Daily Schmankerl: Joachim Löw, Manuel Neuer, and Dzsenifer Marozsán honored; News on Everton’s James Rodriguez; Manchester United passed on Jordan Henderson because of his running style; and MORE!

Neuer, Marozsán, and Löw honored for work in the 2010s (DFB.de)

The International Federation of Football for History & Statistics (IFFHS) bestowed some prestigious honors on Joachim Löw (Best National Coach of the decade), Manuel Neuer (Best Men’s Goalkeeper of the decade), and Dzsenifer Marozsán (Best Women’s Playmaker of the decade):

The Germany national team has been awarded three major honours by the International Federation of Football for History & Statistics (IFFHS). Germany team coach Joachim Löw was voted Best National Coach of the decade alongside awards for Manuel Neuer and Dzsenifer Marozsán, who picked up Best Men’s Goalkeeper and Best Women’s Playmaker of the 2010s respectively.

Neuer’s Germany teammate Marc-André ter Stegen came in eighth position in the men’s goalkeeper rankings. Marozsán beat Brazil’s Marta and France’s Camille Abily to the top prize, while her teammate Lena Goeßling finished sixth in the women’s playmaker rankings.

World Cup-winning coach Löw won his category in 2014 and 2017 in the annual IFFHS elections. Five-time Goalkeeper of the Year Manuel Neuer, who also won the World Cup in 2014, was voted top by the IFFHS in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and most recently in 2020. Marozsán won the IFFHS annual ranking in 2016, 2018 and 2020, came in second in 2017 and 2019, and third in 2013.

Other men’s winners included Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who was voted World’s Best Playmaker ahead of Toni Kroos in fifth and Mesut Özil in eighth. Best Club Coach was awarded to Diego Simeone of Atlético Madrid, while Liverpool FC boss Jürgen Klopp came in third.

Somewhere Marcus Iredahl is pumping his fist and nodding in acknowledgement. Hell, he might have even popped some champagne.

Rae prepares for Bayern vs. Freiburg (@RaeComm)

Never let anyone tell you that play-by-play announcers just show up ready to yap. These people prepare relentlessly! Look at this:

We are lucky to have announcers like Derek Rae and Phil Bonney doing commentary for the Bundesliga.

Özil finally getting out of London (@FabrizioRomano)

Mesut Özil seems to finally be getting away from Arsenal:

Meyer to FC Köln? (Sport Bild)

After Crystal Palace and Max Meyer “mutually” decided to part ways, the immediate anticipation was that the midfielder would head back to Germany. Sport Bild thinks it has an idea of where Meyer could be headed:

The offensive midfielder (market value 3 million euros) is free of charge and could face a return to the Bundesliga. Possible destination: Cologne. Manager Horst Heldt (51) knows Meyer well. Cologne are in the middle of the relegation battle. Will Meyer be the key player for the turnaround?

Podolski to MLS (@cfbayern)

Rumors are swirling that Lukas Podolski could be headed to MLS:

(Starts thinking about penning a “Why the Philadelphia Union should sign Lukas Podolski” post)

United passed on Henderson because of the way he ran (Sky)

Scouting players is always a tough task. There are many variables than can affect the way a player is evaluated by scouts, but one of the base areas that scouts watch is movement. In particular, running style.

For Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, his specific gait gave Manchester United just enough hesitation to shy away from pulling the trigger on a move:

Sir Alex Ferguson says he wanted to buy Jordan Henderson while in charge at Old Trafford, but was advised against it by the club’s medical staff on the basis of the midfielder’s running style.

“We were ready to make a bid for Jordan Henderson at Sunderland. I spoke to Steve Bruce and he loved the guy,” Ferguson said on ‘A Team Talk With Legends’ panel in aid of Sports United Against Dementia and the League Managers Association’s charity In The Game. “And then our medical department said they were not happy with his running style — he could be the type to have injuries.

“I must say it was one of my bits of management to make sure the player is always available. If you sign a player and he is not available for you, it is a waste of time so that is the point I have to make about Jordan. We loved him as a player and he has proved that now, he has been fantastic and all the stories I am being told, it tells me I missed out on a really good person.”

James was a free transfer (Real Total)

In what has been speculated on for a while, but never officially confirmed, Real Madrid let James Rodriguez go to Everton for free:

Real Madrid actually let James Rodríguez go on a free transfer. What had been known for a long time was now confirmed by Everton FC itself.

“The main thing is away.” That was Real Madrid’s motto in summer 2020. Los Blancos gave up over 20 players in the previous transfer window, many on loan, but some were downright sold off, including James Rodríguez . Because what had been known for a long time has now also been confirmed by the sports director of Everton FC in Marcel Brands. “We have signed six new players. One came for free: James Rodríguez “ , the 58-year-old Dutchman told the Liverpool Echo , who also explained because of the corona pandemic that it was “ one of the most difficult and craziest transfer phases “.

Instead of taking in the previously rumored 25 million euros, Los Blancos could “only” remove the 29-year-old from the payroll.