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One To Watch: Riza Durmisi

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Kay Age El

Kay Age El

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According to several ITK sources Klopp and the clubs scouts are searching the market for a new LB, which makes total sense of course.

And it seems it very well could turn out to be this young lad, Riza Durmisi, 23, Real Betis. It's not the first time I have mentioned him on this board (obviously) but I don't think there's an updated report on him so here goes.

Jan Mølby among others has recently commented that he is one we are indeed looking at and while he at first was a bit surprised to learn that his compatriot Durmisi was on the list he has now changed his outlook a bit:

- Watching Betis' immensely high pressure game against Barcelona reminded me of how Liverpool play. Honestly at first I was a bit surprised to learn that it was him (Durmisi) Liverpool were interested in, but I can see now that it might make sense.

- Look at how Klopp plays football and you'll know why I think he can be an attractive player. He has done well for Betis. They mention him as one of the buys of the Summer (£2M from Brøndby) and are happy with him. I can't say whether he is ready for Liverpool and the Premier League but there is no doubt that he will someday find a bigger club.

Durmisi PROs and CONs

PROS: Explosive, Fast, Skilled, Great technique, Attacking-minded, Direct, Focused, Strong in duels both ways, a Balanced lad and a very apt Set-Piece taker.

CONS: Lack of height and upper body strength might make him struggle in England at the start at least.

I have always been a fan, ever since watching him at U17 level for Denmark, as I am a great sucker for pacy, attacking-minded FB's with a bag full of tricks to boot. The fact he's a lefty has made him even more rare. He could have a great career ahead of him.

Not too easy to find compilations of a young full back, but this at least give you an indication of his attributes:

 
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StevieM said:
I really, sincerely, hope we sign a Dane soon, Kristian, you deserve it for your efforts analysing and keeping us up to date with every Dane to kick a ball since time began.

[emoji12]
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It's well overdue isn't it? It's exhausting.

In all honesty we do have a long and rather decent tradition with Scandinavian players and I think we are at the moment quietly suffering as we don't have any vikings around. We've gone soft-like.

Disclaimer: PoulsenPiechnikKvarmeLeonhardsenSteensgaardKippeBjornebye (and prob more) are not part of the 'decent tradition' I am so boldly referring to.
 
Kay Age El said:
It's well overdue isn't it? It's exhausting.

In all honesty we do have a long and rather decent tradition with Scandinavian players and I think we are at the moment quietly suffering as we don't have any vikings around. We've gone soft-like.

Disclaimer: PoulsenPiechnikKvarmeLeonhardsenSteensgaardKippeBjornebye (and prob more) are not part of the 'decent tradition' I am so boldly referring to.
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So apart from Molby and Hyppia who's in your thinking Kris ?
 
Lippy said:
So apart from Molby and Hyppia who's in your thinking Kris ?
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Litmanen, Heggem (really liked him though he was too injured), Hysén (I know some don't like him but I remember him fondly) and I also kinda liked Agger to be honest. And John Arne Riise.

So two legends a few great ones and some good ones to boot.

I guess if you look at the total amount of players we've had from the Nordics that's a pretty good return overall?
 
I never knew you were a fan of Daniel Agger, Kristian.

Tell me. Did you ever rate that chap Eriksen that went to Spurs?

[emoji23][emoji23]
 
I like a lot of KHL's favourites: Riise, Agger, Hysen, (for a season anyway), Molby

Litmanen was finished, Heggem never started, and we all know how Poulsen turned out.

It's not a bad return. Although I can never quite get over his perpetual Bendtner fascination.
 
manwithnoname said:
I like a lot of KHL's favourites: Riise, Agger, Hysen, (for a season anyway), Molby

Litmanen was finished, Heggem never started, and we all know how Poulsen turned out.

It's not a bad return. Although I can never quite get over his perpetual Bendtner fascination.
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It haunts me every day, litter my dreams with terror.. make me curse the footballing gods for their mischievousness. How could I be so fooled?

But there's still hope, maybe he's just an extremely late bloomer? Peaking for Burton in his late 40s.
 
I loved Heggem, I've always been gutted he never got the chance to fully develop. He was really starting to shine just as we were in danger of losing McManaman and I always wondered how he would have done on the wing.
 
Kay Age El said:
According to several ITK sources Klopp and the clubs scouts are searching the market for a new LB, which makes total sense of course.

And it seems it very well could turn out to be this young lad, Riza Durmisi, 23, Real Betis. It's not the first time I have mentioned him on this board (obviously) but I don't think there's an updated report on him so here goes.

Jan Mølby among others has recently commented that he is one we are indeed looking at and while he at first was a bit surprised to learn that his compatriot Durmisi was on the list he has now changed his outlook a bit:

- Watching Betis' immensely high pressure game against Barcelona reminded me of how Liverpool play. Honestly at first I was a bit surprised to learn that it was him (Durmisi) Liverpool were interested in, but I can see now that it might make sense.

- Look at how Klopp plays football and you'll know why I think he can be an attractive player. He has done well for Betis. They mention him as one of the buys of the Summer (£2M from Brøndby) and are happy with him. I can't say whether he is ready for Liverpool and the Premier League but there is no doubt that he will someday find a bigger club.

Durmisi PROs and CONs

PROS: Explosive, Fast, Skilled, Great technique, Attacking-minded, Direct, Focused, Strong in duels both ways, a Balanced lad and a very apt Set-Piece taker.

CONS: Lack of height and upper body strength might make him struggle in England at the start at least.

I have always been a fan, ever since watching him at U17 level for Denmark, as I am a great sucker for pacy, attacking-minded FB's with a bag full of tricks to boot. The fact he's a lefty has made him even more rare. He could have a great career ahead of him.

Not too easy to find compilations of a young full back, but this at least give you an indication of his attributes:

Click to expand...


You missed out one crucial attribute of a LB. Defending. Can he defend ??
 
[article]
Here are five things you need to know about the defender.

He is living his dream

Born in a suburb of Copenhagen, Durmisi is a third generation Dane of Macedonian descent from both sides.

"Football has always allowed me to forget all the problems," he told El Decano. "To be a footballer is a dream come true."

Religion is also important to Durmisi and he is a practicing Muslim. "I pray every Friday and I study Islam a lot," he said. "I don't do Ramadan when I train, only on my days off."

A youth product of Brondby, Durmisi made his senior debut in August 2012 and signed a three-year deal with the Danish outfit a year later when he was promoted to the first-team. After two strong seasons at Brondby, he signed a new contract but, after scoring seven goals in 107 appearances for the club, opted to start the next chapter of his career in Spain.

He made the step up to La Liga

Betis paid Durmisi's €2m release clause in May 2016 and the player signed a five-year contract. "I was a cheap signing, they were lucky," Durmisi jokingly recalled.

A move to La Liga came at the right time for the defender and he said at the time: "It's a great step in my career. I need to grow and that is why I came here. It's the right move for me. I'm a young player and I'm hungry. I want to prove that I can play in this team because I know the step from Denmark to Spain is huge."

Durmisi immediately earned a regular place in Betis' starting XI but a knee problem forced him to sit out seven league games. "I think people are going to be surprised when I'm at 100 percent because I know I can do better," he said.

He is a regular for Denmark

Having played at every youth level since the Under-16 squad for Denmark, Durmisi told then Denmark coach Morten Olsen that he would play for FYR Macedonia if he were not selected to the senior team.

"I felt I was ready," Durmisi said. "The national team wasn't playing well and I felt I could help. "Morten said I was mad and I agreed. But since I made my debut, I've played since."

Durmisi made his senior bow after coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 friendly win over Montenegro on June 8, 2015. He played the final seven games of Olsen's spell as Denmark coach and has been a regular under Olsen's successor, Age Hareide.

He is a defender that wants to attack

Durmisi has a natural inclination to attack and is given freedom to push forward down the flank. His pace often allows him to recover quickly in defence, despite his often advanced starting position, and his pass completion rate for the current La Liga season stands at 76 percent.

He is not a big player, at only 5-foot-6, but is tenacious and aggressive enough to impose himself against larger opponents players. However, he is often at a disadvantage with his aerial challenges and also struggles with man marking: Of the 21 challenges he has made in 12 La Liga games this season, 12 have proved successful.

"When I was young, I played as a striker and I scored lots of goals," he said. "Perhaps that is why I'm not as good at the defensive end. But I like to go forward."

He's a fan of Real Madrid and Marcelo

A Real Madrid fan growing up, Durmisi was a fan of former Real midfielder and current coach Zinedine Zidane. He has been likened to Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba in style but admits to being a big admirer of Real's Brazilian left-back Marcelo.

Liverpool fans may not want to hear it, but he has also expressed his desire to play at the Bernabeu one day.

"To play for Real Madrid is a dream of mine," Durmisi said. "Everyone wants to go there. Who knows, maybe one day I will get the chance to go there. When I was young, I loved to watch Zidane play because he was excellent. Everyone used to tell me that I play like [Barcelona's] Jordi Alba but I like Marcelo. I like the way he plays."
[/article]

http://www.espnfcasia.com/blog/tran...urmisi-aspires-to-follow-real-madrids-marcelo
 
Ha ha relax it's not like he can't defend, and as I said he's pretty good at closing down forwards due to his pace.

He is no Clyne though defensively but way better going forward, so what do we want?
 
Someone who is like Moreno








...but with a brain, a right foot and the ability to tackle
 
That's quite an unflattering highlight if I ever saw one. Limited right foot, easily tamed in a Danish league match... Can only hope he's more of a Riise (before he got worse) than Moreno.
 
My_Blood_Bleeds_Red said:
Jordi Alba can defend.

Moreno can't.

Riza sounds like he has all the makings to be Moreno mk2.
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..yet people compare Durmisi to Alba?

Anyways it's hard to tell. Personally I believe he's got a far greater sense of the game and a more developed footballing intelligence than good 'ol Moreno.
 
reuque said:
That's quite an unflattering highlight if I ever saw one. Limited right foot, easily tamed in a Danish league match... Can only hope he's more of a Riise (before he got worse) than Moreno.
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Indeed. Some of the clips are like 4-5-years old but I just couldn't find anything from his time in Betis.

Anyways I've seen him loads and though there's room for progress I believe he's a type of full back we haven't had in a while. His small stature and explosiveness combined with a nicely developed set of skills and technique makes him very hard to defend against. Doesn't mean he is bombing forward like a headless chicken, it just gives him that cutting edge I really believe our team lack especially when we are in our 3-5-2 formation with flying wing backs.

My first choice for a new LB would probably be Bertrand but I can understand the Durmisi connection and he could defo get a lot of fans here due to his persona, work-rate and his attacking contribution.
 
LeTallecWiz said:
Alba is not a great defender.
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Okay? Honestly I've mainly seen him in the top games for Barca and when playing for Spain but how is he not great? In tackle or in the position he is asked to play for the team? He wouldn't get into our team you think?

I have to say all this talk about great defensive FB's is a bit weird. If you play a more solid/defensive 4-4-2 you'd defo want types like Ivanovic or Clyne or even Milner who has done tremendously well - defensively.

But the game is different now and ours surely is with Klopp in charge. Especially when we play his preferred 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation where the defensive part of the FB's repertoire is of less importance whereas the attacking is more so.

We are desperately lacking attacking width and flair - even Chelsea get more flair from the back with Moses - you don't think he's a great defender do you?

Attacking FB's wins you game and even more so when utilized correct in a team facing defensive minded opposition. A countless number of times this season has either Rose or Walker bailed Spurs due to their aggressive runs, Moses and Alonso has done it for Chelsea etc.

Clyne and Milner, for all their good defending are NOT good enough going forward imo. They lack some of that flair we need to get the right balance. I am not saying we need both of our FB's to be as attacking minded as say Rose and Walker, but we need at least one of them to be. Clyne + New LB would probably be my preferred balance.

And when we look for a new LB to suit that role, then 'great defender' is not top of the list. Moreno is an example of one that is simply too poor defensively to build upon. Alba obviously wouldn't be...
 
Alba is great going forward but I think were he tested more - he'd be found out, and let's be honest, barca and spain both control the football so much in general, that he's unlikely to be focused on as much.
Is he a good player? sure. Would I want him on my team? Sure. Is he a great defender? Nope.
 
LeTallecWiz said:
Alba is great going forward but I think were he tested more - he'd be found out, and let's be honest, barca and spain both control the football so much in general, that he's unlikely to be focused on as much.
Is he a good player? sure. Would I want him on my team? Sure. Is he a great defender? Nope.
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He'd be found out. You think.

Maybe, maybe not. Fact is he is playing for arguably two of the best teams in the world why all this talk about whether he's a good defender seems a bit daft. Maybe you have to reconsider what it means to be a good defender when you are a FB?

We can all agree that Clyne looks very solid defending, he also works hard, makes a lot of runs etc. Would he play for Barca you think?
 
Kay Age El said:
If you say so.

Guess he'd be the only one of current crop to walk into that team then.
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You really think Sergei Roberto is better than Clyne?
No, Coutinho is better than that guy they shelled 50 million on from Valencia.

Bar Pique, their CBs aren't great - but need to see more of Matip to know if could go into their starting 11.
 
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