The evolution of Emre Can: The influences
"Emre, what are you doing? Emre, what are you doing?"
The voice of Jupp Heynckes and a phrase that bore itself into Can’s conscious.
He can still hear it now, vividly, and a grimace flashes across his face as he plucks the memory out of the archives. And then a sigh. And then an appreciative smile.
“I was 17, 18 and I trained with the [Bayern] first team. He was a guy who shouted at me every day in the training sessions,” he explains.
“I was thinking ‘Why me?’
“But I know today that he was always behind me and he wanted me to always get better and better. It was better that he was shouting every day. My agent always told me: ‘He likes you – that’s why he’s shouting at you.’ Today I can say I’m thankful for that.”
Heynckes handed Emre a senior debut for Bayern in August 2012, in the German Super Cup against a Borussia Dortmund team managed by… Jürgen Klopp.
He waited eight months to make his Bundesliga bow as the Bavarians cantered to the league title, 25 points ahead of Klopp’s BVB having lost only once all season.
When Heynckes departed the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2013, Can fleetingly crossed paths with Pep Guardiola, who returned from the year-long sabbatical that followed his trophy-laden spell as Barcelona boss to take the managerial reins in Munich.
But it was elsewhere in the Bundesliga that he would emerge as a player of repute and a talent to be spotted: Bayer Leverkusen.
There, foreshadowing a move to Anfield the next summer, he worked under the tutelage of Reds legend Sami Hyypia and made 32 domestic appearances and seven in the Champions League.
Liverpool’s attention was sufficiently piqued to secure his signature and though they were unable to build on the Premier League title challenge of 2013-14 in his first season on Merseyside, their progress under Klopp has brought the team back to the brink of Europe’s elite competition.
And with it a familiarly demanding, encouraging voice from the touchline.
“I’m a very emotional guy on the pitch. But I’m learning that as well,” Can states.
“I’m not perfect but I think I deal very well with the manager here. I know that Jürgen always wants to help us; sometimes he’s a little bit louder than other coaches, of course, but he just wants to help us.
“Our relationship with the manager on the pitch and off the pitch is very good.”
Emre cites Zinedine Zidane as his earliest football idol – ‘it was unbelievable how he dealt with the ball and played with the ball’ – and his tone drops to a whisper as he references the Frenchman’s flawless performance against Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final played in his hometown of Frankfurt. “Just incredible.”
He has since been fortunate enough to not just watch midfield role models from afar but to study first-hand a succession of stellar teammates who mastered the position.
“I have learned something from everyone,” says Can.
“I played with Bastian Schweinsteiger. I played with Luiz Gustavo. I played with Javi Martinez. I played with Steven Gerrard. I played with a lot of world-class midfield players.
“You can learn something every day from every player: how he is passing, how he is moving, how he is always in the space. You can learn something from every player.”
And that education simply continues at Melwood.
A glance around the current Reds dressing room gives Emre a variety of midfield peers to learn from: the experience of Lucas Leiva; Georginio Wijnaldum’s control and use of possession; Adam Lallana’s agility and creativity.
Then there’s Jordan Henderson, whose rise to Liverpool captain had yet to officially start when Can became his colleague.
In the time that subsequently passed, the Englishman was appointed vice-captain to Steven Gerrard, was confirmed as the icon’s successor to the armband a year later and, this term, deployed in a new, deeper role at the base of Klopp’s midfield.
Can’s respect for Henderson trips off the tongue: “He has done brilliantly this season. Brilliant.
“I know when Stevie left, it was not easy for Jordan because he became the captain after Stevie. The fans wanted him to do very well like Stevie in the first year, but Jordan Henderson is Jordan Henderson, he’s not Stevie.
“The first year, he struggled with a lot of injuries and it was not easy for him. But this year when he has played, he was just brilliant. He’s always there for the team in the No.6 [position]. He’s a very, very good passer and he never loses the ball. He always knows what is around him.
“For me, Hendo is a really, really top player. On the pitch he is top and off the pitch he is a real captain. On the pitch he is a real captain. He’s always speaking to us, he’s always there for the team if you need something. Sometimes he doesn’t get the praise he should get.”
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