Evander the real deal and an opportunity missed

In the most entertaining football biography ever, Tony Cascarino recounted an incident involving Jack Charlton.

Members of the Republic of Ireland squad were showing off to each other, practising tricks, none of which impressed the boss. Eventually Big Jack took the ball and said: “Have you seen the one I can do?” He then rolled the ball a few yards with the side of his foot before saying, “Hardest thing in football,” and walking off.

The lesson was obvious – fancy touches look very clever but those players who can just take up good positions, control the ball and reliably move it to a team-mate are a rare and often under-appreciated breed.

I was reminded of that with the news that Evander Sno had left Celtic for Ajax. Having never played a first-team game for Feyenoord, Sno nevertheless arrived at Celtic in 2006 as a hot tip for future success. Early on in his Celtic career he looked likely to justify that expectation, marrying his height and athleticism with a cool head and an admirable ability to play simple passes in high-pressure games.

He was soon being compared to Neil Lennon and thought of as a natural successor to the former captain, though Sno’s mobility prompted many to predict that he would be a star of international standing (indeed he was soon to be included in the Netherlands full squad).

However, there is nothing as unreliable as precocious talent. Partly hampered by injuries, far from cementing his position as a regular midfield starter, in his few appearances in the earlier part of his second season, the player look to have regressed. The cool head appeared to have lost its way to a casual attitude, the first touch was less sound and the passing careless. In one of the most unforgiving areas of the park, he suddenly seemed to be a liability and far from a viable option in the team.

Still, there remained signs that there was immense potential if Evander could channel his frustration at drifting to the fringes of the squad towards tidying up his game rather than simply looking elsewhere. Like many a young man in a hurry he seemed to want a quick fix for the symptoms of his decline rather than working to find a cure.

Today, he has another chance and one that I suspect he will exploit to the full. Under the tutelage of Marco Van Basten – a man who clearly still believes in him – he has the opportunity to return to his home country and establish himself at one of Europe’s foremost clubs.

It will be no surprise to me or many other observers if he becomes a fixture in the Ajax and Dutch national teams before long, and that prospect will cause many to watch the player’s progress wistfully. There is room for a feeling that Celtic lost an opportunity with Sno – but the burden of proof lies with him.

Good luck, Evander.





--