The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Cracked the Kodi: Gakpo has become the hottest player in Europe, and this is just the beginning - voila! sport

2022-10-20T10:18:26.526Z


Until recently, the talented Dutchman competed with Eran Zahavi, after an extraordinary start to the season, he is already crowned the new Thierry Henry


Crack the Kodi: Gakpo has become the hottest player in Europe, and this is just the beginning

He gave up the offers from England, flourishes under Van Nistelrooy and is destined for a key role in the World Cup.

Until recently, the talented Dutchman competed with Eran Zahavi, after an extraordinary start to the season in which he overtook even Arling Holland, he is already crowned the new Thierry Henry.

Tonight (20:00, Sport1) he is against Arsenal

Michael Yochin

10/20/2022

Thursday, October 20, 2022, 1:00 p.m

  • Share on Facebook

  • Share on WhatsApp

  • Share on Twitter

  • Share by email

  • Share in general

  • Comments

    Comments

Summary from the European League: PSV Eindhoven - Zurich 0:5 (Sport1)

Had everything gone according to plan, Cody Gakpo would not have had to wait until the end of October to play this season on English soil, and this is not only related to the fact that Eindhoven's visit to Arsenal in the Europa League was postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The 23-year-old star was simply expected to sign for the Premier League last summer, and the interest in him was significant as he shone throughout and was named player of the season in the Dutch league for 2021/22.



In the latest news, the leading candidate for his signature was Manchester United.

Erik ten Haah wanted to bring to Old Trafford mainly players he knows closely, and he has often felt Gakpo's skills first hand - enough to mention the cup final in April, when the dominant winger scored the winning goal against Ajax on the way to a 1:2 victory, and also the Supercup A year ago, when Gakpo contributed a cook and a great performance on the left wing and helped Eindhoven dismantle the champion 0:4.



The new coach of the Red Devils was very happy to work with him, but priority was still given to Anthony, whom he had already nurtured in Amsterdam.

Therefore, when this pursuit ended with great success and Ajax received almost 100 million euros, the Gacpo option was dropped from the episode, and he remained in the Netherlands for the time being.

The other top teams glared at him and decided to wait.

Among them was Arsenal, and as of now it feels like a wise decision, with Gabriel Martinelli starting the season by storm on the left wing, and Bokayo Saka continuing his meteoric rise on the right.



For Gakpo, the Gunners were a very intriguing target, because he had always admired Thierry Henry.

The Frenchman, who arrived in London at the request of Arsene Wenger 3 months after Cody was born, is exactly the right player to be a role model for him - a tall and powerful winger who combines virtuoso technical ability with speed, breakthrough ability and pure physical strength.

In the Gunners uniform, Henry played mainly as a striker, but Gakpo mainly observed his qualities as a left winger.

Another interesting connection he found at Arsenal as a child is with Emmanuel Adebayor.

Gakpo's father immigrated to the Netherlands from Togo, where he even represented the country in the youth teams, so the performances of the greatest Togolese star of all time attracted the family's attention.

United and Arsenal weren't wrong, neither was he.

Gakpo (Photo: GettyImages, Photo Prestige/Soccrates)

However, make no mistake - Gakpo never liked Arsenal.

He also disliked Barcelona, ​​even though Ronaldinho posters adorned the walls of his new bedroom.

The only club that is truly true to his heart is Eindhoven.

As a native of the city and a trainee at PSV's academy from the age of 8, he is the most local player imaginable.

He knows every corner of the stadium as a spectator, enjoys following idols like Ibrahim Aflaai and Jefferson Farfan, and dreams of following in their footsteps when the time comes.

This dream came true - and how!

If last season he finished as the club's top scorer in all formats with only a small advantage over Eran Zahavi, this season he has already jumped a step further.

When he starts his fifth season in the seniors, he is already bigger than Aplay and Farfan combined.

Gakpo is the ultimate lift.



That's why he wasn't particularly disappointed that the move to England didn't happen in the meantime.

After the failure of the meetings with Manchester United, he had the possibility to advance negotiations with Leeds and Southampton, but he was not enthusiastic about it.

"I stayed in my team, I stayed at home," he declared - and was even very happy to work with the Eindhoven hero who actually previously made the successful move to Old Trafford.

The appointment of Rod van Nistelrooy as coach in place of the German Roger Schmidt who left for Benfica was very exciting for the local fans - and Gakpo is certainly one of them.

Soon, it became clear that working with the new boss elevated him even more, and this season Gakpo is ranked at the top of Europe in terms of involvement in goals.



It started again in the victory over Ajax in the Supercup, where Gakpo twice scored for Hus Til and then scored himself.

Eindhoven celebrated with 3:5, and Van Nistelrooy's term started off on the right foot.

The first big stumbling block was the elimination in the Champions League qualifiers at the hands of Rangers, coached by his good friend Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and then there were also two losses in the Dutch league, but in general the experience of the legendary striker on the bench is currently defined as relatively successful.

Gakpo plays a huge part in this.

With 13 goals and 11 assists in 18 games in all competitions, he looks unstoppable at times, and the fans eagerly soak up every moment of him on the pitch in his favorite shirt.

They know it won't last much longer.

good to know (in advance)

The secret to improving your sex life - now in a special sale

Served on behalf of "Gabra"

Everyone benefits.

Gakpo with Van Nistelrooy (Photo: GettyImages, Photo Prestige/Soccrate)

Gakpo really has abilities that are somewhat reminiscent of Henry.

With his long strides, he is able to outrun any defender in his path, and really enjoys cutting into the center to take advantage of his strong right foot.

He is a gifted dribbler, but really unselfish, endowed with very good game vision and passing ability, and is easily able to function in a much more central position as well.

Louis van Gaal recognized this as the coach of the Netherlands, and recently deployed him as a kind of playmaker in the match against Poland in the Nations League.

The result was positive, including a goal from Gakpo himself, and the veteran national coach declared: "Cody has everything to become a number 10 at the highest level."



Who knows, maybe this is the role reserved for him in the World Cup in a month.

Gakpo is considered one of the most important players in the squad, and may start in the lineup, even if it is not yet clear in which position.

Van Gaal even advised him to avoid too rash a move in the summer to avoid shocks and the need to acclimate to a new environment specifically for the World Cup.

"I took his advice and agreed with it," testifies the young star - and this increases the chance that he may pack his bags and join a big team already in January, especially if he also impresses in Qatar.

If the right financial offer comes, Eindhoven will not stand in its way, not in the upcoming transfer window, and not in the summer.

In any case, he may be one of the most intriguing deals in the world in 2023.

A meteoric jump compared to last season.

Gakpo next to Eran Zahavi (Photo: GettyImages, Photo Prestige/Soccrate)

In the meantime, he wants to continue in style the final weeks of 2022 in a Eindhoven shirt, and the postponed visit to the Gunners gives him a good platform.

Both teams have excellent chances to advance to the next stage of the Europa League, but first place is important - and Eindhoven aims to finish at the top.

In a week, the "reciprocal" will also take place in the Netherlands, and the issue may be decided in both meetings.

No one will be surprised if Gakpo keeps them at the rate of involvement of more than a goal per game on average.

Thierry Henry will follow up on the matter.

  • sport

  • world football

Tags

  • PSV Eindhoven

  • Manchester United

Source: walla

All sports articles on 2022-10-20

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.