Speaking on Monday Night Football, Gary Neville has challenged Raheem sterling
Gary Neville has challenged Raheem sterling to start matching Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo in the next few seasons.
The Englishman has played an important role in the victory in the championship Manchester city, scoring 17 times in the Premier League, and are increasingly being used in the centre forward position PEP Guardiola to the end of the campaign.
Neville, who worked with sterling in England, highlighted statistics that show 23-year-old goal of return comparable as Henry and Ronaldo at the same age.
Both of those players created wide of world-class players, Goalscorers, and Guardiola believes that the Englishman can do the same, saying: “if he is able to increase in front of goal, scoring goals, he will be one of the best players in the world. He’s got everything. He’s a Fighter, so dynamic and so well – but he needs to improve.”
And Neville explained on Monday Night Football that sterling should look to move on to the next level…
“Raheem sterling always puts himself out there,” said Neville. “He always gets in where it hurts, he always wants the ball again and it always comes the next chance. But PEP Guardiola is absolutely right. He needs to improve his maturity, his production and his decision making in the final third.
“It is the authority to take risks and have the right equipment so as not to lean back so as not to snatch at it when it comes to her. He gets in position and his technique is failing him. His ability to compose himself and make the right decision, letting him down.
“Top scorers always look like they have time on the ball and PEP Guardiola called him to become one of the best in the world. Two of the best players that I can think of in the Premier League over the last 20 years that have passed since the dynamic wide players are prolific scorers Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry.
“When I think of Thierry Henry as a 17-year-old in Monaco, I think about what happened. How could he not know when to make the right run or the right pass. It was the same with Cristiano Ronaldo. People forget the early years of these players.
“Where is Raheem sterling going to go? This is a problem that PEP Guardiola is lying down, because you can see where the other guys went.
“If you think about the players and what they went on to become, where everything was so controlled. Authority and technology in the last third was never in doubt. This was a result of incredible hard work and progression from year to year.”
Sterling has scored 17 goals in the Premier League this season at the age of 23 years. That is exactly the same number of goals that Henry and Ronaldo scored in the Premier League when they were 22 and he is currently the only one for them.
However, by the time when Henry was 26, he scored 30 goals in the Premier League. Ronaldo scored 40 goals in La Liga at the age of 26 years. So how did they do it?
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“I can’t talk too much on Thierry, but I can see clearly that working with him over the last few years in the sky, professionalism, and competent character, as he thought about his work, and his intelligence,” added Neville.
“I can speak first hand about Ronaldo and hours of repetition in practice to kick the ball. Ronaldo when he first came to the US, not to strike penalty. He was the corner taker. The accuracy of his kicking was not very good.
“Raheem sterling is not a very good kicker of the ball. It can take a corner? It’s a simple thing. He could put on the corner of the penalty area whipped in every time? The answer is no. Ronaldo couldn’t do it at the age of 18 or 19 either. It was hours of practice day after day.
“Rahim got Kevin de Bruyne is. Hit 30 or 40 balls (with it) day after day and suddenly the repetition is that you come in a situation when then you start to have self-control and because you did it so many times, you will start to recover.
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“If Cristiano one on one training in his early youth, he tried to Dink, he tried a nutmeg, he tried to overtake him. Then he got serious about his work. Putting a ball past the Keeper correctly every time.
“Rahim is doing right to train, because I worked with him, but he needs to be serious. Do not attempt to Dink the ball if it is not lit, do not try nutmeg or fun. Seriously everything you do.
“Then, after training, to work on that striking the ball so that he can become someone who is fully convinced that he can do it under pressure in big moments at Wembley against spurs when he has three one-on-one, in the Derby against “Manchester United” when he has two one-on-one in the first half.
“When Thierry Henry or Ronaldo went on a goal that You think purpose. When Raheem sterling is on target at this point, You are not sure. He made a jump to make, and that is proof of the confidence you get from that every day.
“Raheem sterling is tenacious, he works hard, he’s a strong player and he’s fast. There is development there. It can get to Henry and Ronaldo level? It’s controversial, because they are two of the greatest players, but it is a challenge.
“PEP Guardiola stated that he is looking for him to become one of the best players in the world. To get to the best level that it needs to change what he’s doing now.”
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Sourse: skysports.com
