FC Valencia and Shkodran Mustafi will face AS Monaco tonight in the first leg of their Champions League playoff (20:45 CEST, live on Sky). The deciding leg will take place next Tuesday in Monaco, where the world champion and his team will be hoping to overcome the principality, and book their place in the Champions League group stages.
Some would say, that Shkodran Mustafi is due a bit of bad luck. This would not, after all, be an unfamiliar experience for the defender. His career has seen many twists and turns, as his talent and potential have not been immediately recognized everywhere he has been. The fact that he is now a world champion will always surprise some of his former colleagues. Mustafi puts it even more bluntly: "I was often written off as a player."
This has changed quite dramatically. He is no longer written off, in fact, he is written to. The senders of the letters are becoming ever more prestigious. Most recently, Barcelona and Real Madrid are said to have made approaches; not bad for a young man from Bebra, who was chasing a ball around in the Italian second division just two and a half years ago. The aforementioned misfortune is explained by the rest of Mustafi’s statement. According to reports on the 23-year-old, whenever he is asked about having been written off, he replies with the same statement: "and then I made the next move."
Already a leader at Valencia
If there was a connection between incorrectly judging players and actual sporting development, then Mustafi would be forced to stagnate. He is not particular concerned. Maybe this is because there’s nowhere really for him to go. Mustafi is world champion, Mustafi plays in the Spanish first division, Mustafi has arrived in the big time.
The musical accompaniment to his life is now the Champions League theme tune. Last season, if you ignore Real and Barca, Valencia came second in the league behind Atletico Madrid. Mustafi played a big role in this success. Since his first game back after injuring himself in the World Cup quarterfinal against Algeria, he has become indispensable for the Spanish outfit. He didn’t play often, he played every time. Furthermore, he was almost always on the pitch from the first to the last second.
Changing leagues and countries, England, Italy and Spain.
Mustafi and Valencia, it was a good match from the very beginning – even off the pitch. He likes the city, the country, the sea and the mentality of the people. The German acclimatised quickly to Spain, he didn’t need long to settle in. This is hardly surprising considering the ease with which he is able to change leagues and countries. He moved out into the wider footballing world from a very young age, transferring to Everton from Hamburg in 2009 as a fresh faced 17-year-old. He moved again in 2012 when he was 20 to Italian club Samdoria Genoa.
He has been playing in Spain for twelve months now. Amongst other things, he has achieved his aim of becoming a better footballer. When asked what he has learned in the Primera Division, he has his answers prepared: quick play and short passing. He says, "the style of play in Spain is so quick that you often have to be thinking three passes ahead. If you pass to someone, where could the ball end up next. Otherwise you won’t be in the game. This experience is helping me improve and develop as a player, as I never encountered this style in Italy.
Beat AS Monaco and reach the Champions League
His first season after leaving Italy was a huge success. He and his team will want to cap off a formidable pre-season with a victory in the Champions League playoff. The Spaniards will start at home against a well equipped AS Monaco side – there have certainly been easier games.
Valencia however, have also been busy reinforcing during the summer. Mustafi welcomed some new team mates, as Valencia have invested, buying half of Lisbon in the process. The expensive trio made up of right back Joao Cancelo, play-maker André Gomes and winger Rodrigo have been purchased from Benfica. Alvaro Negredo has returned to Spain from Manchester City too, taking investor Peter Lim’s total spending for the summer above 100 million euros.
For Mustafi, this is another reason to stay at Valencia. Both he and his club are always improving. Without categorically ruling out a transfer, he has stated that one does not need to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona in order to win national or international titles. He is realistic though, and says that "anyone who watches the Spanish league will know how difficult it is with Real and Barca breaking records every year. We have to keep developing and improving our young squad. When it all comes together, we are a very strong team."
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FC Valencia and Shkodran Mustafi will face AS Monaco tonight in the first leg of their Champions League playoff (20:45 CEST, live on Sky). The deciding leg will take place next Tuesday in Monaco, where the world champion and his team will be hoping to overcome the principality, and book their place in the Champions League group stages.
Some would say, that Shkodran Mustafi is due a bit of bad luck. This would not, after all, be an unfamiliar experience for the defender. His career has seen many twists and turns, as his talent and potential have not been immediately recognized everywhere he has been. The fact that he is now a world champion will always surprise some of his former colleagues. Mustafi puts it even more bluntly: "I was often written off as a player."
This has changed quite dramatically. He is no longer written off, in fact, he is written to. The senders of the letters are becoming ever more prestigious. Most recently, Barcelona and Real Madrid are said to have made approaches; not bad for a young man from Bebra, who was chasing a ball around in the Italian second division just two and a half years ago. The aforementioned misfortune is explained by the rest of Mustafi’s statement. According to reports on the 23-year-old, whenever he is asked about having been written off, he replies with the same statement: "and then I made the next move."
Already a leader at Valencia
If there was a connection between incorrectly judging players and actual sporting development, then Mustafi would be forced to stagnate. He is not particular concerned. Maybe this is because there’s nowhere really for him to go. Mustafi is world champion, Mustafi plays in the Spanish first division, Mustafi has arrived in the big time.
The musical accompaniment to his life is now the Champions League theme tune. Last season, if you ignore Real and Barca, Valencia came second in the league behind Atletico Madrid. Mustafi played a big role in this success. Since his first game back after injuring himself in the World Cup quarterfinal against Algeria, he has become indispensable for the Spanish outfit. He didn’t play often, he played every time. Furthermore, he was almost always on the pitch from the first to the last second.
Changing leagues and countries, England, Italy and Spain.
Mustafi and Valencia, it was a good match from the very beginning – even off the pitch. He likes the city, the country, the sea and the mentality of the people. The German acclimatised quickly to Spain, he didn’t need long to settle in. This is hardly surprising considering the ease with which he is able to change leagues and countries. He moved out into the wider footballing world from a very young age, transferring to Everton from Hamburg in 2009 as a fresh faced 17-year-old. He moved again in 2012 when he was 20 to Italian club Samdoria Genoa.
He has been playing in Spain for twelve months now. Amongst other things, he has achieved his aim of becoming a better footballer. When asked what he has learned in the Primera Division, he has his answers prepared: quick play and short passing. He says, "the style of play in Spain is so quick that you often have to be thinking three passes ahead. If you pass to someone, where could the ball end up next. Otherwise you won’t be in the game. This experience is helping me improve and develop as a player, as I never encountered this style in Italy.
Beat AS Monaco and reach the Champions League
His first season after leaving Italy was a huge success. He and his team will want to cap off a formidable pre-season with a victory in the Champions League playoff. The Spaniards will start at home against a well equipped AS Monaco side – there have certainly been easier games.
Valencia however, have also been busy reinforcing during the summer. Mustafi welcomed some new team mates, as Valencia have invested, buying half of Lisbon in the process. The expensive trio made up of right back Joao Cancelo, play-maker André Gomes and winger Rodrigo have been purchased from Benfica. Alvaro Negredo has returned to Spain from Manchester City too, taking investor Peter Lim’s total spending for the summer above 100 million euros.
For Mustafi, this is another reason to stay at Valencia. Both he and his club are always improving. Without categorically ruling out a transfer, he has stated that one does not need to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona in order to win national or international titles. He is realistic though, and says that "anyone who watches the Spanish league will know how difficult it is with Real and Barca breaking records every year. We have to keep developing and improving our young squad. When it all comes together, we are a very strong team."
