John Carew

Norway’s best footballer moved to Lyon over the summer and has started brightly. The French League has never been so popular in the Nordic country.

In his debut, against Auxerre in the season opening Trophy of Champions, John Carew scored a hat-trick. Lyon ended up beating Auxerre 4-1. Carew has since scored a goal in his first two league games and Lyon has the 6 points.

At 6’ 4” (193cm) and powerfully built, Carew has had his way against every defender he’s faced in France. His goals have all been well taken and demonstrated his ability to overpower most anyone. I can assure you he’s already on the minds of every coach in France. Imagine Liverpool’s Peter Crouch, a bit shorter, but built like a tank.

You may remember John Carew from his stint at Valencia where he made the Champions League final in 2000 and won La Liga in 2002. Well, you may remember him from a number of places; he’s played in 5 countries, most recently in Turkey for Besiktas, but also in his native Norway for Rosenborg Trondheim and Italy’s AS Roma.

While the critics of Carew say he’s shown his talent in glimpses, I don’t agree. Carew is a victim of the Norwegian long ball mentality (always bad for strikers) and also a stint being tragically underplayed at AS Roma. Given consistency, he’s quite productive and paired with Sidney Govou it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him as top scorer in France this season.