When Karim Adeyemi was announced to be in the starting lineup for Jürgen Klopp’s first match in charge as Germany manager against the Netherlands, many were wary. The German had earned a reputation for being a very streaky player during his years at Borussia Dortmund and his early form at new club FC Barcelona has done little to convince Germany that he had evolved as a player.
So when he skied the ball after being presented with an open net and the chance to put Germany 2-0 up, many fans took it as
a sign that the hit and miss forward from his days in black and yellow was back.
But it is not Klopp’s job to complain, but instead to find a solution. Asked to address Adeyemi’s miss after the match, Klopp had this to say: “What missed chance? [laughs]. The Karim I’ve gotten to know here is a wonderful, very pleasant guy,” he emphasized (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “He has made a superb impression in Barcelona so far. It means a lot to him to be here. Then you miss that chance, which he normally puts away. Dealing with that – that’s the big challenge in a footballer’s life. We’re working on making sure he stays in the game even after something like that. He’s still a young guy – and we’re working on it. I like the whole package he offers.”
BFW Analysis
Now, it is easy to focus on the arguable (read: entirely untrue) claim that the former Bayern Munich youth player tends to put those chances away. But, just like Klopp, it might be important to look past the miss for the bigger issue — the lack of response. The forward had enjoyed a fairly bright start, but quickly faded after the miss and was completely off the boil in the second half. It seems the miss played on his mind somewhat and bogged down the rest of his performance.
The best players manage to forget about their biggest mistakes and go about their games as per usual. At 24, Adeyemi is not quite able to do the same. He has time, a good environment at Barcelona and an understanding coach in Klopp to help him work on it. But can he overcome this hurdle and earn his place in the Germany starting XI or will he end up like Leroy Sané, a player whose reputation is constantly bogged down by his most outrageous missed chances? Only time will tell.
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