Why Ruben Amorim must unlock Joshua Zirkzee’s talent

Why Joshua Zirkzee’s talent needs to be unlocked by Ruben Amorim

He famously missed a tap-in against Ajax in a preseason friendly while playing for Bayern Munich, which sparked uncontrollable fan backlash and vitriol.

The forward changed his profile image to a black screen and deleted all of his Instagram postings because he was so frustrated with social media. Julian Nagelsmann, the manager at the time, was unimpressed: “He wanted to finish this one casually.” In competitive matches, I hope he takes things more seriously.

The problem with Zirkzee is that his attitude seems to be questioned constantly.

Hansi Flick, the former manager of Bayern, stated, “It is crucial that he works on himself; talent alone is not enough.” “He can then play in the Bundesliga. It all comes down to mindset, attitude, and the unwavering determination to demonstrate what you desire.

Is Zirkzee desperate for it?

Earlier last summer, a video of Vincent Kompany, the coach at the time, scolding his team went viral. “Secondly, Zirk, this is the final time I address your attitude.” You make it seem like I don’t want a flawless grin, but I do require a faultless attitude. You were no better than the rest of them. There would have been no objections if I had taken everyone out.

Perhaps Zirkzee won’t win hearts on teams who value hard work and unwavering determination more than unquenchable skill until they witness a moment of magic and start to wonder what football should be all about.

In reality, Kompany was a valuable coach for Zirkzee; his several goals in Belgium helped to secure his transfer to Bologna. For a guy who is naturally temperamental yet constantly wants to improve, having a coach who supported and encouraged him was essential.

At Bologna, the Dutchman thrived under Motta, especially in his second season after Marko Arnautovic left and Zirkzee was given greater responsibility.

Players for Bologna knew how to take use of the space Zirkzee gave them, which allowed Lewis Ferguson to score numerous goals and Calafiori to have great drives forward. Zirkzee learns how to manipulate the situation so that the players around him can give their finest performances when he is aware of their ability level.

“I make an effort to move with awareness of my colleagues’ traits. In March, Zirkzee told DAZN, “With some, I come to meet and receive the ball; with others, I pretend to attack the depth and then I try to receive the ball on my feet.”

“I don’t think of myself as a selfish striker, but I believe I’ll need to improve on it in the future. It’s true that I don’t score high enough. I become upset with myself when I don’t score. Trust me.

The fact that Zirkzee’s size implies he should be a different kind of striker doesn’t help either. When we look at his body, we see him fighting, using his strength to win aerial battles, and terrifying opponents.

As an ambidextrous child, he always wants the ball on the ground and is more concerned with making the game-changing pass than scoring the goal. Instead, his technique defines him.

He is a clinical finisher, too, as evidenced by his two predatory goals against Salernitana last season, which showed that he is not just beautiful and magical but also efficient. It’s possible, though, that his ambition isn’t motivated by a deep-seated yearning.

Ruben Amorim seems to be starting to see the player’s potential, and he performs better when he feels more involved. It’s not often that a player can inspire Ronaldinho on the field or effortlessly flex his body like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so have patience with him.

“Seeing him day to day, he reminds me of the Ronaldinho I played with at Barcelona,” remarked Motta. However, I am unable to make any comparisons to him. Joshua is a unique individual who loves football and, most importantly, puts forth a lot of effort during training.

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