#kyle walker

ByJoe Schackman

If you live in the United States and have played, watched or even just mentioned soccer, you’ve heard the lament that soccer is boring.

It’s not true, of course, but it’s understandable when the alternative is the made-for-TV National Football League. Unlike football, there’s a significant gap between understanding soccer and truly appreciating it. Goals are infrequent, scoring chances are squandered more often than not, and a well-executed counter-attack isn’t exactly stimulating to the uninitiated viewer.

But every once in a while, something comes along that upends that whole thought process. Right now, that something is Tottenham defender Kyle Walker.

Walker is the antidote to the common complaint that “things” don’t happen in soccer. Get him near the ball, and something will surely happen. The question is whether that something will propel Tottenham to victory or leave fans cringing.

Take the Spurs’ Dec. 1 match against Manchester United: Walker snuck an 18th-minute free kick under United’s wall and past diving keeper David De Gea to give them an early lead. That was a good thing.

Minutes later, Walker misplayed an opposing player’s cross into the box, leaving Wayne Rooney with the ball and a clear path to the back of the net. That was a bad thing.

Fourteen minutes, two goals, and still all you can say about Kyle Walker is that he makes things happen.

That’s just how it works so far in his brief career. A former PFA Player of the Year, Walker is equally brilliant and reckless. In that same match against United, Walker would race Nemanja Vidic for a 50-50 ball with the Spurs up 2-1. Vidic just barely beat him and sent Walker flying. Seconds later the ball was downfield and Hugo Lloris was bringing down Danny Welbeck in the box. The ensuing penalty kick made it 2-2.

The next weekend, against Sunderland, Walker would put together a spectacular performance. He picked his spots to join the attack and showed why he could be one of the best all-around fullbacks. Most importantly, he was lethal in defense, sticking close to physical striker Jozy Altidore and essentially hectoring him into giving up.

It’s a polarity that fans will have to learn to put up with, at least for the time being. The backlash from his particularly poor performance in a 4-2 defeat to Chelsea last year forced Walker to temporarily take down his Twitter account. But even as he’s prone to stringing together several stupid mistakes, his raw talent is unmistakable.

Last year was my first season following Tottenham closely, and so it’s no surprise I was immediately infatuated with Gareth Bale. He was a one-man wrecking crew, an amazing talent just removed from his 23rd birthday. Like all great players, it seemed everything he touched turned to gold.

Kyle Walker won’t fill those shoes. But there’s no doubt that, for better or worse, he’s fashioning his own path, and it’s wholly, entertainingly unpredictable.

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Joe Schackman is an editor and co-founder of Began in ‘96. He is attempting to turn himself into a European football fan.

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