Guardiola gave Tim Ream the highest of compliments after Manchester City beat Fulham. Guardiola saying that if Ream was ten years younger he’d sign the American defender.
If you watch Ream play out of the back for Fulham you can see why Guardiola likes the way he plays football. Ream is very calm on the ball. He doesn’t get flustered when under pressure – even if that’s coming from Manchester City attackers!
Ream has played so well for Fulham that is now the team captain. He now has played 270 matches for the club.
What also stood out during the Manchester City match was how Ream was able to hold off Erling Haaland. And or keep up with him on a few occasions when he was trying to break free.
Along with Ream’s calm distribution in the back, he can find the right pass even while being closed down. But I think it was Ream’s ability to muscle Erling Haaland off the ball or at least not be intimidated by him that probably earned Guardiola’s respect.
Ream is tall enough to win head balls but also has good touch on the ball to play a bit of tiki taka when building an attack out of the back. Plus he’s dangerous on corner kicks.
TIM REAM rises like a Walleye out of the Mississippi River, only to be denied by a terrific David DeGea save. Maybe Missouri Maldini is the No. 9 Gregg is looking for. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lgqiVmpSys
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) November 13, 2022
Pretty amazing for Ream to get such a compliment from Guardiola at age 35! But if you look over and Chelsea they have an even older center back in Thiago Silva. Seems like Ream can play at a high level for at least a few more years.
It will be interesting to see how much playing time Ream gets in the World Cup in Qatar. Will Berhalter give Ream the start at center back? If Ream plays against England and Wales he’ll face off against a number of players he knows and plays against week in and week out in the EPL. We’ll know very soon.
Gregg Berhalter said that after Man City vs. Fulham, Pep Guardiola walked up to Tim Ream and said ‘if you were 24 instead of 34 you’d be playing for me.’
What Tim said to him: ‘it’s too bad … I’m 35 not 34’
AMAZING 😂👏
(via Futbol Americas/ESPN+) pic.twitter.com/olbN4hWhFO
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) November 10, 2022
