There’s a certain maturity that one needs to succeed in a role your whole team depends on. There’s a certain amount of intelligence that one needs to be able to dictate the pace of the game. And there’s a certain amount of experience that one needs to be able to do what some of the best managers in the world expect of you.
A footballer who’s 22 and is yet to make his ‘mark’ on the international stage isn’t a footballer the world continues to track on a daily basis. In today’s impatient and restless world, your future in the sport is decided the moment you impress as a teenager. The promise, the potential and the performance of a young budding youth product can carry you across the world even years later.
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Yet when you play a role that demands you have the experience of a 30-year-old yet the youth and the exuberance of a 20-year-old, ‘exception’ is often the term used to describe you. And Germany and FC Schalke’s Leon Goretzka is an exception the world ought to pay more attention to.
Promise
Having risen through the ranks of VFL Bochum as a youngster, Goretzka secured a move to FC Schalke in 2013. A captain's stint with the Germany U17s soon followed and he eventually ended up with the senior team.
Outlined as the wildcard who'll shield Germany's FIFA World Cup defence, a lot was expected of young Leon in 2014. However, tragedy struck in the form of a muscle injury and he was sidelined for seven months in total - missing the tournament and a chunk of FC Schalke's domestic campaign.
Having since recovered and gotten past the disappointment of having to cement his reputation that summer, Goretzka is once again on the right track. At 6’ 2”, Goretzkais no football sled. He may have a slender frame but his desire to win makes him impossible to get around.
He's quick on his feet for someone who sits comfortably in the centre of the park; he's got an unorthodox tackling technique he often relies upon to win balls, and he has the stamina and the endurance to make the pace of the Premier League seem like a walk in the park.
In addition, he has the passing range that you wouldn't expect from someone as tender. With his agility and his passing, he often surprises defences with his quick one-twos and subtly-glazed through-balls. If you look closely, Leon will show you glimpses of a young Mesut Ozil; someone who holds on to the ball for those few extra milliseconds only because he can.
Potential
Some of the best midfielders in the game have grown into their roles. Especially the ones who play in front of the defence. Andrea Pirlo, Sergio Busquets, Luka Modric, Paul Scholes, Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard are all examples that shed light on that argument in recent years.
None of them barring the former two were entrusted with the mission to do what was expected of them even late into their careers; especially to operate in a position that could – in the most nonchalant of ways – make or break the team.
With their experience, with their intelligence and with their maturity, they excelled in a role that has since come to be described as a Regista. They aren't 'deep-lying playmakers’ or 'defensive midfielders' but those who have a knack for offence only to compliment their gut's desire to defend.
In time, Leon will be added to that list.
Germany hasn't been the team to employ a young midfielder capable of dictating play from the first third of the field. They're direct, they use width and intelligent timing of cuts to get the best result possible; and will only depend on the deep-lying midfielders to steal the ball back.
But with someone as constructive and forward-minded as Joachim Low, they have the chance to combine the best of two worlds and reap the benefits. Die Mannschaft are currently struggling trying to replace the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm: two players capable of dictating the game two-three steps ahead of the rest.
In Leon Goretzka – and Bayern Munich’s latest darling, Joshua Kimmich – they have the kind of talent to once again kick start their dominance in Europe. It's a lot of praise for someone who hasn't achieved much ever since finding the spotlight but should he continue his current path, he's destined for the very top.
Proof
Goretzka has long been linked with a move to many of Europe’s more successful clubs. With admirers in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and England - and especially the latter, - he's soon to leave FC Schalke.
‘Soon’ could very well be the upcoming 2017 summer transfer window. Why? Having yet to agree to a long-term contract extension with the Ruhr club, the youngster only has 17 months – as of February 2017 – left on his contract.
Premier League giants Arsenal and Liverpool, La Liga’s Real Madrid and Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain are all waiting to pounce on the 22-year-old once the window opens up. They wouldn’t be targeting him if he was someone they thought could be replaced with alternatives.
And all four of the aforementioned clubs are projects that seem to be in the making for a while now. Liverpool and Arsenal desperately need reinforcements in the centre of the park. With Goretzka’s passing, tackling and lung-bursting marathon performances, their job in the Premier League could get a lot easier.
Similarly, Real Madrid are testing the feelers of all of Europe’s top young midfielders hoping to find a breakthrough somewhere. Modric isn’t getting younger and Casemiro doesn’t come across as a midfielder who could master the art of passing; Goretzka could grow into that role and help them maintain the foothold they’ve since found.
Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, are resigned to losing Marco Verratti to a transfer and Thiago Motta to retirement. They need someone who’ll come in and help continue the excellent style that they’ve since become famous for.
Or lastly, Goretzka could do what a host of top young German talents seem to be doing – join Bayern Munich. He’ll hope he’s more successful than Sebastian Rode but should he be given the kind of platform Kimmich has received, there’s no turning back: for both the club and him.
