Montpellier is the fastest growing city in France, it is a city of
culture, proud academia and a rich history, however in sports, the most
exciting time is now. As you will know from my first entry, Montepellier’s main
sports team – MHSC are STILL top of the French Ligue 1 (with only two games to
go!)
If you recall, I identified two key players whom I believed embodied the
success of MHSC, these being Olivier Giroud and Younès Belhanda. Olivier still tops the Ligue 1 goal
scoring charts, and I have to say, I do not think there are many more strikers
I like to scout over at this time. He is a graceful player and a poacher, much
like a certain someone I shall be mentioning further in this entry..
21 goals in 36 matches
is a more than reasonable return, and this is why he is highly sought after
across Europe. Clubs such as Liverpool FC, Newcastle United and Arsenal FC have
all been linked with the striker, however one club in particular seem to have
made a galloping start in order to sign this talented player, who may be close
to his prime years. The club seemed to be making this headway are the
Bundesliga runners-up and Champions League finalists this year… Bayern Munich.
Most rumours you hear on the internet these days.. as a sports fan, you look at with a certain amount of disbelief, unless a credible source has been used. Apparent quotes were printed by Sportbild of Germany, directly from the man Giroud himself on such a move
"Personally I had no direct talks with Bayern Munich, but my agent. Yes. Bayern Munich, due to the positive experiences of other French players in Munich, is in my focus a lot more than other clubs. All Players have always said how friendly they have been welcomed, how happy they were there and how they got treated there" - Giroud
People who are knowledgeable about European football may think .. "hang on a minute, Bayern Munich already have a poacher" .. and yes they do! Mario Gomez.. the German international (with a Spanish mother if any of you were wondering about such a name like Mario Gómez García). For those of you who are not familiar, I can assure you, he's German.. having notched up 21 goals in 51 games for his national side. His goalscoring record this season has made the likes of Giroud look average, as the German international has racked up 26 league goals this season and an even more alarming statistic is that he has hit 40 goals in 42 appearances overall.
Gomez and Giroud are both similar types of players (as you may see when watching the videos above of each player), it shall be intriguing to see (even if this deal does go through..), whether or not they can play together. They are both aged 26, so it is not as if Giroud is a young talent waiting to replace him, so I wonder if Jupp Heynckes will be able to fit them into a system. I am no tactical expert, my footballing knowledge comes more from a scout's perspective.. but here is a line up I would certainly be envious of.
Giroud himself has discussed the idea of playing with Gomez, this is what he had to say
" We both have about the same size and a similar profile, even if there are differences. Mario Gomez is very clever in front of goal, very strong in the box. But I can also score from outside the penalty area, Gomez is stronger inside it. I am a type that, apart from that, takes more part in build up play than Mario Gomez"
I do hope now, that this deal does go ahead.. even if it costs the Bavarians a lot of money, not only because I believe it will strengthen their team even more, but it will also save my face and give reason to my decision to create a blog entry on the possible transfer. Thank-you and good night!
