Fall from Grace: 8 Players Struggling Recently After Great Starts to the Season
It is difficult to sustain form continuously throughout a season. A Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Andres Iniesta can do it easily, but not every player is like them. Pressure speaks, and some players just cannot play at their very best for one whole season.
Here are eight players who promised so much in the early parts of the season, but seem to be losing their way once the business end of the season reaches.
Milos Krasic
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After a much publicized merry-go-round transfer saga between Juventus and CSKA Moscow, Juventus finally got their man at the end of the summer. Along with the large 15 million euro transfer fee came the hope that Krasic would finally fill the trequartista role that Diego spectacularly flopped in last season.
He did not disappoint in the beginning, with highly influential displays against Sampdoria and Udinese. He finally announced himself to Italy with a brilliant hat-trick against Cagliari, and was thereafter regarded as a force to be reckoned with.
When Juventus were in need, he was always there at hand, and a defining moment for Krasic was his very late winner against Lazio (even though it was deflected). He slowly moulded himself into the talisman of the Juventus team, keeping them in the title race. Then came the injury of Fabio Quagliarella, which turned Juventus' season from a hopeful to a miserable one.
Along with Juventus, Krasic's form took a beating as well. He was fined for blatantly diving to win a penalty in the match against Bologna, and had a subsequent injury. Since coming back from that, he has not looked the same player terrorizing Serie A defences. He has not had a goal since the turn of the year and his influence in each game has been minimal. Will Krasic continue his slump or end the season with a bang?
Marouane Chamakh
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Arsenal were courting Marouane Chamakh the year before they finally acquired him as well, and we were all waiting to see whether the tall Moroccan could light up the Premier League. Until the beginning of December, he most certainly did.
It is often said that Arsenal are not the same team when Robin van Persie isn't playing. Chamakh dispelled all of that in his first few months at the Emirates, coping admirably as the lone striker and scoring some very important goals. He made his mark in his first Premier League match, causing Pepe Reina to produce an error that led to Arsenal equalising against Liverpool. He continued to score important goals, keeping Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
His Champions League form was also very good, scoring good goals against Braga, Partizan Belgrade and Shakhtar Donetsk. He also holds the record for the quickest Premier League goal in Arsenal's history, scoring within 37 seconds against Wolves. He was turning into a fan favorite for the Gunners, due to his immense work rate and bringing all his teammates into play. All was looking good for Chamakh, but all that form came to an abrupt end after an important goal against Aston Villa.
The over-claustrophobic December month, combined with the rise in form of Robin van Persie, led to Chamakh being relegated to the bench, coming on for a few fleeting substitutions. He was clearly fatigued and burnt out, admitting it himself.
From being the first choice striker in the first few months of the season, it is widely being said that Chamakh is the third-choice striker after van Persie and Bendtner. There is no doubt in my mind that Chamakh is a better player than Bendtner and once he regains his energy and starts getting into form, there is no doubt that he will play an integral role in Arsenal's charge for Premier League glory.
Javier Pastore
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After a blazing start to the season, Pastore, along with Palermo, has suffered a huge dip in form. Pastore is destined to make it big as a footballer, but is currently not playing with the vigour, flair and imagination that we know he can produce.
Continuing his form from last season, Pastore started this season in breathtaking fashion, with Palermo penetrating the top four in the early parts of the season. He, along with new signing Josip Illicic, lit up Serie A, with Pastore's defining moment of the season definitely being the hat trick he scored against Catania.
But nothing lasts forever, does it? Palermo starts losing form, and were given a rain check time and time again week after week. Palermo's hierarchy were in tatters, as president Maurizio Zamparini sacked the coach after the 7-0 humiliation against Udinese. Palermo are now currently 9th after such a good start to the season. And in the middle of this was Pastore.
Pastore couldn't replicate the magic we know he can produce. A big part that has to play with this is the abnormally large expectations from him by the Palermo faithful. But the fact is that he's 21, and that even though he is enormously talented, he cannot carry a team by himself. While the season reaches its business end, we only hope that Pastore can bounce back from this dip in form and produce breathtaking displays we know he is capable of.
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Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
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Following his flop stints at both Milan and Real Madrid, a transfer to a club like Schalke was a welcome change to Huntelaar's disintegrating career. A move to the Bundesliga, probably the most low key of all the major leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, Germany) could have helped him come back to the same form in Ajax that had purists drooling, and people like Louis van Gaal exclaiming that he was the best player in the world in the penalty area.
For the first part of the season, it seemed to be working as Huntelaar was scoring goals for fun for both Schalke and the Oranje. He scored an astonishing nine goals in five games for the Oranje since joining Schalke till the end of 2010. He was scoring for fun as well in the Bundesliga, scoring seven goals until November, and an impressive brace against Lyon in the Champions League.
But then, Schalke struggled in the Bundesliga and Huntelaar has not scored in a Schalke shirt since the turn of the year. He is currently undergoing a Lukas Podolski-esque patch for the last two to three years, where he has been excellent in an orange shirt while struggling for form in club colors. Is Huntelaar's career destined to be this way?
Didier Drogba
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He started the season exactly how he had left it last season (where he was arguably the best player in the Premier League), with a brilliant hat trick against West Brom. He followed that up with three assists in another 6-0 drubbing against Wigan. The next game resulted in another goal, and he had gotten to six goals and five assists in his first seven games. Chelsea fans were looking forward to another season where the Ivorian would run riot.
But alas, that isn't happening at the moment, and Drogba is in risk of losing his place and being part of a rumoured summer clearout instigated by Roman Abramovich. Ever since his bout of malaria in early November, Drogba hasn't looked the same player able to produce extraordinary skill, bar one screamer against Bolton.
The acquisition of Fernando Torres has put Drogba low in the pecking order. Initially, Ancelotti believed that Torres and Drogba would prove to create a lethal combo, but after so many tries and failed results, Ancelotti stuck to Torres and Anelka. Drogba has not had any contributions since his screamer against Bolton, and looks more and more likely to leave as the days go by. Rumored interest by old club Marseille and Galatasaray consolidates that further.
Sergio Ramos
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It's one of those cases when one game can kill a player's momentum completely. It was turning out to be a great year for Ramos, but that 5-0 drubbing in the hands of Barcelona derailed his season completely. And after three months of poor form, he seems to be getting into touch again.
During that Barca game on November 29, Ramos was red-carded for kicking Messi from behind and subsequently pushing Carles Puyol. That kicked all the form he was gathering before this match, as people were finally starting to believe he had gained some defensive temperation to conglomerate all that exuberant attacking play.
After that Barca game, he has looked uncomfortable and has been famed for giving away cheap fouls. His performance against Deportivo La Coruna was very terrible and had invited suggestions that Alvaro Arbeloa displace him.
However, in the last two weeks, he has looked more assured, especially in the game against Racing Santander. With Real Madrid possessing a minute chance of winning the La Liga, lets hope Ramos has combine his defensive and offensive duties to success.
Johan Elmander
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He had an indifferent first two seasons at the Reebok, mainly due to the way managers like Gary Megson used him. He was used as a big body that would get onto many of the crosses by the full back or the knock downs that Kevin Davies provided. But the truth is that Elmander is a vastly talented player, and it started to show once Owen Coyle took up the helm.
He started the season very brightly, scoring key away goals for Bolton to keep them in the top half of the Premier League table. He also opened his account at the Reebok with a brilliant brace against Newcastle, and this catapulted him to joint top scorer of the EPL.
Suddenly, his goalscoring form dipped and ever since December, he has scored only three goals. This is the kind of dip in form which is confusing to understand, as Elmander is one of those players who give it their all in every game. This goal drought resulted in Bolton forming the acquisition of Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge as a loan deal, and the striker has performed admirably.
Lets hope Elmander returns back to form and gives Bolton a boost for European football.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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Ironically, his patchy form started with his claims that 'he is the best player in the world'. Is it a case of same old-same old for Ibra? Last season at Barca, Ibrahimovich got off to a frenetic start, scoring four goals in his first four league matches and scoring the lone goal against Madrid. But as 2010 arised, Zlatan's form took a beating. His loan move to Milan was first considered to be risky and maybe even a bit irrational, but Zlatan had other things in mind.
He proved to be Milan's attacking fulcrum, catapulting Milan to the zenith of Serie A for a majority of the season. He showed the killer instinct and matchwinning capabilities he had for Inter Milan in a red and black shirt, and the Milan fans soon started to worship him. He not only proved to be an able goalscorer (with some legitimate screamers as well) but also teed up players around him.
When Milan acquired the services of Antonio Cassano, the fans were roaring for a mouthwatering duo of Cassano and Ibrahimovic, and coupled with the triumphant return of form of Alexandre Pato, it was widely regarded that Milan would run away with the title. That hasn't exactly happened, Inter are closing in and Ibrahimovich has not scored a league goal since 29th January.
He again flattered to deceive on the European stage, flopping poorly in both the legs against Tottenham. His bad run of form hit a peak when he was red carded against Bari, leading to a ban for three matches. Milan's title hopes depend on the Swede producing the same calibre of magic that he delivered in the first half of the season, so lets hope he hits top form when he's back from his ban.
Thank You for Reading
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Thank you for reading. If you have any other players in mind who have had a shocking loss of form, please feel free to comment.
My next article shall be titled 'Rise from the Ashes', which will consist of eight players who are in tremendous form after solid, if unspectacular starts to the season.
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