The Brazilian 'alternative' to the striker issue

I've written about his German teammate, Max Kruse, already, but Borussia Möchengladbach's other offensive weapon, Brazilian forward Raffael, deserves a look as well.  In 34 appearances, he scored 15 goals and assisted on 7 more in the Bundesliga last season.  None of those were penalties, giving him a 0.45 goal per 90 minute average and a goal creation rate of 0.66 per 90.  His most impressive stat though is his take-on rate of 5.1 successful dribbles per 90 at a 68.7% efficiency.

The Fortaleza, Brazil native came to Europe in the summer of 2005, joining FC Zürich of the Swiss Super League.  His impact was instant as he helped lead his new club to back-to-back league titles, scoring 40 goals and dishing out 20 assists in 70 appearances, nearly a goal created per match.  He would leave Switzerland for Hertha BSC in the January 2008 transfer window for £3.8m.

His stay in Berlin was not as fruitful.  In his four-and-a-half seasons there, he scored just 33 goals with 29 assists in 140 appearances, and twice his club suffered relegation.  After the second relegation, he transferred to Dynamo Kyiv for £8m, but continued his poor form, lasting only half a campaign where he scored just once in 9 league appearances before being loaned to Schalke in January 2013.

Though he made just 16 appearances for Gelsenkirchen club, his performance accented by a goals created per 90 average of 0.79 and a chance created per 90 of 2.71 was enough to earn him a transfer to Gladbach last summer.  His pace, quick feet, and positioning make him a threat to score nearly every time his club have the ball in the opponent's third.  He is also a solid passer, posting an 83.7% pass completion rate and creating 2.1 chances per 90 the last five seasons.

The negatives of signing Raffael are that he is 29-years-old and I doubt he would come cheap coming off his somewhat sensational season.  Gladbach really want to keep the squad together so they can have a shot at Champions League qualification, so prying a major contributor to that goal would be costly.  He did just turn 29 and probably has a couple of seasons left in him, but I'm unsure how the wear and tear of the Prem would effect him.  At this point though, we need competent bodies and Raffael would be a solid add in that regard.

A German 'Ace' not named Reus worthy of consideration

Max Kruse is one of those rare footballers who does a lot of things well that the average fan fails to recognize.  He doesn't score a lot of goals, he doesn't even get that many assists, and in fact, he's a fairly average passer.  So what does he do that makes stat junkies like myself drool?  He's simply amazing on the ball and extraordinary with specialized passing.

He spent last season at Borussia Möchengladbach and the season prior at FC Freiburg, his impact on each was profound, but I'll get to that in a bit.  First a look at his stats from both years:

	cc90	ccv	cr90	cr%	lb90	lb%	tb%	sdr90	sdr%
13-14	2.93	9.2	1.97	44.9	3.91	84	53.9	3.88	67.4
12-13	2.85	8.6	1.28	20.5	3.03	79.2	72.2	2.84	60.8

Nearly three chances created per 90, a successful cross rate rivaled by no one in the Prem and only the well-esteemed Ricardo Rodriguez bettered in the Bundesliga, 3-4 long balls per 90 at an 80+ percent completion rate, and successful dribble stats that only the likes of Ribery, Firmino, Draxler, and Gotze equaled.  Pretty impressive company for a relative unknown, but those aren't the only things that make Kruse an attractive transfer target.

The year before he transferred to Freiburg from St. Pauli, the Black Forest club finished 12th.  Kruse led them to a fifth place finish and a Europa league spot, four points shy of Champions League football.  It was their second-highest finish in the Bundesliga ever and only the third time they had reached the Europa/UEFA Cup.  Last season, after he left for Borussia Möchengladbach, Freiburg dropped to 14th.

Prior to joining his current club, Gladbach finished 8th, scored 45 goals, and tallied 47 points.  Last season they finished 6th, scored 59 goals, and earned 55 points.  Much of their success was due to Kruse and his partner up front, Raffael.  The bottom line is, he wills his side to win and his uncanny style mesmerizes and befuddles opposition players and coaches.  I honestly think he would be a great addition to Liverpool, just imagine he, Gerrard, Sturridge, Coutinho, and Sterling passing the ball about the pitch like they were playing against a bunch of ice cream truck clowns.