das9125

Barbara, don't worry, he will prove you wrong. I don't know who started with the Willian 2.0 thing, but clearly they have not seen much of Cuadrado, just Youtube clips. I am not sure whether he will succeed or not, in football there are no guarantees. Every player is a gamble. But stats are there for a reason and Cuadrado is a player that can have 20 goals a season between assists and goals if Mourinho gets the best of him. I want you to look at the following two links. Cuadrado's numbers should potentialy be more comparable to Hazard's, remember that in Fiorentina he had little help. http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/108/Tournaments/5/Seasons/3978/Stages/8019/PlayerStatistics/Italy-Serie-A-2013-2014 http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3853/Stages/7794/PlayerStatistics/England-Premier-League-2013-2014 Only that in football there are no guarantees. Barcelona fans talk about Suarez being a flop, Di Maria is not doing much better, neither is Falcao. I would have bet blind on Shevchenko, look at what happened. Zidane may have done poorly in pacey PL. Who knows. Let's wait and see. If there's anyone out there with a keen eye, it has to be Jose Mourinho.

Actually, that was always Guarin's sole strenght. The rest is quite mediocre. Guarin is by far the biggest dissapointment out of that generation of Colombians that made it to Europe (Rodallega was a bit of a flop too but we never rated him that high anyway). Guarin was always a good dribbler, plus he is very very strong so he could force his way past players. Maybe in the PL he would have done better who knows. Just as Lamela was much better in Serie A. There's too many variables. He just wasn't very intelligent. Cannot make intelligent decisions of when to pass or when to shoot.

Don't remember how good of a dribbler Gervinho was for Arsenal, but 2013/2014 not in the top 5 of Serie A

Actually it is not surprising, those kinds of articles. South America is a little gold mine and so many players go unnoticed. What is suprising is such comments from people that dedicate their life to the sport and to watching players. We have a feeling in south america that unless a player is Brazilian or Argentinian, he really needs to fight his way to the top. It is the case for Chileans, Uruguayans, Colombians... Most people did not even know of James or Cuadrado before the WC! I remember 3-4 years ago my Brazilian friend Fellipe was telling me how much better James was than Oscar! (they were both U-20 at the time) (wrong place to be comparing Oscar? hehe) Yet my friend realized it was going to take him so much more effort to make it to the top, not being of a famous nationality. Colombia has been playing against Brazil and Argentina with these players for the past few years, and in those games they have performed better than the likes of Messi or Neymar. I was actually very surprised it took an extra 6 months to sell Cuadrado, look at Serie A 2013/2014 best performances for the whole year: http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/108/Tournaments/5/Seasons/3978/Stages/8019/PlayerStatistics/Italy-Serie-A-2013-2014 And this is playing for a team with no teammates that can help you boost stats. We don't really know how good Cuadrado is yet, only now that he will play for a Top team, will it be fair to compare his stats against players in Top teams. His weaknesses may be amplified in the PL, which are lack of size and strenght. He doesn't speak English if I recall. Wishing him the best.

Guys, New on the forum here. Having watched Cuadrado since he was 20 years old, I am very excited to see him come to Chelsea. In our Colombian national team, Cuadrado and James have been the main pillars for some time now. Cuadrado is particularly very exciting to watch, just plain fun, he is fearless with the ball at his feet. And in our national team he is the main man to penetrate teams that like to defend with 10 men. And although his top speed is fantastic, it is more about his change in pace and explosion that makes him so hard to defend. He will be a headache to other teams in the PL, as he can go right or left in a fraction of a second. Playing in Italy has made him better at defense, but that is his main weakness, although he overcomes his lack of big physique with speed. About him not being able to score a lot of goals, well, he is not a forward, so I disagree somewhat. He will create so much danger on the right wing that opens space for his teammates, and he will not deny a pass. So even though Cuadrado is 26, I believe he has so much potential, which comes down to his talent with the ball. To finally watch him under a good coach is going to be something. I just hope Chelsea fans give him time to settle in. It is a new league, new teammates, new language. And the PL can be unforgiving. Enjoy Cuadrado.