardo mention!
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