Bayern Munich are known for their brilliant youth system, superb first team and having one of the best boardrooms in the world. The financial situation at Bayern just keeps on improving, and their aim for Germans to come through their system or be bought at a young age and prove themselves have shown to be worthy. Mario Gomez, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Phillip Lahm, Manuel Neuer are all examples of this.
Fast-forward a few years and prospects such as Pierre-Emile Hojberg, Gianluca Gaudino, Mitchell Weiser and Sinan Kurt are pushing the Bayern starters to their limit to get chances into the first team. Emre Can was one of these players, but he made it to the Bayer Leverkusen first team at the age of 20.
Can was born in Frankfurt, and was part of several youth teams before joining Eintracht Frankfurt. He was then signed on a free by Bayern Munich after three years and was added into a system that would be a fortress for the coming years. After a few years playing in the II team, Can decided it was enough and like Hojberg, Toni Kroos, Lahm and David Alaba – he was sent out for a year to another Bundesliga team. Except this wasn’t a loan, it was a transfer that had a buy back clause inserted in it. Bayern were disappointed as Liverpool met and activated Can’s release clause to welcome him for the 2014-15 season.
Can defines versatility. His height (6ft 6), technical ability, physicality, and footballing vision gives him the capabilities to meet up with the demands of constant 90-minute games. At Bayer Leverkusen, he was predominantly used as a defensive midfielder but with the license to take the ball within his grasp and explore the depths of the pitch. His brilliant one-man counter-attacking goal against Augsburg last year was a shining example of his technical ability, and his sense of instinct.
This year has seen him play as an anchor in defensive midfield, whether it was alone in a 4-1-2-1-2 or along with Lucas in a 4-2-3-1. A reversion to a 3-4-3 from Brendan Rodgers has seen Liverpool utilise Can and Sakho as the exterior centre backs, using their mesmeric technical ability to play vertical passes into the double pivot, or to the interior attacking midfielders in Philippe Coutinho, and Adam Lallana or Raheem Sterling.
Like everyone else, Can has his weaknesses. There are times when he gets caught in the action and has an extremely ruthless reaction, getting annoyed by strikers who constantly argue and are tasked to harass the opposing defenders on the ball. Can is composed, but there are the odd moments where he ceases control of the defence and is led to a couple of mistimed passes or tackles – a trait that can be improved upon as he is only 21.
Can is the current model of young box-to-box midfielders, and if his positioning can be modified then he can become a player similar to Paul Pogba. A tenacious, ruthless ball-winner who has excellent ability on the ball, and an outstanding mentality to bounce back and read the game – this is what Can can do.
With the right coaching – which is a big test for Rodgers – the lad can become one of the best midfielders in the world. Brendan Rodgers admitted this in his post-match press conference after Wednesday’s win over Bolton.
After another impressive performance, and a sublime assist, Rodgers said: “He’s a kid that’s going to go on and be a big player for this team, but also for Germany as well. You see his stature in the game, he can defend, he can pass, he’s quick, he’s powerful…”
Versatility and universality are great traits to have in the modern game, almost perfect traits. Emre can be likened to a ‘Jack of all trades’, master of none. It is rare to find a weakness in him that cannot be altered in the future.
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