Right-o. Here it goes, and you should probably read the entire post, too, before making your verdict 
Aleksandrs Levanovs
DOB: March 9, 1998
Nationality: Latvian
Languages Spoken: Latvian, Russian
Position: Rock in the centre of midfield
Starting Date: June, 2014
184 cm, 84 kg
STATS (1 to 10):
Passing: 7
Influence: 8
Speed: 4
Acceleration: 5
Long Shots: 6
Dribling: 3
Shooting: 5
Strength: 8
Stamina: 7
Jumping: 5
Hot-headedness: 6
Tackling: 7
Marking: 2
Crossing: 4
Tactical: 10
Off the Ball: 9
Oversight of Game: 10
Long Passes: 6
Determination: 9
Fitting In: 4
Partnership Forming: 8
Proneness to Injury: 6
This Latvian boy might well be the star of his generation. As a stable rock in midfield he should and does dictate play; however, his purely defensive and purely attacking attributes do somewhat let him down. It should be noted that he is not fast and can’t defend to save his life. What he lacks in those areas he gains by the fact that his tactical acumen is superb. He knows when and where to pass, and can see openings in a team’s defence that nobody but him can see. He prefers to play a highly passing game as he would rather not dribble, and he can always be counted on to bulldoze through opponents with his high Strength and Tackling attributes. It is hard for him to adapt to foreign environments, but he can always be counted on to try his hardest to do so. With the right guidance and the correct decisions, Mr. Levanovs can become a world-class player.
But the „right decisions“ won’t come so easily. This is where you, my friends, come in. You will be making all sorts of decisions that will affect his outcome – Contract Extensions, Loan and Transfer deals, Media Interaction, and Player Mentality decisions (any ideas for more?) will all be made by you, Soccerlensers. Your goal is obviously to form and mold Aleksandrs into as good a footballer as he can possibly be. It’s sort of like a cross between the Sims and Football Manager, one might say.
Anyway. I’m sure you get the drift. Aleksandrs Stepanovs recently (remember, this is in year 2014) played a match for his U-17 side in Latvia, scoring two goals and providing three assists in a 6-1 demolition of the visiting side. The match happened to be scouted, and now there are a few clubs interested in this wonderkid’s signature. He is not sure if he wants to leave school at this early an age, as he is getting high marks, but he resigns to fact that if he is to progress as a footballer it is important for him to sign professional terms for a club as soon as possible. Over a cup of coffee at eleven at night, Aleks peruses the three contracts that were offered to him at the match:
SKONTO RIGA – Latvian middle league club playing in the Latvian Higher League, the top division in Latvian football.
Pros: knows the language, will be playing first team football soon and thus will gain a huge amount of experience.
Cons: obviously not a first rate club, and if he wants to make himself known in major European football soon, he’ll want to aim higher.
KRYLIA SOVETOV SAMARA – Russian middle-of-the-league club playing in the Russian Premier League
Pros: knows language as well, would be playing for a better club than at Skonto, would catch the eyes of top clubs more easily
Cons: first-team appearances would be somewhat restricted, though not completely, and while this may be a step up from Skonto, Samara aren’t the most coveted club in all of football
VFB STUTTGART – German club in the Bundesliga, the upper echelon of German club football
Pros: would start off his career at a much better club than at the previous two and would thus find it easier to have better clubs go for his signature, if he performs well
Cons: would find it very hard to fit in, as he doesn’t speak German, and he will also have to wait quite a while for regular first team football, thus lessening the amount of experience he would gain.
So who should Mr. Aleksandrs Levanovs sign for? Will it be Skonto, Krylia Sovetov Samara, or VfB Stuttgart? I’m not going to be keeping tallies on who votes for what, as that would be much too time-consuming, but I hope we’ll all come to a general consensus before I post the next update (which will be based more upon individual performances).
Let's use yours for the time being. Keep on voting!
