Man City fans may not welcome the comments, but when questioned about his former striker Edin Dzeko, Steve McClaren likened the big Bosnian to another one of his old players – Mark Viduka. Admittedly, I laughed when I first heard the comparison But the more I think about it, it isn’t such a bad point. They share many of the same attributes, and when he was fit, Viduka was one of the biggest handfuls in the Premier League. Who knows, it could be quite a good omen for the Eastlands club.
Every time I read about Dzeko since he arrived in Manchester, it’s been generally negative press, but I don’t quite understand that. Okay, the £27 million man hasn’t taken English football by storm, but how many more times are we going to write a player off after just a few games? The one-time England manager doesn’t seem to have jumped on that bandwagon. He is convinced the Premier League will see the best of him, but maybe not until next season. Speaking to the Daily Star, McClaren said:
“Once Edin settles in England and adapts to the English system, he will be a major force. He has all the attributes to be a big hit in England. He is very good technically and has very good feet.
“In some ways he reminds me of a taller version of Mark Viduka. Mark was brilliant in the box and for such a big guy had amazing technical skills.”
Dzeko possess’ all the same attributes, and more. He is obviously a threat in the year, (Manchester United can vouch for that after the Bosnian scored twice for Wolfsburg against them last season) he has brilliant feet and looks as though he has the potential to rough up someone of the stronger defenders in the Premier League. With all of this in his locker, Mark Viduka was a huge success during his time in England. People forget that he helped fire Leeds to a top four finish and subsequently into the Champions League. Similarly at Middlesbrough, he spearheaded an unlikely assault on the UEFA cup in which they reached the final.
So if Dzeko can go on to impose himself on the Premier League after a short settling in period, his unique style may give City that something else which they are after to secure a first Premier League title. McClaren has given his former striker a public vote of confidence, which he probably didn’t need, but he has always set a target: Viduka scored 22 goals in his first full season at Leeds and then top scored for them two seasons later. There is no reason Dzeko cannot emulate this kind of strike rate.
McClaren may not be taken seriously very often in his homeland after an ill-fated spell as coach of our national team, but whether you like to admit it or not, he knows football and he certainly know what it takes to be a success as a top-flight footballer. At first glance, his comparison between Dzeko and Viduka was laughable, but after some thought it isn’t such ridiculous thing to say. Given the Australian’s record, City fans certainly wouldn’t mind the new Mark Viduka firing them to Premier League glory.
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