Medhi Benatia (16 Viewers)

Post Ironic

Senior Member
Feb 9, 2013
41,818
Everyone was whining about not trusting youngsters, true. And the Rugani case shows that was correct. He was 24 and barely had any CL experience, and none in the knockouts at all. He was here for 3 seasons before this one, throwing him into the fire when we had no other choice just shows how shortsighted our planning on that was. And we even rejected huge offer from Chelsea, because we thought he might turn out great. At that point, we should have had atleast some idea what to expect

Watch Rugani on 2/3 of their goals, clueless defender. But its not just that. Both he and Bonucci stay deep and play the ball out of the back. One of Mehdis best assets is bursting into the midfield with the ball, something we missed since Chiellini was out. We were way too predictable in possession this way, and a man down basically.

I understand you hate the man but hes arguably the 2nd best CB in our group, at worst 3rd best behind in form Leo. To say he wouldnt make a difference in a tie we conceded 3 goals is foolish
3rd best. I agree. And a better partner for Bonucci than Rugani is, definitely. Although like Bonucci, Rugani has a pretty decent record when playing alongside Giorgio.

But Benatia rarely carried the ball into mid last year. And neither him nor Chiellini are very skilled at breaking presses with passing, which is why we were even easier to press hard and hem deep last year.

If we want to play with the two defensive CBs without much passing skill we need a far better midfield (especially technical skills) or it’s a nightmare for us to build from the back. And teams just dominate possession and territory like against Tottenham last year, even if we did a good job hitting them on the counter.
 

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zizinho

Senior Member
Apr 14, 2013
51,814
3rd best. I agree. And a better partner for Bonucci than Rugani is, definitely. Although like Bonucci, Rugani has a pretty decent record when playing alongside Giorgio.

But Benatia rarely carried the ball into mid last year. And neither him nor Chiellini are very skilled at breaking presses with passing, which is why we were even easier to press hard and hem deep last year.

If we want to play with the two defensive CBs without much passing skill we need a far better midfield (especially technical skills) or it’s a nightmare for us to build from the back. And teams just dominate possession and territory like against Tottenham last year, even if we did a good job hitting them on the counter.
Do you mean last year as in last season when he was a starter? The good thing about him was, he can do both stay deep and playmake, and carry the ball forward (neither at WC level, both pretty good), which is why he could play with both Bonucci and Chiellini when needed. Last season he played with Chiellini mostly, thats why he stayed back more i think. With Leo, he would go forward with the ball more when the former is pressed.

We need to start finding Chiellini esque beasts that are good with the ball at a young age, kinda what Koulibaly turned into. Cant have scared kitties like Rugani play just because they compliment another CB well. Demiral looks promising, if we land de Ligt, we shouldnt have to worry about defense for a while
 

Bianconero81

Ageing Veteran
Jan 26, 2009
39,070
was it accompanied by a video of him sucking on raw pork?
Benatia is a devout Muslim, so I'm sure Evra would've been sensitive to that and chose to suck on a live goat or perhaps a piece of raw chicken.

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was it accompanied by a video of him sucking on raw pork?
Benatia is a devout Muslim, so I'm sure Evra would've been sensitive to that and chose to suck on a live goat or perhaps a piece of raw chicken.
 

Hust

Senior Member
Hustini
May 29, 2005
93,335
Benatia: “Allegri is a great coach, but he made promises he didnt keep. He told me that I was going to start with Chiellini, that Bonucci would have to earn his place. Then apparently, Allegri made fun of me. I lost my mind, I told him I would never play again while he was coach"

Benatia: "Ronaldo is the absolute number one, as a footballer and as a person. He is very intelligent, even off the pitch. His brain is always faster than anybody else. I am happy to be his friend. I always wish him the best.” [Goal]
 

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