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This is what happens when people experience their football through memes. Its beyond boring and unfortunately infects everywhere there is football discussion online, hence us retreating to tfc
Telegraph today
The Marseille player thrives on chaos and Spurs will have to keep cool in their tense Champions League opener stuffed with old foes. Every good European contest needs a pantomime villain and Matteo Guendouzi, the former bad-boy of Woolwich, is without doubt the most qualified candidate for the role as he makes his return to north London this week.
Now a Marseille player and full France international, Guendouzi will be in the heart of the midfield battle — and, one suspects, any other battle that might take place — when he lines up against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.
There are few players in European football more capable of irritating their opponents and annoying an opposition crowd. Guendouzi is not yet a world-class midfielder but he is without doubt a world-class wind-up merchant, and there is no question whether the 23-year-old will embrace the challenge of getting under the skin of Antonio Conte’s players.
Fiercely passionate, remarkably self-assured and relentlessly combative: Guendouzi continues to draw attention in France, just as he did in England before he was exiled by Mikel Arteta at Woolwich. His days at the Emirates Stadium feel like a long time ago now but he will remember the rivalry with Spurs — and the Spurs players will not have forgotten him, either.
It was against Spurs, in September 2019, that Guendouzi produced arguably his finest appearance in an Woolwich shirt. The Frenchman, just 20 at the time, led the way for Unai Emery’s side as they fought back from 2-0 down to claim a draw. Guendouzi was everywhere that day, consistently winning the ball in midfield and creating chances in attack.
Such was Guendouzi’s importance at Woolwich at the time, Emery even described him as a “good example” for the other young players to follow. Arteta, who took over from Emery a few months later, evidently did not agree: they clashed on a mid-season trip to Dubai, leading to Guendouzi being dropped, and Arteta never picked the midfielder again after he grabbed Brighton’s Neal Maupay by the throat in June 2020. “Some of Woolwich’s players need to learn humility,” said Maupay afterwards.
Since then, Guendouzi has continued to develop as a bushy-haired box-to-box midfielder — first on loan at Hertha Berlin and now at Marseille — without appearing to change as a character. This time last year, he so annoyed Galatasaray’s Patrick van Aanholt that the Dutch full-back later tweeted: “Likkleman needs to relax before I snatch that wig off your head.”
In a pre-season friendly this summer, Guendouzi triggered a brawl with a group of Real Betis players after arguing with Joaquin, the 41-year-old winger. Guendouzi was also booed by France supporters at the Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain, after he said he would rather the national team was playing at the Stade de France instead.
And, at the start of this season, it was reported that Guendouzi had already fallen out with new Marseille manager Igor Tudor. According to L’Equipe, Guendouzi and Tudor had a “heated argument” in the changing room just a few weeks into the new manager’s tenure.
For Arteta, a stickler for discipline, Guendouzi was not simply not worth the fuss. At Marseille, however, his importance on the pitch more than makes up for the various antics and headlines he continues to produce. Last season he made 56 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and registering 14 assists, and he now has six senior France caps to his name.
The deal that took Guendouzi from Woolwich to Marseille was originally a loan, but it became permanent this summer. The transfer fee is understood to be around £9m, which was a pre-agreed fee as part of the initial loan. If Marseille had not triggered that clause, Woolwich might easily have generated around £20m for a player of Guendouzi’s quality and potential.
Jorge Sampaoli, the former Marseille manager who built a strong relationship with Guendouzi, said earlier this year that the midfielder “has no limits”. He also described Guendouzi as being “on the way to becoming one of the best midfielders in the world”.
A Champions League clash against Conte’s Spurs provides a good opportunity for Guendouzi to demonstrate this talent to a global audience. And he will not be alone in looking to make his mark against Woolwich’s fiercest rivals: Marseille’s team also contains Woolwich loanee Nuno Tavares and ex-Woolwich players Sead Kolasinac and Alexis Sanchez.
Woolwich’s decision to send Tavares on loan to Marseille is a measure of the relationship between the two clubs after William Saliba, now in Arteta’s first team, excelled there last season. Kolasinac’s case is different, as he moved there on a free transfer. Sanchez, meanwhile, joined from Inter Milan in August, and has scored three goals in his last three games.
The presence of these former Woolwich players will add another edge to an already tense Champions League occasion. Of them all, it is surely Guendouzi who will most enjoy the tetchy atmosphere. This is a character who thrives on chaos and feeds on aggro, and Spurs will have to keep their cool against a player who seemingly loves nothing more than turning up the heat.
Tottenham must beware Matteo Guendouzi – the world-class wind-up merchant
The Marseille player thrives on chaos and Spurs will have to keep cool in their tense Champions League opener stuffed with old foes. Every good European contest needs a pantomime villain and Matteo Guendouzi, the former bad-boy of Woolwich, is without doubt the most qualified candidate for the role as he makes his return to north London this week.
Now a Marseille player and full France international, Guendouzi will be in the heart of the midfield battle — and, one suspects, any other battle that might take place — when he lines up against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.
There are few players in European football more capable of irritating their opponents and annoying an opposition crowd. Guendouzi is not yet a world-class midfielder but he is without doubt a world-class wind-up merchant, and there is no question whether the 23-year-old will embrace the challenge of getting under the skin of Antonio Conte’s players.
Fiercely passionate, remarkably self-assured and relentlessly combative: Guendouzi continues to draw attention in France, just as he did in England before he was exiled by Mikel Arteta at Woolwich. His days at the Emirates Stadium feel like a long time ago now but he will remember the rivalry with Spurs — and the Spurs players will not have forgotten him, either.
It was against Spurs, in September 2019, that Guendouzi produced arguably his finest appearance in an Woolwich shirt. The Frenchman, just 20 at the time, led the way for Unai Emery’s side as they fought back from 2-0 down to claim a draw. Guendouzi was everywhere that day, consistently winning the ball in midfield and creating chances in attack.
Such was Guendouzi’s importance at Woolwich at the time, Emery even described him as a “good example” for the other young players to follow. Arteta, who took over from Emery a few months later, evidently did not agree: they clashed on a mid-season trip to Dubai, leading to Guendouzi being dropped, and Arteta never picked the midfielder again after he grabbed Brighton’s Neal Maupay by the throat in June 2020. “Some of Woolwich’s players need to learn humility,” said Maupay afterwards.
Since then, Guendouzi has continued to develop as a bushy-haired box-to-box midfielder — first on loan at Hertha Berlin and now at Marseille — without appearing to change as a character. This time last year, he so annoyed Galatasaray’s Patrick van Aanholt that the Dutch full-back later tweeted: “Likkleman needs to relax before I snatch that wig off your head.”
In a pre-season friendly this summer, Guendouzi triggered a brawl with a group of Real Betis players after arguing with Joaquin, the 41-year-old winger. Guendouzi was also booed by France supporters at the Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain, after he said he would rather the national team was playing at the Stade de France instead.
And, at the start of this season, it was reported that Guendouzi had already fallen out with new Marseille manager Igor Tudor. According to L’Equipe, Guendouzi and Tudor had a “heated argument” in the changing room just a few weeks into the new manager’s tenure.
For Arteta, a stickler for discipline, Guendouzi was not simply not worth the fuss. At Marseille, however, his importance on the pitch more than makes up for the various antics and headlines he continues to produce. Last season he made 56 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and registering 14 assists, and he now has six senior France caps to his name.
The deal that took Guendouzi from Woolwich to Marseille was originally a loan, but it became permanent this summer. The transfer fee is understood to be around £9m, which was a pre-agreed fee as part of the initial loan. If Marseille had not triggered that clause, Woolwich might easily have generated around £20m for a player of Guendouzi’s quality and potential.
Jorge Sampaoli, the former Marseille manager who built a strong relationship with Guendouzi, said earlier this year that the midfielder “has no limits”. He also described Guendouzi as being “on the way to becoming one of the best midfielders in the world”.
A Champions League clash against Conte’s Spurs provides a good opportunity for Guendouzi to demonstrate this talent to a global audience. And he will not be alone in looking to make his mark against Woolwich’s fiercest rivals: Marseille’s team also contains Woolwich loanee Nuno Tavares and ex-Woolwich players Sead Kolasinac and Alexis Sanchez.
Woolwich’s decision to send Tavares on loan to Marseille is a measure of the relationship between the two clubs after William Saliba, now in Arteta’s first team, excelled there last season. Kolasinac’s case is different, as he moved there on a free transfer. Sanchez, meanwhile, joined from Inter Milan in August, and has scored three goals in his last three games.
The presence of these former Woolwich players will add another edge to an already tense Champions League occasion. Of them all, it is surely Guendouzi who will most enjoy the tetchy atmosphere. This is a character who thrives on chaos and feeds on aggro, and Spurs will have to keep their cool against a player who seemingly loves nothing more than turning up the heat.
they play 3421 with 2 men between the lines.
romero-bentancur-davies have to be perfect
romero-bentancur-davies have to be perfect
I always found it weird Woolwich let go of Guendouzi considering the shit they have in midfield.
Arteta fucking hated him. Don't know why, it's not like he raped someone.
Talking of prices, not sure how many still bother with match day programmes, they are charging £6 for tomorrow’s one
Haven't bought a programme for at least 15 years.
I used to get a program each game as an 1882 member. Never bothered taking it home. I have got a copy of the one from the opening game in the new gaff V Palace for posterity.It's only dads bring their kids to the game for the first time
And Chris Cowlin
They used to have free programmes you could get from under the seat in front!
A touch racist don't you think....
The French aren't a race.
That's my grandmother dealt with......
Nope. It's xenophobic.
It's also a bit weird, because I love the French and France, unlike many English people.
Wow. Could almost buy a pint for that.
I don't get the logic of resting players for a champions league game in order to play a Premier league game where our realistic goal is to get into the Champions league.