There are fairy tales in football, and then there are stories that make you wonder if you've been watching the same game all along. The rise of Mother...
There are fairy tales in football, and then there are stories that make you wonder if you've been watching the same game all along. The rise of Motherwell's attacking midfielder Just belongs firmly in the latter category. GoalZaza has traced the trajectory of a player who, just a year ago, was slogging it out in the Austrian second tier. Now he is preparing to walk out on the game's grandest stage. How on earth did this happenLet's be clear about the scale of the jump. The Austrian second division is not a finishing school for future World Cup stars. It is a grinding, physical environment where young talents often get stuck or lost. Just didn't just escape that orbit. He leapt from it. His move to Fir Park raised a few eyebrows north of the border. Motherwell, a club that prides itself on finding uncut gems, saw something in his driving runs and his eye for a pass that the rest of us had missed.What has caught the eye of Scotland's national team setup and, subsequently, the World Cup selectors is not just his technical ability. It is his tactical flexibility. In the Scottish Premiership, he has shown he can operate both as a number ten behind the striker or as a drifting wide playmaker. He reads transitional play exceptionally well, often dropping into pockets of space to receive the ball on the half turn and drive forward. His stats for chance creation have been impressive, but it is his willingness to track back and help his full back that has won over more pragmatic managers.There is a raw edge to his game still. He can be guilty of overplaying in tight areas or holding onto the ball a beat too long when a simple pass is on offer. But that same self belief is what got him out of the Austrian second tier. You don't make this kind of leap without a bit of swagger. The World Cup stage can swallow players who lack that self assurance. Just does not appear to be that type. The question now is whether he can translate his domestic form onto the international stage when the lights are brightest and the low blocks are deepest. If he can, this story has a few more chapters left to write.
