Each week sports reporter Mina Rzouki answers a selection of readers' questions submitted via social media. If you have a question for Mina, you can ask her on either X or Instagram – both @MinaRzouki.
Q: Should a club make a transfer move for Alessandro Bastoni. Is he underrated?
@Kman23 via Instagram
A: It depends on which country’s media you consume. In Italy, he is rightfully highly rated but in England, maybe not spoken about as much. Italy’s most famous sports paper, Gazzetta dello Sport, ran a survey in March asking their readers if Bastoni was the best in the world and a resounding 66 per cent agreed. Virgil van Dijk received 19.8 per cent of votes while Antonio Rudiger came in third with just under 6 per cent.
Fans who watch football in Europe and not just in England will appreciate that he is one of the top three best defenders in the world. And how could he not be? Blessed to have been coached by some of the most courageous and forward-thinking coaches in Italian football, including Gian Piero Gasperini, Antonio Conte and Simone Inzaghi, Bastoni has revolutionised the role of a centre-back in a back three.
A left-footed defender who can carry the ball out from the back, he progresses vertically and seamlessly to aid the attack as an additional playmaker. Capable of assists, scoring and of reading the opponents’ game plan, I genuinely struggle to name many who are better. He is strong in the air, a leader on the pitch and a defensive maestro.
Voted the best defender in Serie A last season, Transfermarkt.com claim that, alongside Arsenal’s William Saliba, Bastoni is the most valuable defender in the world. I love Saliba, but Bastoni makes virtually no mistakes while, sometimes, we can spot a Saliba mistake or two.
Q: If Ancelotti leaves Real Madrid, would the club want Mikel Arteta?
@Stevewinter606 via Instagram
A: No. He’s not even on their list of possible candidates – at least not yet. He was actually linked to the Real Madrid job in 2023 and he got a bit irritated when he had to deny the interest. Worth noting, he is a Barcelona boy. He’s a Real Sociedad supporter but he spent part of his youth in the Blaugrana youth set-up, and while that doesn’t discount a potential move to Madrid, his style and what he wants to create might not go hand in hand with Madrid’s plans.
Arteta is developing something really wonderful at Arsenal and even though the media and some fans are impatient, wanting everything to arrive immediately, I think most of us have enjoyed the journey of watching the club develop each season. The league remains a bridge too far it seems, and they have been unlucky at times, but I was amazed at their maturity in Europe, displaying a formidable mentality and confidence I hadn’t often seen from them in this competition.
However, Real Madrid is a difficult place to go, if you don’t understand and quickly adapt to the culture. Their fans have grown accustomed to success and lifting silverware and expect success immediately. There is no time to develop game plans, to manage the egos, to deal with the boos and whistles. You have to win yesterday. The pressure is immense, stifling and it can destroy a coach. Even the great Alfredo Di Stefano was on the receiving end of occasional jeers.
Arteta is more than capable but honestly I think it’s a role best occupied by a former Madrid player – somebody who has the arrogance to believe in a remontada in the 89th minute and who will command a dressing room full of egos that may behave as though they are above tactics and listening to instruction.
Right now, Xabi Alonso is the coach the club most desire. They admire his tactical adjustments in a game, how he nurtures his players to exploit their individual characteristics and his pragmatism in football.
Real Madrid’s management have built a system that revolves around bringing in the best. They don’t buy players to fit a style of play. They bring in players they think are talented and it’s up to the coach to fit them all in. If it’s not Alonso, I don’t think they’d say no to another round with Zinedine Zidane, and if it’s not a former player, then Jurgen Klopp’s energy and style of fast paced football would be ideal.
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Xabi Alonso after Bayer Leverkusen's German Super Cup win over Stuttgart on August 17, 2024. Getty Images -
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso during the pre-season friendly match draw against Real Betis on August 10, 2024. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso celebrates after Granit Xhaka scored for Bayer Leverkusen in their German Cup final win over Kaiserslautern at Olympiastadion in Berlin on May 25, 2024. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso celebrates with his Bayer Leverkusen coaching staff after their German Cup final victory over Kaiserslautern. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso celebrates in front of Leverkusen fans after winning the Bundesliga title on April 14, 2024. EPA -
Xabi Alonso lifts the DFB-Pokal trophy after his team's German Cup final victory over Kaiserslautern. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso passes the ball during training ahead of their Uefa Europa League final against Atalanta in Dublin Arena on May 21, 2024. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso celebrates with the Meisterschale (Champions' bowl) on May 18, 2024, after winning the Bundesliga title. Getty Images -
A Bayer Leverkusen fan holds up a scarf of bearing Xabi Alonso's name before the Bundesliga match against FC Augsburg at BayArena on May 18, 2024. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso with the DFB-Pokal trophy at Bayer Leverkusen's champions party at BayArena on May 26, 2024. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso took over as Bayer Leverkusen manager in October 2022. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso lifts the Meisterschale after Bayer Leverkusen sealed the Bundesliga title. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso with Granit Xhaka and the club mascot after Bayer Leverkusen beat Bayern Munich at BayArena on February 10, 2024. Getty Images -
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso speaks with on-loan midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi during the Bundesliga match against Schalke 04 at BayArena on October 08, 2022. Getty Images -
Xabi Alonso during his first month in charge of Bayer Leverkusen in a Bundesliga match against Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park on October 15, 2022. Getty Images
Q: Is it just all about the foreign strikers in Saudi’s SPL or is Arab talent competing?
@Jenna_j7 via Instagram
A: In terms of strikers, the Saudi Pro League’s joint second top scorer is Moroccan Abderrazak Hamdallah with 19 goals, only four less than Cristiano Ronaldo, and he has been nothing short of a blessing for his club Al Shabab.
This is one of the league’s most prolific strikers. In fact, when he first arrived to the kingdom in 2018, he scored 34 goals in 27 games for Ronaldo’s current team Al Nassr.
He was the league's top scorer in his first two seasons. He then moved to Al Ittihad in December 2021 and guess what? He drove the team to a league title, scoring 21 goals in 26 games. Saudi journalists have noted that there’s very few who have proved as successful as Hamdallah in front of goal.
He is 34 now but still performing at a high level and joined Al Shabab last summer. Second in the league's all-time scoring chart, Hamdallah arrived at an attack-minded team and produced quickly, but the club suffered when Vitor Pereira left for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
New coach Fatih Terim may have taken time to find his feet but Al Shabab are one of the most in-form teams at the moment largely because of how well the wily Turk has managed to exploit the striker’s prowess in front of goal. Terim has been the perfect coach for the striker; Hamdallah has scored 14 goals in 14 matches.
So yes, this is a league blessed with some of the finest imports but I’m yet to see many produce the magic in front of goal as well as Hamdallah has at 34.
