Avram Grant has said that Nicolas Anelka could have become one of the all time greats, but, he didn’t manage to do so because of his lack of temperamental skills.
Grant was the man who had signed Anelka for Chelsea 6 years back in 2008.
Anelka has changed clubs quite frequently in the recent past and that has disturbed his rhythm. He hasn’t put up too many top class performances in the last one and half years.
Currently, the 34 years old French striker is playing for the English club West Bromwich Albion. He has so far scored a couple of goals in his 8 League appearances for the Baggies.
According to Grant, Anelka is someone who has got enormous amount of talent, but, when it comes to temperament, he is not that good.
The former Chelsea boss said, “Nicolas is certainly one of the most talented players I have ever worked with. He has got the ability to do wonderful things on the pitch. His speed is fantastic and he can beat any defender in the world, but, his biggest drawback is that he is not as passionate as a sportsperson should have. He has not been eager enough to keep improving his game.”
“It’s the temperament which separates good players and great players. You need to be temperamentally good enough if you want to become one of the greats of the game and I think that’s where Nicolas is a bit behind than some of the other guys. It’s a shame really. If he had had the right kind of mentality, he would certainly have achieved greatness.”
Anelka has scored more than 200 goals playing for various clubs all around the world in his 17-year long career so far.