Player Profile

Crystal Dunn, Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, and Becky Sauerbrunn were all nominees for 2016 Female Player of the Year. Tobin Heath beat out all of her USWNT teammates and took home the title.

The rejuvenated heroics of Mario Balotelli saw the Italian striker score six goals in his first six Ligue 1 matches for Nice, propelling the club to the top of the table over the likes of Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain. 

M’Baye Niang’s young career has been plagued by controversies and inconsistent play, but his goal on Sunday not only proved his doubters wrong, it also showed a new maturity from the French international. Watch as he celebrates his goal with a memorable gesture to Riccardo Montolivo, Milan’s captain who is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury:

There’s no doubting Mesut Ozil’s quality. You don’t win 81 caps and a World Cup for Germany, a La Liga title with Real Madrid and collect two FA Cup winner’s medals with Arsenal by riding on the coattails of others. However, a criticism of that nature is frequently thrown at Ozil. His languid style leads to cries of having gone AWOL during big matches — particularly during his time with Arsenal.

Potential is defined as the latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness. 

Kevin De Bruyne is the cover boy of Potential Illustrated, the long-running theoretical magazine that is littered with pages of soccer players that just didn’t make it. 

There are millions of both aimless and worthwhile reasons for why some players just never figure it out. Talent, oddly enough, usually goes hand in hand with prospective failure. 

When Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers signed Scott Sinclair from Aston Villa during the summer transfer window, the winger was a known quantity to the bench boss. . .but few others.

Christian Pulisic will eventually be crowned the USMNT’s best player ever.

This hot take is backed with circumstantial evidence in the form of raw talent, technical superiority and a nurturing environment for tactical growth. 

Andre-Pierre Gignac burst onto footballing radars everywhere by finishing the 2008-09 French Ligue 1 season as the top goalscorer. At the time, the young Frenchman was reportedly drawing interest from clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United and Juventus.

Fast forward seven years and the now 30-year-old Gignac plays his club football with Tigres in Monterrey, Mexico. Is this a story of lost talent, a young player who achieved too much, too fast? Hardly. 

The mistakes of the past are an integral part of our composition. Our future will be determined by a wide breadth of experiences and backgrounds — a collection of dissenting narratives that don’t necessarily follow the status quo. Either we allow the perspectives of the minority to illuminate the harsh truths hindering our game, or we remain insular, weakened and stagnant.