Anyone who has been watching football for a little more time should know that the standards for judging players in contemporary football are significantly different from those in the past. In contemporary football, more attention is paid to the data of players, and from time to time there will be a famous scene of using a data table to comment on the heroes of the world. Data such as goals, assists, and average running distance per game are all important bases for judging players in contemporary football.
As a remnant of the old era, the author does not agree with this phenomenon of using data to talk about heroes. Because a lot of times, data is deceptive. For example, the experience of Dutch titan Stam is very representative and proves that the data is unbelievable:
Jaap Stam was born on 17 July 1972 in Kampen, Upper IJssel, in the eastern Netherlands. He is a natural good material for playing central defenders, not only physically strong, but also fierce enough to make opponents daunting. In his teenage years, Stam had no idea how many of his peers had suffered on the field court.
If this trend continues, then Stam will definitely have a chance to get the attention of the big scouts, receive systematic and comprehensive training, and then become a rising star of defense at a young age, like his future Milan teammate Maldini.
However, a sudden car accident left Stam resting on the hospital bed for a long time, directly interrupting his upward momentum. After Stam returned from injury, he experienced a long recovery period without professional guidance, which naturally affected his performance on the field. This led to the fact that football talent is as strong as Stam before he was 18 years old, he was not discovered by scouts, nor did he receive professional football training...
In order to make ends meet, Stam had to work as an electrician. Until 1992, when Stam was 20 years old, he was still trying to improve his electrotechnical skills. As for football, it's just a hobbyist project for Stam to pass the time.
Fortunately, there has never been a shortage of visionary footballers in this part of the Netherlands. Former Dutch international Theo de Jong discovered Stam by chance and recommended him to a professional football club.
It was true that he started a little late, but Stam rose extremely fast. In his first season in the professional league, 1992–93, he became the defensive core of Eredivisie club Zwolle and was invited by Eredivisie club Kamble. After two seasons with Camble, Stam switched doors and became a member of the Wilhelm II team. After just half a season, Stam moved to PSV Eindhoven.
His years at PSV Eindhoven transformed Stam from a good centre-back to a top centre-back. During this time, he not only knocked on the door of the Dutch national team, but also became the main central defender of the Orange, playing alongside the famous Frank De Boer.
In the French summer of 1998, Stam played phenomenally. Even against a center of Batistuta's level, Stam can still fight his opponent back and forth. Unfortunately, Ronaldo was too brave at that time, and coupled with the Dutch team's habit of dropping the chain in the penalty shootout stage, Stam could only accept the end of the semi-finals.
Also in the summer of 1998, Stam bid farewell to PSV Eindhoven and landed at Old Trafford to become a member of the Manchester United squad. In order to get Stam, Ferguson did not hesitate to throw a huge amount of 10.6 million pounds, breaking the record for the transfer fee of defenders in one fell swoop, so it is not difficult to imagine how optimistic Ferguson is about Stum.
Although many media at that time were not too optimistic about Stam's prospects in Manchester United, they felt that Manchester United had spent money wrongly. But Stam quickly proved that he was worthy of every penny United spent on him. The Dutch titan has not only made Premier League strikers suffer, but has also played phenomenal in the Champions League. His first season at Old Trafford, 1998-99, saw United win the treble!
For the rest of the 1999-00 season, United continued to dominate the Premier League despite failing to defend their title in the Champions League. After the season, United are ahead of their old rivals Arsenal with as many as 18 league points.
At Euro 2000, Stam continued to show himself as the main central defender of the Netherlands. His individual performances are impeccable and the strength of the Dutch team is beyond doubt. Unfortunately, this team committed penalties and actually missed a full 5 penalties in the semi-final against Italy (2 in 90 minutes, 3 more in the penalty shootout). Otherwise, this team definitely has a chance to stand at the top of Europe.
After the European Championship, Stam continued to play for Manchester United. However, in the following 2000-01 season, the Dutch titan suffered injuries and spent months recuperating. Perhaps it was too boring during his recuperation, Stam simply published an autobiography, in which a lot of fierce news was broken, many of which were about Manchester United. In other words, Stam revealed a lot of Manchester United secrets, which will obviously cause a huge storm.
Not long after the publication of Stam 's autobiography, Manchester United made the decision to purge Stam . In the summer of 2001, Old Trafford sold 29-year-old Stam to Lazio for £16 million.
On the surface, Manchester United's purge of 29-year-old Stam appears to have angered Ferguson by the Dutch titan's autobiography.
However, this thinking obviously does not stand up to scrutiny, because Ferguson is not the kind of person with a small belly. On the contrary, the coach who single-handedly created the Manchester United dynasty is definitely a man of great strength and can endure what ordinary people cannot. Stam's autobiography, although slightly overdone, did not reach the point where it had to be purged.
As for the real reason, the data pits Ferguson. After Stam was injured, both the running distance and the average number of tacks per game dropped significantly. Therefore, Manchester United concluded through data analysis that Stam has declined defensively and it is difficult to return to the peak.
So, can the cold statistics of the decline in running distance and the decline in the average number of tackles per game really prove that the defensive ability of defenders has declined? The answer is clearly no. Take Stam for example, after this injury, his style of play has changed slightly, he no longer rushes as he used to, and often uses a strategy of following the defense. Although Stam is still reliable defensively, due to changes in defensive strategy, his running distance and average steals per game will naturally decline. Therefore, Manchester United's conclusion that Stam defensive ability has declined by comparing data is obviously wrong...
After leaving Manchester United, Stam quickly played phenomenal in Serie A. Even if Lazio are in a state of chaos at this stage and the team is struggling to produce results, there are still people who realize the value of the Dutch titan. In the summer of 2004, Stum, then 32 years old, was invited by Milan to the San Siro Stadium.
Due to the increase in age and the impact of injuries, Stam attendance has dropped significantly. However, as long as he is healthy, he can guarantee his main seat. For example, in the 2005 Champions League final, Stam showed himself as Milan's main player. In the first half of the 2005–06 season, the 33-year-old Stam remained Milan's regular squad. Had it not been for injuries in the second half of the season, Stam might have been able to maintain his Milan status for a long time...
In the summer of 2006, the Dutch star bid farewell to San Siro and returned to the Eredivisie. And the team he plays for is not his old club PSV Eindhoven, but his former rival Ajax. Stam did not play for Ajax for long, but due to the impact of injury, the decision was made to retire.
After talking about Stam, let's talk about Manchester United, which cleansed Stam back then. This team had a bad season after losing Stam . The dying Blanco simply cannot replace Stam at all. Ferguson himself admitted that he regretted selling Stam himself.