It’s been a difficult few months for Leroy Sane, the 2017/18 Young Player of the Premier League Season has found himself criticised by Pep Guardiola, left out of the World Cup squad by Joachim Lowe and now lambasted by Toni Kroos.
How has it come to this? Is it justified and what if anything should Sane say and do now in response.
Last season Sane was a largely electrifying presence amongst Guardiola’s Centurions. I say largely because at times he was also infuriating. He is blessed with so much pace, his feet are so quick but at times he didn’t always seem to be on the same page as the rest of his team.
Sometimes he checked his run, leaving De Bruyne to play a perfect ball into empty space. Sometimes he accelerated into other people’s space – ending up in some cul de sac. And each and every time this happened in the early part of last sesson he reacted in the same way. He’d throw his arms in the air. He’d stop and trudge back. Head down. He sometimes missed the fact we had won the ball back.
Anyone who sits within earshot of Pep Guardiola could hear him bellowing at Sane during these moments. Later in the season Sane’ s reaction to running into a brick wall or a pass not coming off seemed to change. He no longer threw his arms around but he still dropped his head.
This season Sane simply hasn’t got going. In the matches he has played he has not seemed to be fully engaged and initially I thought he may be carrying an injury. He seemed a shadow of last season which was stupefying because to be frank he has had all summer off.
So Pep left the German out of the matchday squad against Newcastle and there was a nodded acceptance he was being taught a lesson. I’m unsure if that is the case or not. Certainly the manager has mentioned the player several times, but Pep’s comments have largely been motivational and along the lines of what an important contributor he is to the team.
Pep has not publicly criticised Sane but having watched the Amazon All or Nothing TV series I doubt he would be able to keep his mouth shut if he was unhappy with the youngster. Pep is likely to have those conversations in private.
Now Toni Kroos has taken the remarkable step of publicly criticising Sane in an interview. Kroos has said Sane’s body language is not great and sometimes looks as though he is not bothered if his team wins or loses.
"“Sometimes you have the feeling with Leroy’s body language that it’s all the same if we win or lose. He’s a player who has everything you need to be a world-class player but sometimes you have to tell him he has to perform better.” Commented the Real Madrid midfielder."
Make no mistake this is a deliberate and considered attack on Sane from a player considered World Class in the media.
My initial reaction was I hope Sane gives Tony Kroos a slap because publicly saying this seems like a betrayal of a team mate.
How can the two players ever have a civilised conversation again? What harm will the public vilification do to the harmony in the dressing room? I also went through the emotional reaction of thinking who does Kroos think he is? It’s not as though Kroos turned in great performances during the World Cup.
I then began to question whether Kroos was bullying Sane in the press. I mean if I had a young member of staff at work who needed to buck up their ideas I would not consider posting my views on the world media. I can’t see that working.
Once my emotional reaction had subsided I began to reflect on Sane. His body language is a problem at times. He waves his arms about when a team mate doesn’t find him with a pass. He stands with his hands on his hips when he should be recovering the ball. Pep isn’t happy either so on that basis the comments of Kroos may be reasonable. But he’s just a kid really.
With that in mind I think Sane needs shocking back to reality (good luck trying that tactic with a 22 year old, let alone a multi millionaire 22 year old). He has to perform for us at Man City because frankly he is a brilliant player who is mesmerising to watch in full flight.
So I’m left with just thinking why on earth has Kroos said this in the media and not privately in the dressing room? And I think the answer to this may be because he’s German.
I have a number of German friends and there is something matter of fact about the way they deliver bad news. They have no time to worry about that British pandering to emotions!
So Kroos may just be being German in his criticism and driven by a desire to help Sane improve. Of course if Kroos does it again then Sane should slap him.