important test the Americans had just received Monday.Th

Oriol Romeu has had to bide his time for much of his career, but the former Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder is finally shining under Claude Puel at Southampton. Nick Wright charts his rise with the help of the man who brought him through the youth ranks at La Masia. Even the most optimistic Southampton supporters could have been forgiven for feeling nervous when the transfer window shut without the arrival of a Victor Wanyama replacement. His departure to Tottenham had left a huge hole at the base of their midfield, and a winless start to the Premier League season only added to the anxiety.As it turns out, they need not have worried. Southampton have made a habit of reinvention, and this year Oriol Romeu has been the biggest success story. The 25-year-old Spaniard started fewer than half of the Saints Premier League games in his first campaign on the south coast, but he has stepped into Wanyamas shoes and made an impressive impact this season. Southampton are looking up again. Romeu has played every minute of their five-game unbeaten run, and on Sunday in front of Pep Guardiola, the manager who gave him his debut at Barcelona back in 2010, he produced a man-of-the-match performance as Southampton claimed a 1-1 draw at Manchester City. Romeu successfully screened Southamptons back four against Man City Romeu might have lined up for the other side had things worked out differently, but this weekend he will be eager to impress more familiar faces when Southampton face his old club Chelsea. Its another stern test for Claude Puels side, and for Romeu its another reminder of a long, frustrating journey that began on the training pitches of La Masia.He came to us from Espanyols academy when he was 13, former Barcelona youth coach Pedro Abraham tells Sky Sports. The first year was difficult for him. He found it difficult to be an important player, but gradually he became indispensable. He was very intelligent and very serious. That was important for his development. He improved every year.In a youth team that included attacking talents such as Thiago Alcantara and Cristian Tello, Romeu was the no-frills midfielder who held it all together. He did the dirty work, as Abraham calls it. El trabajo sucio. It was a very good generation, says Abraham. Oriol played as the pivote in front of Marc Bartra and Martin Montoya, with Thiago further forwards. Romeu (37) made his Barcelona debut in the Spanish Super Cup in 2010 Thiago was the rising star - He had it all, recalls Abraham - but Romeu quietly carved out a reputation of his own. He was quite slow and didnt have an explosive turn of pace, but he knew how to use his body very well, says Abraham. He knew how to anticipate the play so you didnt see his lack of pace. By the time he was 15 or 16, you could see he was going to make it at the top level.Romeu spent two years with Abraham before becoming a key player in Luis Enriques Barcelona B, and it looked like he was destined for the first-team when Guardiola thrust him into the starting lineup for a Spanish Super Cup clash with Sevilla. Romeu acquitted himself well, but Barcelona had signed Javier Mascherano that summer. The youngster slipped down the pecking order before accepting an offer from Chelsea in 2011.Andre Villas-Boas said Romeu had a brilliant future when he was unveiled at Stamford Bridge alongside Romelu Lukaku. He soon broke into the team, but Chelsea were in the midst of a tumultuous period. Villas-Boas was sacked in March 2012, and Romeu only made two further appearances under Roberto Di Matteo that season. Romeu made 24 appearances in his first season at Chelsea Romeus prospects looked brighter when Rafa Benitez took over from Di Matteo, but a cruciate knee ligament injury in December 2012 was the next roadblock. The midfielder was ruled out for the rest of the season, and when he returned to fitness, Benitez had been replaced by Jose Mourinho and Romeu was sent on loan to Valencia.His progress was hampered by more injuries on his return to Spain, and there was further misfortune when he moved to Stuttgart for the 2014/15 campaign. The Bundesliga side sacked their manager Armin Veh after just three months, and Romeu spent the season battling against relegation in an unfamiliar environment. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. It was not easy. Between signing for Chelsea in 2011 and returning from his loan spell in Germany in 2015, Romeu had played under eight different managers in three different countries. It is only now, a year after making his permanent £5m switch to St Marys, that he has finally found stability. It is only now that he is finally fulfilling his potential.He needed that, says Abraham, who is now a coach for Marbella FC in the Spanish third tier. Its like when he came to Barcelona. He needed continuity and he needed to feel important. It was difficult for him at Chelsea after Villas-Boas left, but hes an intelligent boy and hes humble. He kept working and working and working and he has made the most of his opportunity. Romeu in action for Southampton in their goalless draw with Leicester Romeu has been one of the Premier Leagues best ball-winning midfielders this season. Danny Drinkwater, NGolo Kante and Jordan Henderson are the only outfield players to have recovered possession more times (76), and the Spaniard made more tackles against Manchester City (eight) than any other Southampton player has managed in a single game all season.Other areas of his game still need work, but Romeu is getting better with the ball, too. His passing accuracy has improved in each of the last three seasons, and Puel insisted he should be in contention for his first senior Spain call-up after he was named Southamptons player of the month for September. His work in every game is very important to the team, he said. Oriol Romeus passing stats Season Team Passing accuracy 2014/15 Stuttgart 83% 2015/16 Southampton 85% 2016/17 Southampton 89% Abraham has been similarly impressed. Romeu was seen as a possible heir to Sergio Busquets as a teenager, and his former coach still sees the similarities. Ok, hes not Iniesta or Xavi, he says. He is more physical than your typical Barcelona player, but for me he has a similar profile to Busquets. He is a bit stronger and not as technical, but he would have fought for that position. He gives a lot of balance to the team.Hes certainly striking the right balance for Southampton this season. Its been a long road for Romeu, but he has offset Wanyamas departure and the Saints are feeling the benefits. We are seeing that he can be a fundamental player for his team, says Abraham. Now he has many years ahead of him to keep improving. Southampton will be hoping it continues against Chelsea on Sunday.You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Man City v Southampton highlights Shaqiri tops power rankings Wholesale Kevin Durant Shoes . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Kevin Durant Shoes Deals . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. https://www.kevindurantshoescheap.com/ . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Kevin Durant Shoes For Sale .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Kevin Durant Shoes Outlet . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- This past year in Istanbul, U.S. assistant coach Jamie Morrison worked right alongside a man he considers among the best volleyball minds in the business.And fired-up, Italian-born Netherlands coach Giovanni Guidetti is suddenly making quite a splash in Brazil with group of tenacious Dutch women determined to spoil the fun for the top teams in the tournament. Even if few might have expected them to contend while playing in their first Olympics in 20 years.Morrison was an assistant on Guidettis staff at club power Vakifbank in Turkey, coaching Olympians Lonneke Sloetjes, Anne Buijs and Robin de Kruijf and also U.S. outside hitter Kim Hill, who through the net saw several familiar faces.So, when the top-ranked Americans received a real push from the Netherlands in a hard-fought, five-set victory Monday, Morrison and the rest of the U.S. group were nowhere near surprised by the stellar display on the other side. The Dutch had already spoiled Chinas Olympic debut Saturday, then the Chinese bounced back with a straight-set win over Italy.Theyre not intimidated by anybody now, and they shouldnt be. Theyre good, said U.S. coach Karch Kiraly, who figures the group winners wont go unscathed. And thats great, because the Olympics are about being good.Guidetti credits Morrison -- someone he considers above an assistant -- for helping him become a better coach.I learned a lot from him and I hope I can keep learning a lot from him, Guidetti said after the match. Hes an amazing coach. Hes an amazing man and he knows volleyball very well.Hes like a lead guy. Im really trying to learn every time from the people that can teach me, and hes for sure one of the ones that can teach me.The U.S. rallied from one set down and again behind 2-1 to win 18-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8 on a day Netherlands captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues had to be helped off midway through the fourth set with a right ankle injury and didnt return.Simple communications were maade before the match.dddddddddddduch close international connections are commonplace in a sport that has no professional league in the U.S. for men or women, meaning players move across the world for eight months of the year to play professionally.I looked across the net and we were smiling before the match, Morrison said. A head nod, nothing more than that, not a hug.You bet the Americans envisioned this success for the Netherlands, a squad Morrison has seen make big strides in a matter of weeks ahead of the Olympics.Volleyball has come enormously far in the Netherlands in the past two years, he said. The team is up and coming and the support in their country is as well.Post-match, beach and indoor gold medalist Kiraly was getting goosebumps on top of my goosebumps thinking about the important test the Americans had just received Monday.The first-pumping, hard-clapping Guidetti lost his voice during the opening match and animatedly bounced around the court again. His example of passion, a desire to learn every day to make everyone around him better, has been a positive influence on the 35-year-old Morrison.He coached on the gold-medal winning mens Olympic staff in 2008 under Hugh McCutcheon and an assistant again as McCutcheon moved to lead the women to silver four years ago in London.Now, hes one of Kiralys right-hand men. When Morrison is not in Turkey with Guidetti, that is.When it came to scouting the Netherlands and other pool opponents -- a six-team group Kiraly called truly gnarly -- in the Olympic lead-up back at training headquarters in Orange County, everyone took part. Morrison said it was a collaborative effort involving the athletes that led to lots of insight into how to attack the Dutch.They pushed us, U.S. middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo said afterward. Thats what we love. We try and embrace those moments. ' ' '