Liverpool head into the Champions League semi-final against Roma as favorites but the Giallorossi cannot be underestimated.
Afterall they knocked out Barcelona in the quarter-finals, beat Chelsea and finished ahead of Atletico Madrid in the group stage.
The Italian giants lost Mohamed Salah to Liverpool over the summer, replacing him with Cengiz Ünder.
The 20-year-old may not be familiar to all Reds fans but could be after this tie and here is why.
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Cengiz Ünder
The Turkey international replaced Salah’s as the most expensive Turkish international to leave the Super Lig. A remarkable feat considering he was playing second-tier football in Turkey just 18 months ago.
Ünder is not a product of the major Super Lig clubs, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce. That has however, been a blessing.
The 20-year-old is the latest hot talent to burst out of the Altinordu academy. An ambitious club run by Seyit Mehmet Ozkan who plans to create a completely home-grown team and revolutionize Turkish football.
Turkey has the youngest demographic in the UEFA zone and a population of 80 million. Despite being a football crazy country you can count on one hand the number of players developed by domestic clubs who play at the highest level.
The Izmir based outfit aim to change all that and have invested heavily in setting up state of the art academies over the Aegean region. The project is still in its infancy but they have already produced players of a quality simply not seen elsewhere. Caglar Soyuncu is a Bundesliga starter for Freiburg and Ünder has been lighting up the Serie A.
Altinordu is a factory without a chimney. Ünder comes from solid foundations. He took a while to settle in. Stepping up from the PTT 1. Lig to the Super Lig with Basaksehir and finally, the Serie A with Roma in successive seasons appeared to have taken its toll. Factor in he was away from friends and family, in a foreign city, unable to speak Italian and it is not difficult to see why.
Roma deserve credit for working hard with Ünder behind the scenes. When I traveled out to meet him in November they had a translator working with him and were teaching him Italian. He was settling into a new life, making new friends, adjusting to a new league. “It was really tough. I really felt alone for the first time, really alone. It was the first time I experienced real loneliness,” Under told me in an interview for the Guardian last November.
Ünder had to wait until February for his big break. It coincided with the Giallorossi having a slump in form. Eusebio Di Francesco switched to a 4-2-3-1 setup from his trusted 4-3-3 and decided Ünder would be one of his trusted wide men.
The Turkey international did not disappoint. He scored on his first start following the tactical switch in the 1-0 win over Verona. The rising star has hit the ground running since his reintroduction to the team scoring seven times and providing two assists. The Giallorossi have lost just twice in the 13 games he has played in since scoring his first goal.
Ünder is an impact player. A gifted winger with the ability to turn a game on its head. His goal knocked out Shakhtar on away goals in the Last 16. He then provided the assist for Kostas Manalos to eliminate Barcelona from the quarter-finals, again on away goals.
His Champions League record makes impressive reading. Ünder has been involved in two goals in three games.
It is little wonder he has been nicknamed the ‘Undertaker’. With several bodies already under his belt, the new Mo Salah will pose a threat. And considering the Achilles heel of Jurgen Klopp’s team has been in defense this season he will be identified as a dangerman. Especially at home. If Liverpool play on the front foot they cannot allow Ünder space. He possesses blistering pace. The Roma wonder-kid has great movement, dribbling ability, and intelligence. He has demonstrated how dangerous his long range shooting is numerous times this season with his unorthodox shooting technique.
The Reds will be most concerned about the threat he poses on the break. Di Francesco stated in the lead up to the game that his speed will be an important part of their game plan. The versatile forward plays predominantly on the right-wing but can play on the left and centrally making him difficult to deal with. And considering how adventurous Andy Robertson is at full-back, Ünder could find himself with a lot of space if Klopp does not take precautions.
Ünder has been nicknamed the new Mo Salah. Will he achieve the dizzying heights of the Egypt international? only time will tell but one thing is certain. Liverpool cannot afford to ünderestimate Ünder on Tuesday.
