Barcola, a “little lamb” according to Riolo? Rothen defends the attacker
“A little lamb that can’t even get out of the farm pen.” Two weeks ago, in his post-match analysis of PSG-Newcastle (1-1), Daniel Riolo had tackled Parisian striker Bradley Barcola quite severely, author of several misses that evening.
Fifteen days later, before the Dortmund-PSG kick-off, Jérôme Rothen nevertheless made a point this Wednesday evening of defending the former OL player in Rothen igniteson RMC.
“I start from the principle that Barcola is a player in the making, it was a good challenge for him to come to PSG after his debut at OL. But he has very few matches behind him, it’s difficult to judge his level today,” he believes.
“I have trouble with people who are categorical about him. (…) I will tell you why Daniel is harder on Barcola or Kolo Muani than on the others: they are young players who are overtaken by the price of their transfer. But that’s not their fault! Before, to be spotted by a big club, there were supervisors, guys who came to see you 10 times, 15 times, 20 times and who were sure that at 20, you were going to pass the milestone. Today they (the clubs, editor’s note) no longer even take the time to look at the player 15-20 times, they throw themselves into the bet, in this case Barcola , because if they wait, they’ll get caught. But it’s not his fault, that.”
“I’m sorry, but in our analyses, you have to be careful. Whether you’re a journalist or a former player consultant, you have to pay attention to that. The transfer price is something, but we don’t put any money in on the table. I haven’t put a cent on Barcola, Daniel Riolo hasn’t put a cent on Barcola. The only thing you have to look at is his performances, even his evolution. And judge him at 20 years old , after an average or not good performance against Newcastle, it’s too hard.”