Denis Zakaria

[Blue Armour 4,278]

Sigh...hope this guy turns out to be the opposite of Saul and actually turns out to be revelation.

 

The position he operates in midfield is a game changer and can dramatically improve our solidity as a team if it works.

[Blue Armour 4,278]

23 hours ago, Strike said:

and Essien

So underrated Essien these days...because of his injury ridden career, a lot of people have forgotten how damn good he was.

Better than Makelele for me. He could defend, AND he could actually attack with great passing and powerful finishing. Did a lot of dirty work for the team in CDM, CM and even RB roles.

[Vesper 28,801]

What Denis Zakaria can bring to Chelsea

https://theathletic.com/3638630/2022/09/30/denis-zakaria-Chelsea/

Everything about Chelsea’s deadline-day loan signing of Denis Zakaria suggested panic.

Announced on the club’s Twitter account at 1am UK time on September 2 — two hours after the official close of the summer transfer window — with a hastily mocked-up graphic, Zakaria’s arrival from Juventus for the season was the culmination of a late-August scramble on the part of Chelsea’s new owners after head coach Thomas Tuchel abruptly decided that he did, in fact, need another central midfielder after all.

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali made enquiries for midfielders all around Europe in the final days of the window, even submitting an offer worth €50million (£44.3m, $48.6m) for Ajax star Edson Alvarez that prompted the Mexico international to temporarily go on strike.

Zakaria later revealed that he only became aware of the possibility of joining Chelsea six hours before the transfer deadline and his swiftly arranged medical was undertaken in Turin. He was the only of the club’s seven first-team signings to be made without any active input from Tuchel.

There could be no avoiding the echoes of Saul Niguez, the 2021 version of Chelsea’s late-summer midfield loan fix. Like the Spain international, Zakaria is some way removed from his best football despite only being in his mid-twenties, and his career stagnation can be linked to a significant physical issue in his recent past.

Saul arrived at Chelsea a shell of the player who had blossomed into one of Europe’s most coveted midfielders prior to suffering a debilitating kidney problem. He made a negligible impact in his 22 appearances across all competitions before returning to Atletico Madrid in June.

Zakaria comes to Stamford Bridge on the back of an unfulfilling short stint at Juventus, preceded by a serious knee injury at Borussia Monchengladbach that sidelined him for eight months and undercut his status as an emerging Bundesliga sensation.

But that doesn’t mean the 25-year-old is destined to suffer Saul’s fate at Chelsea. Zakaria is a different proposition who could be more suited to Premier League football.

---

On his best days at Monchengladbach, Zakaria resembled a hurricane on the football pitch: a force of nature capable of destroying an opposition attack with a single tackle and changing the direction of travel in an instant with a rapid surge upfield, leaving a trail of anguish in his wake.

In the COVID-affected 2019-20 season, his combination of defensive diligence and ball-carrying through midfield attracted the attention of elite clubs all over Europe. Here he is in a more advanced position and recognising an angle to drive into the penalty area in the final minutes of an away win over Cologne in September 2019.

He leaves a defender behind and with a sharp burst of acceleration makes it almost to the corner of the six-yard box before any other Cologne defender can get close enough to pressure him. He then hits a shot from a tight angle that goalkeeper Timo Horn saves.

A month later against Borussia Dortmund, Marco Reus believes he is about to send Thorgan Hazard running free on goal. Gladbach have made a mess of their attempted offside trap, there is an inviting pocket of space and Zakaria appears too far away to fix the damage.

But by the time Hazard brings the ball into his stride, Zakaria has eaten up the ground and manages to extend a long leg to poke the ball away from the Belgian.

Zakaria’s speed and defensive instincts made him a valuable insurance policy for Gladbach in high-tempo, stretched Bundesliga matches. Here he finds himself in an unenviable position, isolated against tricky Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi…

… but he calmly waits for Bellarabi to make a decision and, when the ball is finally knocked past him, simply turns on the speed to get to it first, block off his opponent and pass to safety.

Gladbach finished the 2019-20 season fourth in the Bundesliga, guaranteeing Champions League qualification, but they had to complete the job without Zakaria. The Switzerland international injured his knee in the return fixture against Dortmund, his team’s penultimate match before the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, and did not feature competitively again until November.

The good news for Chelsea fans is that Zakaria showed enough flashes for Gladbach on his return to suggest there is no lasting physical damage. He also got the chance to exhibit some positional versatility, with coach Marco Rose deploying him at centre-back as well as in midfield.

With a strong 6ft 2in frame and aggressive mindset, Zakaria quickly warmed to the task of duelling more frequently with opposition strikers. Here he is on one of his first appearances back from injury, at home to Inter Milan in the Champions League group stage, sliding in firmly but fairly to dispossess Romelu Lukaku.

In possession, the attributes that marked Zakaria out in midfield also made him an asset to Gladbach’s attempts to progress the ball from defence. Here, in a match against RB Leipzig, he receives the ball with striker Yussuf Poulsen rushing forward to press him, but simply dribbles around the Denmark international.

That manoeuvre gets Zakaria into midfield, where more Leipzig bodies await. He keeps moving forward, shielding the ball from two opponents and offloading it to a team-mate before a third can tackle him.

It is in midfield, though, where Zakaria’s ability to force opposition turnovers is most valuable. Here, as Real Madrid attempt to play out from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, captain Sergio Ramos believes he has plenty of time to slide a pass down the touchline into the feet of Toni Kroos — but Zakaria is already on the move.

Zakaria cuts out the pass and finds a team-mate with one touch, giving his team possession deep in the Madrid half.

This combination of speed and anticipation made Zakaria a frequent threat to run ahead of the ball at Gladbach. Here, in the final minutes of a DFB-Pokal victory over Stuttgart, he sets off into the left channel to meet a floated through pass…

… and manages to run the long way around his defender, arcing his run back inwards towards the Stuttgart goal with two team-mates in support.

Zakaria should probably try to pass earlier. He ends up shooting over with two Stuttgart defenders converging on him and two team-mates unmarked to his right.

Here, in a 5-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld, he sees an opportunity to push forward as a pass is whipped across his path into the feet of team-mate Hannes Wolf.

Zakaria sets off, receiving a short pass from Wolf and knocking it between two defenders into space with his first touch.

His speed gets him to the ball first and, forced to check back, he finds Breel Embolo in space on the edge of the penalty area.

Bayern Munich also got a taste of Zakaria’s ability to create danger from nothing. Here, he receives the ball inside his own half, with space to drive into but also Jerome Boateng ready to cut him off…

… but Zakaria gets close enough to commit Boateng, then quickly shifts the ball from his right foot to his left around the Germany international, opening up a direct angle to run through on goal.

He surges into the space and seems certain to set up a Gladbach team-mate for an easy goal — but Benjamin Pavard recovers to make a brilliant sliding tackle.

At one point, Gladbach hoped Zakaria would double their record sale of €45million, paid by Arsenal to take Granit Xhaka to north London in the summer of 2016. When Zakaria did eventually leave for Juventus in January this year, his value depressed by his prior injury and also by his decision to run down his contract, it was for a paltry €6million.

---

Zakaria lasted just eight months at Juventus, limited to just 15 appearances across all competitions in a squad bloated with highly paid midfielders. He struggled to gain the trust of coach Massimiliano Allegri and later admitted he did not enjoy himself in Turin.

“It’s difficult to say what went wrong, maybe the style of football wasn’t suited to me,” he said in an interview with Blick while on international duty with Switzerland. “The team sat very deep, so I didn’t have much space. I’m a player who needs a lot of space for my runs. It might suit me better in England.”

Chelsea’s opponents rarely offer them space to exploit, but N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic both illustrate that midfielders who can win the ball and quickly turn defence into attack through the middle of the pitch can be hugely valuable. Zakaria has some of the same qualities — according to FBref data, he ranks in the 81st percentile for interceptions per 90 minutes among central midfielders over the past year, as well as the 91st percentile for blocks and the 80th percentile for completed dribbles.

As such, it should not be a surprise that Chelsea’s new head coach Graham Potter was keen to get a look at Zakaria as a No 8 in last weekend’s behind-closed-doors friendly against Brighton & Hove Albion. His experience playing as a central defender offers another potential route into the team, even if the squad at Stamford Bridge is well stocked in that area.

Chelsea hold an option to buy Zakaria for a fee in the region of £30million at the end of this season. Last season’s arrangement for Saul was similar but it became painfully clear early on that his move to west London would not be made permanent.

Whether this season-long loan follows a similar path is primarily up to Zakaria and Potter will give him chances if he merits them. A permanent £30million deal would represent great business for Juventus but, if Zakaria can re-capture his pre-injury form, it’s not inconceivable that Chelsea could end up with a bargain, too.

Edited October 9, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,801]

Denis Zakaria: ‘They said I was like an octopus. It was positive – or I hope it was’

https://theathletic.com/3665342/2022/10/07/denis-zakaria-Chelsea-juventus/

 

 

Denis Zakaria wants nothing more than an opportunity to show Chelsea why he was called an octopus.

The Switzerland midfielder was given the affectionate nickname by appreciative supporters of Germany’s Borussia Monchengladbach, one of his former clubs.

“It’s because I have very long legs,” he says with a smile. “There, I used to win a lot of balls in midfield, so that is why they said I was like an octopus. It was funny and it was positive… or I hope it was!”

After starting out at Swiss clubs Servette and Young Boys, it was across the border at Gladbach that Zakaria forged his reputation. He scored 11 goals and created nine assists in 146 appearances, despite playing most of the time as a defensive midfielder. That form secured a permanent move to Juventus only in January of this year, yet he now finds himself at Stamford Bridge.

Zakaria was the last player to join Chelsea in what was a remarkable summer window for the club.

They spent a record £250million-plus ($279m) on players and it would have been more had they succeeded with offers for one of Edson Alvarez (Ajax), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven) or Romeo Lavia (Southampton) before the deadline.

With N’Golo Kante ruled out by a knee injury, plus the reality of the Frenchman and fellow 30-something Jorginho having less than 12 months left on their contracts, Chelsea’s new owners wanted to bring in another defensive midfielder to provide extra cover.

After having offers for the three mentioned above rejected, they moved to do a loan deal for Zakaria on deadline day.

There was little time to spare, and the official announcement only came at 1am UK time — two hours after the window shut. It was allowed to go through because a deal sheet (the Premier League website explains this is “where a club confirms a deal has been reached in order to allow for additional time to submit the remaining documentation”) had been submitted before the 11pm deadline.

“It was very, very late,” Zakaria says. “Everything happened in six hours, so it was very fast. It was crazy, because I finished training with Juventus and my agent called me. He said, ‘We have Chelsea (making an offer). Is that interesting for you?’. I was like, ‘Oh, yes. It’s Chelsea, you can’t say no’. After that, I got home and had to wait while the clubs agreed the deal and everything.

“In the end, it happened. Was I worried it would collapse? Yes, of course. It was really close. I stayed in a bureau in the (club) office in Turin until, I don’t know, maybe one hour after midnight. So yes, it was really close. But in the end, everything was perfect.

“It’s an amazing feeling that a big club like Chelsea wants you. It means you’re doing a great job and you’re a good player. It gives me more power to give my best, to feel better in myself.”

An option to make the move permanent for £30million is included in the loan deal, but Zakaria hasn’t had the chance to prove he is worth that sum yet. He has yet to get a single minute of action for Chelsea, although it should be highlighted Chelsea have played only five times since he signed.

Despite arriving a little more than a month ago, Zakaria is already serving under his second Chelsea head coach. Thomas Tuchel was in charge when he joined but was fired and replaced with Graham Potter, who had been Brighton boss, less than a week later.

“I didn’t speak directly with him (Tuchel, about joining Chelsea),” he adds. “I just know that he agreed with the deal, that he wanted this deal. For me, it was clear that when you can have a trainer like Tuchel, it is a big opportunity for a player. He is a big, big (name as a) trainer and I was really happy to have the chance to train with him.

“But yeah, after just some days, it was already finished. It was disappointing for him, of course, and for me. I think he is a good trainer and he could have helped me a lot. But we have a new trainer now and I’m really happy also. I will give my best to be the best and to help the team.”

The 25-year-old wasn’t naive and knew what kind of challenge he was facing before the shock of Tuchel’s departure.

As someone who has followed Chelsea throughout much of his life — his biggest idol is club royalty Didier Drogba and he reminisces fondly about watching the club’s 2012 Champions League final win on TV with his brother — he knows all too well the calibre of players he is competing against for a place in the team.

Even with Kante on the treatment table, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher have all been played in central midfield instead of him. Then there are all the internationals occupying the other positions.

To emphasise the point, he picks out Hakim Ziyech as an individual who has impressed him so far — the Morrocco international has played just nine minutes in Potter’s first three matches in charge.

“I never saw a left foot like it,” he says. “Oof, it’s crazy. Then there is N’Golo, he’s an amazing player. He’s a little bit back with the team (after his injury). We trained together. I can see the quality. N’Golo, I think, is an inspiration for every midfield player. What he does is incredible, amazing. And I’m really happy to have the chance to play with him also, to learn from him, and I will take every minute to be better with him.

“But every player is really amazing in this team. I can say that here the quality of the players in training is one of the best I’ve seen. Of course, Juventus is also really good quality. But here, at Chelsea, I have to say it is really an amazing-quality team. Also, you improve yourself in every training (session). I came here to improve myself and that’s why I feel like it will be a good decision to come here.

“It is not easy to be on the bench. Like every player, I want to play. But yes, we have to train hard and prove ourselves. In the end, when you have a chance to play, you must prove yourself in that moment.

“I spoke with the new coach (one-on-one, as all the players did soon after Potter took over) but it was the first meeting to see where my position was and to get to know each other. After that, we’ve not had the time to speak again, but we will have the time to speak in the future. In the end, I have to work 100 per cent on the pitch and in training. After that, we’ll see.

“In the first meeting, he (Potter) said he likes the style of player I am. In training, he is pushing every player, which is good. We have a lot of games (before the World Cup break begins on November 13) and I think every player will have their chance. It’s in that moment the player has to take their chance and play well. After that, you see what happens. I am training hard to be ready for that moment and be ready to have a place in this team.”

When asked if his aim is to play at a level which will convince Chelsea to make his loan permanent, Zakaria replies: “Of course. If you don’t do good, you don’t have the chance to stay. Chelsea is a big club and if you’re not good enough, you can’t stay at this club. I am here to prove I deserve to be here, that I am a good player and I can help the team. We will see what happens at the end.

“I hope only the best for Juventus. I hope they can win the title in Italy and I would be very happy for that. Juventus is a big, big club, like Chelsea. I learnt a lot there, with big, big players. And I can only be grateful for that because they gave me a lot of chances and everything. I am a fan of Juventus and I follow Juventus, of course. But now I am a Chelsea player, so I’m focused here and I want to give my best to help the team. For me, I’m a new player, but I feel like I’ve been here one or two years already.

“It was not an easy solution (to join Chelsea) but in the end, I am a player, I need also this challenge to be better. For me, I am better when I take challenges. To change everything, like language, is not easy, but I think I can do it.”

While he hasn’t had the chance to speak to Drogba yet about how to make an impact at Chelsea, he has had a conversation with another of his heroes — Claude Makelele, who won five major trophies with Chelsea between 2003 and 2008 and now works as a mentor in the club’s academy, so is a regular at their Cobham base.

Zakaria plays the same role Makelele starred in. The latter also knows the difficulties of joining Chelsea from abroad, having moved from Real Madrid for £16.8million 19 years ago.

“Claude is very funny, a very good guy,” Zakaria says. “He is also a big legend and I will take any advice from him. I’ve seen him two or three times. We don’t really have the time to speak about football and everything. But if I have the chance, I will take every advice because he was in my position and knows how to play it.

“I am a really flexible player. Yes, I can adapt myself. That’s also a good part of me. But I am a midfield player first. I can play in a lot of positions, but I am a midfield player.”

After he joined, Tuchel spoke about Zakaria being able to play wing-back — which came as news to the player.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Zakaria replies. “I didn’t know (he said that)! OK, I can run fast, but I didn’t know I can play in that position. In the past, I played as a central defender in a three, in the middle, that was a position I have played. But in the end, I was always a No 6 or a No 8.”

Zakaria has another motivation for forcing his way into Potter’s first XI as soon as possible.

The World Cup starts on November 20 and he wants to represent Switzerland in it. He won his 41st and 42nd caps in the Nations League games last month, although only as a late substitute in matches against Spain and the Czech Republic. A lack of minutes at club level going into a major tournament is obviously not ideal for impressing coach Murat Yakin.

“Of course, we speak to each other and have a good contact,” Zakaria says of Yakin. “They follow what we do in the clubs. It is important for me to have some game time before the World Cup. You have to work to have your chance. I work on my side and will give my best to be ready for it.”

No interview with a new Chelsea player would be complete without asking them if they have performed their initiation song — a tradition brought in by former captain Dennis Wise in the 1990s — in front of the other players yet.

Zakaria’s face lights up.

“It was (Ivory Coast band) Magic System’s song Premiere Gaou,” he says. “It was a hard but funny night. I wasn’t the only one. It was all the new players, which was good. Maybe someone will say I wasn’t the best but, for me, I was the best!”

All Zakaria wants at Chelsea now is to be given the chance for someone to praise his ability with a football.

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

Bloke speaks to the media more times he plays for us. 

[Tomo 21,733]

On 02/09/2022 at 21:11, Magic Lamps said:

Paulo was a True gentleman on and off the pitch. Great in his prime, important part of that greatest ever PL defence but became a liability after hitting 30 just like Ivanovic and Azpi more lately. 
deco was the bigger name which is probably what the statement is referring to. I liked deco tho bc he had much better chemistry with Lampard than Ballack had while offering something different. Was already declining tho when he joined us at 31 for 10m I think. Nowadays they would probably have quoted us 30 

2008-2012 we did a really poor job with our squad and Deco as okay as he was as forefront of my frustrations.

A 23 year old Modric was avaliable and the perfect man to kick-start the building of the next team.

[Strike 7,217]

2 minutes ago, Tomo said:

2008-2012 we did a really poor job with our squad and Deco as okay as he was as forefront of my frustrations.

A 23 year old Modric was avaliable and the perfect man to kick-start the building of the next team.

To be fair, we now know Roman did a lot to try and get Modric through the door.

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

Carvalho, Ballack, Joe Cole, Makelele etc were never replaced properly. 

[Tomo 21,733]

9 minutes ago, Strike said:

To be fair, we now know Roman did a lot to try and get Modric through the door.

In 2008 or 2011? The latter is when we should have tried the hardest, not when he was already tied down in Levy's jail.

[Strike 7,217]

45 minutes ago, Tomo said:

In 2008 or 2011? The latter is when we should have tried the hardest, not when he was already tied down in Levy's jail.

They tried in both 2008 and 2011. Why the 08 move broke down is unclear from Modric's book but yeah, the 2011 one was down to Levy

[bigbluewillie 1,859]

Chelsea are set to discuss Denis Zakaria's situation at the club, with the 25-year-old Switzerland midfielder failing to feature under new manager Graham Potter. (Fabrizio Romano)

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,477]

 

 

[robsblubot 3,504]

I guess we know why he wasn't playing before--really struggling with the pace of the league.

Needs to improve a lot to become serviceable.

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

1 minute ago, robsblubot said:

I guess we know why he wasn't playing before--really struggling with the pace of the league.

Needs to improve a lot to become serviceable.

Think he's just average on the ball. That's where Ruben and Kovacic have him beat. 

[robsblubot 3,504]

27 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Think he's just average on the ball. That's where Ruben and Kovacic have him beat. 

it does look that way unfortunately, but it could also be the pace of the league. We will find out soon enough. 😟

[bigbluewillie 1,859]

11 hours ago, robsblubot said:

I guess we know why he wasn't playing before--really struggling with the pace of the league.

Needs to improve a lot to become serviceable.

And gives the ball away far too much.

[robsblubot 3,504]

15 minutes ago, bigbluewillie said:

And gives the ball away far too much.

yes, he does... looks really pedantic on the ball atm. I do have a slim hope it's just the pace of the league and how little time players get on ball. We've seen the same with players like ramires and many others, but it does not look good atm. He's essentially RLC slow pace minus skill atm. 😕 

Edited January 4, 2023 by robsblubot

[Strike 7,217]

26 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

yes, he does... looks really pedantic on the ball atm. I do have a slim hope it's just the pace of the league and how little time players get on ball. We've seen the same with players like ramires and many others, but it does not look good atm. He's essentially RLC slow pace minus skill atm. 😕 

was a stop-gap midfield fix if anything until Kovacic returned to full speed from the WC. I think it will be a disaster to field Zakaria vs City