@@ousmansano21 actually mental health is considered now seriously, before there was no such things and people just lived in their toxic filled mind alone , he is not better than messi , but he was definitely a great baller , but life doesn't go according to the plan always
Great video, but as a Stoke fan I think you get the spin on his Stoke career a bit wrong, he was/is a fan favourite at Stoke and played really well for us, the entire team was doing awful around the time he dropped off so his drop off and his lesser goalscoring was down to him being played as more of a CAM for us, behind Crouch
Fellow Stokie, agree with all of this - somewhere there's an alternate timeline where we were able to properly utilise Bojan up front. He wasn't a perfect fit for us (the system of having one lanky targetman like Crouchie/Kenwyne and an all rounder like Arnautovic/Walters to back them up was way too engrained from even back in the Pulis days), if we'd had the midfield structure to let him shine centrally and make those Messi-like runs then it could've been a different story. Makes me wish we'd held on to N'Zonzi for abit longer, someone like him backing him up on those commanding passes moreso than Adam/Whelan etc might've gotten him abit more love
Not a Stoke fan at all but I started watching them whenever Bojan was in the starting 11 and I kind of agree with everyone here. He definitely wasn't a complete failure
I remember him being the next big thing, when he had that breakthrough season under Frank Rijkaard. For all the "Next Messi's" that we hear, I genuinely thought he would actually pull through. Unfortunately, his candle burned too bright. Brilliant video ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽
Did the ‘next messi’ comparisons start that early in messi’s career. He was like 20/21 years old in 2008/09?! That’s insane. I thought it started in 2011 when he was being regarded as the GOAT by some.
@@Muhiz23 in 2007 messi was 2nd in ballon dor race behind kaka in 2008 he was again 2nd behind ronaldo and in 2009 he won his first and he was also the golden boy winner before that he was in top 3 best in the world at that time. So yeah those comparisons started pretty early.
This channel is reviving my childhood and teenager years , born in 1991 i was lucky enough to witness an era full of great players , through your content I'm living yet again in that era , where Shevchenko was my hero and AC Milan was my salvation, football between 1999 to 2010 played huge role in my life . Keep up the good work
Ahh... the anxiety narrative: It wasn't pressure from football playing. He refused to go to Euro 2008 tournament and (as a more private, understated personality) never recovered from the hate he got from his country..That in fact was where his 'anxiety' came from *You'll note he never had this issue when constantly asking Barcelona for MORE game time...!* ; )
That 07-08 was what if moment for me Although in overall the season was shite, but Barca really have bright future. Their offense already have fantastic 4 (Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry) and from the bench, Bojan and Gio dos Santos was also rising and showed able to fill the starting position when their main forward were injured.
I always felt bad for this guy. You could tell football was his escapism. But coming up with Eto'o Messi Henry and later on David villa in the team. He had no chance. There was also that Brazilian player at Barça at around the same time that was heavily compared to Ronaldinho ( he even looked like him) but he also failed to have a big career
When he came to Ajax i had very high expectations from him, but i cant remember a single game that he lived up to that. I can imagine that its mentally very hard if you cant live up to the expectations.
I remember all the talk about him at Barca and how good he was, and from what I seen he had definite talent so I was surprised to see him get loaned out even if it was to big clubs. When I seen Stoke City had signed him though I knew things had gone badly wrong somewhere.
This is a great video man really interesting to hear the context behind Bojan not reaching his potential as I had him down as just another failed wonder kid but to hear about his mental struggles has given me a different perspective on him.
Messi is the obvious comparison to make, as they were both Barca youth prodigies, but I think the parallels in overall career trajectory with another little Argentine who played for Barca are far more apt and that's Javier Saviola.
@@CJ0101 I disagree I think they were very similar, both were small, quick and really agile but yet scored a lot of their goals because of their movement. In what ways do you think they were different?
@@zimzimma5688 They were both small, Argentine and quick. The comparison doesn't extend much further than that. Saviola didn't play in the same position as these two; and, he didn't have the same dribbling ability or skill level. Hence, why he left.
@@CJ0101 Just to be clear I wasn't comparing Saviola to Messi as a footballer (although before Messi's time in many ways he was seen as what Messi actually became) I was comparing him to Bojan though. Bojan started as a striker when he was coming through and although he was pushed out to the wing that was seen as where he would end up as he matured, he just never really pushed on. In terms of skill and dribbling they were two of Saviolas main strengths. He and Bojan were very comparable in that regard as young players (Messi a different level obviously) To be perfectly honest though Saviola probably had more hype than both of them as a teenagers as well. He was very much seen as Maradona's heir apparent right from the get go as a 17 year old. I think the fact that he wasn't actually probably tempered peoples expectations of Messi a bit at the start until he quickly started proving that he was the real deal.
@@zimzimma5688 I understand that, however the title of the video refers to the comparison of Krkić being the 'Next Messi'. Therefore, the similarities extend to the comparison between Messi and Saviola, which you made at the end of your last post.. I don't recall Saviola ever being hailed as being on the same level as Messi. Saviola didn't play in the same position and he wasn't nearly as good a dribbler, or as skilful, as Messi or Krkić. Hence, the many chances Krkić was given to resurrect his career at top clubs after leaving Barcelona. Loads of people were mentioned in the same breath as Maradona when they were coming up: D'Alessandro, Riquelme, Ortega, Aimar etc. It happens a lot.
I hope he takes up coaching and mentoring, he could do well up coming players and how they should/could be handled. Not everyone is the same and needs different modes of mentoring.
We shouldn’t feel too badly for him. He got to live a football career playing with awesome clubs, that millions of kids would love to do. I’m sure he made a few bob too.
some young players who failed to break out in their early career able to bounce back in later years such as aubameyang etc, too bad bojan, gio dos santos, fredy adu, mastour etc fail completely
@@Blizzardfire yeah ik. That was so frustrating because riqui was a perfect back up. He gets used a lot by Xavi as well. I thought he should’ve been rested on Thursday.
Soon as young players break through they always get compared to some player that just adds instant pressure instead of just letting them grow & becoming their own identity
Actually the lack of speed in tight situations was ultimately his downfall. In Serie a, he was literally butchered by tight marking defenders. He always wanted to dribble at close proximity but he didn't have the quick thinking or speed to pull them off. So the moment he would get a ball, he was immediately jumped on. In many ways, the same problem now besets Brahim Diaz. They are elegant, gifted and lovely players to watch, but just don't quite have the speed of thought or feet to keep up with what's in their head.
Delete the video, edit the title. Bojan started his career at the same time as messi, messi wasn't even Messi yet!!! He was not the next messi. Trust me, i remember those times
the fact that he whined about not being given playing time in the champions league final only made him look like a pre-madona. even though it was a secured win. he did not deserve any playing time in the final, as he was poor in performance. all because he wanted his grandmother see him play. well, u earn ur spot it's not given to u so u can take someone who earned it just to satisfy ur fan. he lost my respect after that. he ruined his career. he barely was even good at mls and now is in japan. he's played in like 10 countries now. honestly i truly believe his mental issues his anxiety got the best of him. he was scared and never got over it. i truely believe with the talent he had, him and messi would of gone on to be even more dominant, but it still worked out for barca. a nearly 20 year dominace if not 15 is quite unheard of at most 10 years but barca was something else.
Comparing anyone or anything with Messi is plain stupid to begin with, and those Media propagating such rumors should be restrained by law, when it´s about kids, and the laws for that already exist. On the other side, Messi is small, but he´s built like a tank (people often overlook that), and a career-ending-injury for Bojan wouldn´t wait for long, since his job was to take Messi-levels of risk...
Very true! The comparisons came about because they were both short and aesthetically alike but Bojan wore the number 9 at Barca for a season so he would have been a CF if things went his way.
Nothing went wrong with him. It is wrong with you people who name players like "next Messi" "next ronaldo" not every player is bond to become a superstar and that is absolutely fine .... Austrian messi, morocan messi next messi bullshit. THERE WILL BE NO MESSI AGAIN
I'll tell you what went wrong: Messi is overrated and played Spanish "defences" for the most of his career. That's why players of his 'mold' suck as well. Barcelona got a lot of favorible calls and non-calls in their PR-prime.
"The Tale of two Messi's - One left footed, one right" Never a truer statement. I remember him being the next big thing. Bigger than all of them before.
"future star who never made it".. I know he didn't become Messi mark 2, but he had a full career as a pro football player and is probably very rich because of it. Not making it would be having to retrain to do a normal job.
He never should had gone to Italy, it's changing, but italy in those days was still very defensive, teams play narrow, compact and rough up forwards and strikers. He should had stayed in spain for his first loan move. Or gone to a team that played more offensive game. Think it would had been interesting if he had gone to Arsenal after barcelona, Wegner did well with small players compared to other teams.
it's always sad to see unfulfilled potential but he's still doing very well being a multimillionaire, a crowd favorite in Japan, playing the game he loves, sure beats having to work for a living.
Hes a great scout in fm21, would def recommend hiring especially if you're managing Barca or City and need a scout with knowledge of central Europe/ balkans :)
What happened is that skill is not enough to be a great professional footballer. If you have a weak mind, if you have injuries, if you have trouble to adapt to a new situations (new tactics, new manager, new players around you) you will have problems at succeeding as a professional football player.