Quote from: QueenVera on Today at 09:55:37 PM

Quote from: temple on February 23, 2024, 07:52:47 PM

I think that one of the major problems of Pepe will be exacerbated because of his progressing age and that is his brutal tackling. He is known for that and he forever been an extremely unfair player, but now when he is slower than his opponents and he becomes worse at getting the timings right, I think it could be more of a threat for his team to see him receive a red card. Maybe they are still valuing his positioning game and they know that he can make up for a speed deficiency due to that, but at some points there are limits to that. If he is still in a top physical condition, maybe it's the best option they have. But having a defender who is about to turn 41 years old doesn't sound too promising to me.

Did they say whether this is going to be his last season or are there any talks or even negotiations going on about a contract extension for him? I don't really care and it would be pretty crazy to see someone approach his mid 40s and still play in the Champions League Wink

I think the only position where this sounds kind of acceptable would be the goalkeeper position and even there 41 is very old.

Well age is really something that affects a man in any profession and that’s why we’ve got retirement age in most professions. Now for an athlete I think each sports have their certain age bracket to end and football is somewhat between 39-42. Playing professionally at 40 or 41 is kind of risky both to the player and majorly to the team. Yes to the team because they’ll be the one suffering for the errors of the player while on the pitch of play. We’re taking a look at Pepe and his imapct in this Porto team and the side effect of him still being in the line up even up till now for this team. Well yes, we know experience matters but in a team like Porto who’re playing in the UCL, they’ve to try mix experience with strength and form.

Pepe in the heart of their defense line, yea it’s commendable but still has it’s side effects due to his age as he might not be able to catch up on the pace of the young players. A team like Arsenal who they were lucky to get the win over, in the 2nd leg, the young attackers of Arsenal might be unstoppable for Pepe and Porto. In this match Arsenal still have a lot of points to prove and will sure be playing all out to at least get an early go at least secure them in the match. The age of this defender isn’t a plus for him as It’s somewhat bizzare especially in football as a sport. Even goal keepers staying at 41 is still seen as odd. I think the player should consider playing in less competitive leagues like the SPL or MLS like his counterparts who he played with in his prime. In leagues like that he’ll be considered top and seen as one very important and key player.

I think having Pepe in the team is a risky decision on many ends and now age is just another factor that would make me as a coach shy away from using him as a player at all. Now I will be honest that I never was a Pepe fan altogether as I hate it when defensive players deliberately try to break other players' legs. Ramos is the same kind of player. He can be a legend, but he can be someone to destroy careers and I never saw the point in doing that. But Ramos and Pepe are those kind of characters. Thankfully we have seen defernders become world class without that stufff.