Thomas Frank ya kasance mai son ƙwallon ƙafa tun lokacin da ya kalli Denmark a Mexico '86 yana yaro. Amma a yau, ko lokacin da yake kallon wasa a matsayin mai sharhi, tunani na manaja baya nisa.

"Har yanzu zan iya jin daɗinsa kamar mai son wasa," Frank ya shaida wa BBC Sport, "amma tabbas ina tunani kamar manaja idan ina rufe wasanni a matsayin mai sharhi." Yana jin daɗin motsin zuciya da bakan idon masu goyon bayan ƙungiyoyi kamar Scotland, Norway, da Netherlands — amma idonsa na jawo zuwa ga yanayin dabarun wasa da shawarwarin sauran alƙalai.

Gano 'yan wasa a wasa gaba ɗaya

Ɗaya daga cikin manyan jin daɗin da Frank ya bayyana shi ne kallon ɗan wasa daga farko zuwa ƙarshe, maimakon ta hanyar bayanai na ɗan gajeren bidiyo ko kirtani. Ya haskaka 'yan wasa biyu na Ivory Coast waɗanda suka jawo hankalinsa a wannan gasar.

Yan Diomande na RB Leipzig, wanda duk duniya ke magana a kai yanzu, ya kasance a kan radar ɗin Frank tun daga lokacin da ɗan wasan ya yi wasa a kulob ɗin Leganes na Spain, lokacin da Frank yake manajan Brentford. Amma kalla shi yana buga wasa gaba ɗaya da Germany ya kasance wani kwarewa daban-daban. "Abin da zai iya yi an adana shi ne a cikin diski mai ƙarfi a kaina," Frank ya faɗa. "A matsayin koci, haka ne koyaushe kake son yadda za ka tuna da 'yan wasa."

Ɗan wasan Ivory Coast na biyu da ya burge shi shi ne midfielder na Trabzonspor Christ Inao Oulai — wanda Frank bai taɓa kallon da kansa ba kafin wannan gasar. Duk da cewa ƙungiyarsa ta sha kashi da Germany, Oulai ya yi fice saboda motsin jikinsa, iyawarsa ta buga ƙwallo gaba, da ƙarfin fasaharsa. "Kana samun wannan nau'in cikakkiyar ra'ayi game da ɗan wasa ne kawai ta hanyar ganinsa da idanuwanka," Frank ya ce.

Mafarkin manaja na siyan 'yan wasa

A matsayin mai son wasa, Frank baya shakka: Lionel Messi ya ci gaba da zama ɗan wasan da yake ƙaunata mafi yawa a wannan Kofin Duniya. Ya shirya kallo Argentina ta fuskanci Austria tare da ɗansa mai shekara 22, babban mai sha'awar Messi. "Tsawon rayuwarsa yana bin Messi, ya kasance mafi kyau a duniya," Frank ya ce. "Wannan mai yiwuwa ne ƙarshen Kofin Duniya nashi."

Amma da hular manajan, zaɓinsa na farko daga cikin 'yan wasa 1,428 a gasar zai canza. Zaɓinsa na musamman kuma na musamman mai tsakiya a gasar ya kai shi ga Vitinha na Portugal da Paris St-Germain. "Ya kasance mai ban mamaki a wannan kakar," Frank ya faɗa. Ya fuskanci Vitinha sau biyu a lokacin da yake Tottenham Hotspur — a UEFA Super Cup da Champions League — kuma ya mamaye, musamman da ƙwallaye biyu na Vitinha daga waje da akwatin Paris. Frank har yanzu yana girmama Pedri na Spain da Barcelona.

Olise a matsayin ɗan wasan gasar

Zaɓin Frank ga ɗan wasan gasar shi ne Michael Olise na Bayern Munich da France — wanda kusan ya kawo shi Brentford daga Reading kafin Olise ya zaɓi Crystal Palace maimakon haka.

A wasan farko na France da Senegal, Frank ya ji Olise ya kasance mafi kyawun ɗan wasa a filin — har ma fiye da Kylian Mbappe, wanda ya ci ƙwallaye biyu. "Olise yana gudu da ƙarfi — ina son haka a cikin ɗan wasa — kuma yana yin aiki da himma kuma," Frank ya ce. "Zai iya harbi, zai iya wucewa, kuma kewayon wucewa nashi yana da kyau sosai." Wucewar da ta kafa ƙwallon farko na Mbappe, Frank ya lura, dole ne ta kasance daidai daidai a nauyi da alkibla.

Idan France suna cikin cikakken gudana, abokan hamayya dole ne su yi magana da barazanar huɗu ko biyar a lokaci ɗaya. Frank ya yi imani Olise shi ne mafi tasiri a cikinsu duka — kuma cewa, wannan Kofin Duniya ya ƙare, leƙen Bayern Munich na iya tunawa a matsayin cikakken ɗan wasan dukan gasar.