Marcos Lopes

[kun]

Rony is pretty big news in Portugal, so I guess someone just passed it on to Ronaldo and asked him to sign it for his 18th. I wouldn't be particularly surprised if Ronaldo was told he was named after him

He wasn't though

I know, but if you're trying to get an ego like Tranny to do something nice, you might just fudge the truth though, wouldn't you? ;)

Fair point

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

who's 21 ??? .. he is just 18

Date of birth : 28/12/1995

LoveCity never said he was 21.

Sorry for Misunderstanding , English isn't my first language & I've just understood it like that

OK then. You are forgiven. English may not be your first language, but I can congratulate you on your spelling as this is immaculate!

 

[kun]

Proper Ronaldo, not Tranny. Has to be pointed out, as it shows good judgement.

It was neither, it was Ronaldinho

 

[SrilankanBlue]

Send him to Uwe!

excellent shout!

 

[blue b4 the moon]

If he's staying rather than being loaned he should be on the bench as an option at least until either Kun or JoJo are fit. I'm concerned about the workload Negredo and Dzeko are having to put in.

 

[aguero93:20]

Proper Ronaldo, not Tranny. Has to be pointed out, as it shows good judgement.

It was neither, it was Ronaldinho

that's what I thought too, remember reading it on the os.

 

[neel]

Big moment for him to make impression...good chance he may get full 90 minutes against blackburn

 

[aguero93:20]

BUMP: Thought I'd post this up here:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/marcos-lopes-set-fly-flag-6507332" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... ag-6507332</a>
Lopes set to fly the flag for City's youngsters against Blackburn
15 Jan 2014 06:00

It's tough for young players to break though at the Eithad Stadium but the Portuguese forward will get another chance in the FA Cup replay.
An FA Cup third round replay on a cold January night is a game Manchester City don't need.

Chasing four trophies, they could conceivably play 60 games this season, each one making the legs a little heavier and the brain a little slower.

But for one member of City's squad a second game against Blackburn Rovers isn't a nuisance at all. In fact, it's the opposite.

It's a chance to convince Manuel Pellegrini he should be playing on stages grander than an FA Cup third round replay against a Championship side. A Championship side whose manager Gary Bowyer has already said their trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday is a bigger game.

Pellegrini confirmed at his press conference on Tuesday that Marcos Lopes, the 18-year-old Portuguese forward, will be part of his squad to face Blackburn at the Etihad Stadium.

He will fly the flag for City's youth ranks with 20-year-old Welsh midfielder Emyr Huws alongside star names like Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo and Vincent Kompany.

The cup competitions have been kind to Lopes during his short City career.

He made his first-team debut in the FA Cup third round against Watford last season, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for David Silva and scoring the third in a 3-0 win.

He made his first start in the 5-0 win over Wigan in the Capital One Cup in September and came on as a second-half substitute against West Ham in the semi-final first leg.

With Samir Nasri sidelined for the next eight weeks with a knee injury, there's a chance for Lopes, signed from Benfica in 2011, to claim a regular spot in the squad - for crucial league games as well as in the domestic cups.

Pellegrini's brief on taking over from Roberto Mancini in the summer extended to easing the introduction of young players into the first-team squad. And with Spaniard Denis Suarez departed for Barcelona, Lopes is at the front of the queue. There are also high hopes for 19-year-old Dutch defender Karim Rekik, currently spending a season on loan at PSV Eindhoven.

“Lopes is a very young player,” said Pellegrini on Tuesday, during his press conference ahead of the Blackburn tie.

“He is just 18 or 19 years old and he must work every day to have the level to be part of the squad but he’s a young player that has a lot of condition and I hope in the future he will do it.”
As a player Lopes has everything you'd expect from a Brazilian-born, Portugal youth international. With the ability to play anywhere across the front he has the flair and fearlessness of a teenager but the composure of a player far more experienced. It's often the quality that sets apart those you make it.

With five goals Lopes finished joint second in the list of top goalscorers after the group stages of the UEFA Youth League alongside team-mate Devante Cole among others. It included a hat-trick in City's 6-0 demolition of Bayern Munich's youth team on their way to qualification from their group and a last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid next month.

The one thing missing at City since Sheikh Mansour's takeover in 2008 is a young player breaking out of the academy and into the first-team. Suarez, Luca Scapuzzi, Jeremy Helan and Abdul Razak have all tried but eventually had to move on.

The club are doing what they can by building a new £100m training ground opposite the Etihad Stadium in the hope that one day the manager will only have to dip into the youth system for a new player rather than the transfer market.

Even City's hierarchy admit that day is still a long way off but players like Lopes are proving there is a pathway from youth team to first team providing they're good enough.

Blackburn at home on a cold winter night is just the next step on a long journey.

Hope he does well!

 

[kunaguero10]

I would start him tonight I think and go just Dzeko up front. We have got Aguero on the bench today I know but Negredo has played so much recently.

But then again you see what he did to West Ham and you think 'fuck it play him every game' its a tough one!

 

[aguero93:20]

I would start him tonight I think and go just Dzeko up front. We have got Aguero on the bench today I know but Negredo has played so much recently.

But then again you see what he did to West Ham and you think 'fuck it play him every game' its a tough one!

Yeh I'd love to see Lopes given a free role in behind a main striker, it always seems to be a good way to introduce a young attacker to the team.