5/10 rated Chelsea player “overwhelmed” for his country by dangerous winger | OneFootball

If you think the English media is bad, you should see the Spanish equivalent.

They’ve even more sensational, even more critical, and also have a toxic divide between Madrid and Barcelona colouring everything.

Their comments today on Marc Cucurella, their breakout hero of last summer’s European Championship win, show that they still have no mercy and no free passes. He played 90 minutes in Spain’s exciting 2-2 draw with the Netherlands last night, but wasn’t well regarded for his showing.

Catalan paper Sport had the following summary of his showing, with a 5/10 final mark:

“Jeremie Frimpong challenged the Maresme native time and again, forcing him to raise his game ceaselessly, pushing him to the limit. He suffered against the Dutchman, but never threw in the towel – it’s not his way.”

Their one word conclusion of his performance was that he was “overwhelmed.”

It sounds like they’ve still got a lot of love for him, despite being well aware of his limitations.

Cucurella still has more to learn despite recent improvements

Marc Cucurella battles Jeremie Frimpong for Spain. (Photo by Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images)

Coincidentally Cucurella had done an interview for the Chelsea official website before this international break where he spoke about what feels he offered and what he could still improve in his game:

“One of the things that I felt that I could improve upon was my ability in the last third – more goals and more assists… I always try to give the best for my team and I always try to leave everything on the pitch for my team. I always try to win. I think they are the best things I can have as a player.”

He’s never going to be a purist’s choice, but there’s a charm to his sheer bloody-minded determination, and if some of his teammates showed the same passion he does, we’d be in a far better position all around.