He’s right, you know.
We’ve all been saying it for years now, but it looks like we’re
finally getting the footballing legends on our side. Brazilian
defender Cafu spoke to the Daily Mail this weekend and
correctly identified Trent Alexander-Arnold as one of the best
players in the world and demanded (kind of, but we’re just
going to go with it) that the right-back receive the Ballon d’Or
he’s been denied until now.
“He’s not afraid to attack, defends well, good passer, hits a
great free-kick. He will be a star at the next World Cup,” Cafu said. “He can take the position of
right-back to another level.”
Alexander-Arnold has shown his mettle in the last few seasons,
especially moving forward and in the counter attack. And while he
hasn’t been at his best defensively this season, who are we to
argue with Cafu when he’s demanding Trent get a few more
trophies?
“I think we’ve started changing the narrative, the way people
view full-backs,” Cafu added. “It’s not just the goalscorer who
should be the best player in the world. It is totally wrong that
some great players never won the Ballon d’Or because of their
position.
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“Nowadays, full-backs should be seen as the main protagonists in
the game. Right-backs now should be the highest-paid players in
every team.”
“Strikers just have to score. Midfielders, they pass.
Goalkeepers make saves. Full-backs have to mark, cover centre-backs
and midfield, get forward and cross, take shots and provide the
link to strikers.”
Alexander-Arnold is definitely fantastic at doing most of the
things on that list. Given he’s only 22 and still improving with
every game, it’s more than likely that he’ll figure out the rest of
it sooner rather than later.