I was debating between silly and serious for these, and ended up with a combination of both. So...enjoy?
the Fernando Martin award for most embarrassing club president
So many nominees to choose from. There's Joan '7 trophies! No, 6 is alright too. Umm...5. 3? please?' Laporta of Barcelona, who has had an exceptionally stupid year in terms of decision-making. There's Ramon 'Guti is an eternal promise' Calderon of Real Madrid, whose inability to censor himself either in speech or in action has infuriated and entertained both Madridistas and the league at large. Then there's Sevilla's del Nido, who exceeds the both of them in the capacity for offensive verbal diarrhea and brings along extra hints of sleaziness with his entanglement in corruption allegations.
I think Laporta edges this one for how silly he now looks, the team having won exactly 2 (and pretty much the least important 2) of those 7 trophies.
the Second Choice Steve award for underachievement
Who else but Atletico Madrid. How much money did they spend at the beginning of this season? Like coach Javier Aguirre - who I happen to admire very much - said, they spent 30 weeks in the UEFA Cup places and ended up 7th in the table. (But then, Barca spent how many weeks top of the table? Just goes to show that relative consistency in those terms counts for nothing.) Atletico are a big club with a large, long-suffering fanbase who spend a lot of money on players but seem to get little return. Which really does suck.
the Claudio Ranieri award for most disastrous tactical experiment
Barcelona's brief dalliance with 3-4-3. Great for the Dream Team, not so great when the form of Barca's starting back three made it seem more like 1-4-3. The worst exhibition of its failings was probably El Clasico in the Camp Nou.
the Istabul award for greatest comeback
In terms of individual matches, Getafe's 4-0 destruction of Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal after trailing 5-2 from the first leg is hard to beat. League-wise, Real's last-gasp comeback victories over Recreativo, Espanyol and the draw at Zaragoza, not to mention the last day victory over Mallorca all come to mind.
In terms of the season, I suppose the obvious choice is Real Madrid. Strangely, though, if you look at the results, the second half of their season is no better than the first half. So the term comeback is a bit inappropriate. For me, this award goes to Villarreal, who pulled themselves together in the second half of the season and went on a fantastic winning streak which lifted them back into European competition. Brilliant stuff.
goal of the season
Yeah, I'm going for the obvious, despite its inconsequential nature in the end. Because I never get sick of watching it. Because countless hours have been spent by people all over the world watching it over and over again. And if you're like me, it never fails to put a smile on your face.
Copa del Rey semifinal first leg: Barca v Getafe, 2-0. Lionel Messi, take a bow.
match of the season
Now, I don't get to watch as many matches as I would like, so feel free to disagree completely. For my money, it was definitely the aftementioned El Gran Clasico at the Camp Nou (3-3) - a match which was instrumental in the title heading to Madrid. It had everything - brilliant attacking moves, terrible defending, red cards, six goals, drama from the beginning to the very end and some massive protagonists in Ruud van Nistelrooy, Guti and young Leo Messi. Now that's entertaining football.
player of the season
This is going to a Real player, because somehow it seems appropriate. But it could have gone to one of Sevilla's finest, too, say the brilliant Dani Alves or the resurgent Freddie Kanoute.
For all that's been written about David Beckham, and bless him for his fine work, decisive goals win titles. Step forward, Ruud van Nistelrooy. The best money Real have spent in a long time, and he's far from finished. All hail this season's pichichi.
coach of the season
Difficult one, this. There's Bernard Schuster, who has done a remarkable job at Getafe yet again despite his tiny budget and guided the team into Europe next season. There's Juando Ramos of Sevilla, who I admire very much both for his ability and for the grace he always displays when talking to the press. But having come in under so much pressure, taken so much flak, and still managed to whip the player power mad Galactico machine into some sort of fighting shape (a task many thought to be impossible), this award really has to go to Fabio Capello.
I still fail to be impressed by his brand of football or his slightly scary personal politics, but what he did is some achievement. Points also for refreshing candor.
team of the season
Some part of me feels like this should really go to Real, for their spirit and determination and of course the big trophy they're taking home.
People say that this season, we've had a mediocre league. And maybe they're right. But if there's one team who have stood out amidst the mediocrity, both at home and abroad, it's surely FC Sevilla, winners of the UEFA Cup (2006 and 2007) and the Copa del Rey. They've done a lot to spread the idea that Spanish football is about more than just the Real-Barca duopoly, much like Depor and Valencia have done in the past, and will hopefully continue to do so. On top of all that, they've done it all on a relatively small budget, using quite a few home-grown players, and playing attractive football.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Who wants a decent striker?
It seems like a lot of Europe's big names do this season. Some of them have already done their business: Barca with Henry, Inter with Suazo (if that deal sticks), Bayern with Toni, Chelsea with Pizarro, Juventus with Iaquinta. Then there are the big clubs still looking for someone to lead their frontline.
AC Milan
Yeah, they've got a player who used to be the world's greatest striker in Ronaldo, but Inzaghi isn't getting any younger, Gilardino isn't a sure thing, especially in the Champions League and Oliveira's just been useless since his move from Spain. Hence their stalkerish pursuit of Samuel Eto'o, despite the player repeatedly rebuffing their advances. Might I note once again that this behaviour is still on-going from Milan, despite repeated statements from both the club and the player that he is not for sale.
Update: those pesky Milan suits never give up, do they? Here's an article quoting vice president Galliani, who restates his interest despite Barca and Eto'o's frequent 'back off' signals. Geez, they're really like a persistent suitor who can't take no for an answer. Worth reading for the hilarious quote from Laporta about the possible personal consequences for him if he sells Ronaldinho.
Fortunately, coach Ancelotti is more realistic and further contends that they'll be fine even if they don't sign anyone.
Those Sheva rumours never go away, but since Chelsea are apparently suing people for saying that he's going to go back to Milan now, I'm guessing that's not likely to happen. The latest seems to be a rumoured bid for David Villa, which is highly unlikely to come off given who they're dealing with. Valencia are a big club, and for the most part they are not a selling club. Especially not their best player.
Arsenal
Having lost Henry, the search for a striker would seem to be a priority for Arsenal. The most persistant rumours involve Nicolas Anelka, now of Bolton. Given his past history with Arsenal, opinion seems to be divided on the appropriateness of his return. He's certainly a talented player, but I don't know what Bolton think of selling and therefore won't comment on the likeliness of this transfer. (Tabloids of England, Spain, and Italy need to 1) learn to fact check, and 2) learn to say 'we don't know'.)
While we're on the subject of Arsenal, there's a lot of debate about the club's future going on right now. I wouldn't presume to comment, but I did like this Guardian piece about Cesc Fabregas and his potential leadership role within the team. Fabregas is probably the former Barca youth player I would most like to come back and play for us again someday, but I wish him a long and successful spell at Arsenal before that.
Update: here's another Guardian piece, this time on the possible replacements for Henry.
By the way, AS (otherwise known as Real Madrid's mouthpiece in the same way that Sport is Barca's) is apparently perpetuating the ridiculous rumour that Arsenal were offered Eto'o in a swap deal with Henry and refused in favour of getting the cash. Really? 1) Barca are not keen to offload Eto'o since he's the president's pal, and 2) you're telling me Arsenal wouldn't like getting a younger, and also a proven big name striker if they had to lose Henry? 3) There's no way anybody would be prying Eto'o off Barca's hands with just the 17 million pounds we eventually paid for Henry.
Lastly, here's Henry's last interview given to Arsenal's official website. It's clear he's trying to make the farewell as amiable as possible, and who can blame him for that given his many years of glory at the club? He's probably given his best years to Arsenal, after all.
Liverpool
It has been said many, many times by various commentators, but Liverpool really need a top-class striker. They've got a great, world-class midfield, a solid defence that I envy, but watching the Champions League final their lack of a lethal finisher was painfully apparent. And no, much as I like Peter Crouch, he is not that man. Same applies to the hard-working Dirk Kuyt.
Given Rafa Benitez's Spanish connections, everyone assumes he's going to sign Fernando Torres of Atletico Madrid or David Villa. I already covered the unlikely nature of the Villa deal above.
Like the other clubs covered here, Liverpool has its own draws because of the nature of the club as an institution of European football. They're also apparently very popular in Spain, so that's convenient if you're trying to sign Spanish players. I bring this up because I've see the photo in which Fernando Torres' captain's armband slips and the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone' are revealed to be printed on the reverse side. The Torres to England rumours do seem to run every summer, but this time I think it might be for real. His buy-out clause is not prohibitive and though he loves the club, their failure to clinch an UEFA Cup spot this season has got to be galling. If he wants to go, the club have said they will not stop him. He's not had a great season, though. Maybe Benitez would bring the best out of him.
Update: Atletico claim that they've received no bids for Torres so far.
Liverpool have also been linked to Diego Forlan of Villarreal. The thing about Forlan is that his club have a very clear transfer policy regarding him: meet his buy-out clause. Luckily for any would-be suitors, it's not prohibitive. I'm just not sure Liverpool are actually interested.
Manchester United
They've already done several pieces of big, flashy business in this transfer window, but apparently they're not quite done. Given the injury-prone nature of Louis Saha, the effects of cruel age on Ole Gunnar Solskjær and the possibility of Alan Smith leaving the club, United could do with someone to lead the line.
There have been tons of rumours linking them with many different strikers, but as none of them seem substantial so far I won't mention any. One note on the Fabio Quagliarella saga - Udinese don't seem very keen to sell now that they own the player entirely, so that would seem to be that.
Real Madrid
I thought Real would have been set next season, at least striker-wise, but apparently Ruud van Nistelrooy's injury sustained on the last day of the season has got those in charge of the Bernabeu thinking otherwise. Actually, we're not sure who is going to be managing Real next season just yet, so that could be a barrier towards any significant moves until the Capello-Schuster mess is sorted out. Then again, transfer policy at Real - as it is at other Spanish clubs - isn't entirely dictated by the coach.
Van Nistelrooy's injury isn't very serious, but it is the type of muscle problem which is prone to recur, and while he's still a fine player he isn't getting any younger. The same could be said for Raul, although his value is of course greater than his tangible contributions on the pitch. Higuain and Robinho are talents rather than established names, and Cassano has just fallen apart completely. They won the title with this group, so they may not necessarily need anyone new, but they've got to be planning for possible injury problems next season.
They've been persistently linked to Barca's departing striker Javier Saviola in the Madrid press. If those reports are true I would personally be very unhappy, but then Barca did make the decision to let him go. Where he goes now is his own business.
By the way, I was quite impressed with this Capello interview. Ignore all that talk about Kaka, since everyone knows that already. The way he spoke about why people might not have warmed to his style (which says to me that he 'gets' Spanish football) and his pride in Real's title triumph and the fans' reactions was quite refreshing. You might not agree with him, but at least he says what he thinks and doesn't whine a lot about refereeing.
AC Milan
Yeah, they've got a player who used to be the world's greatest striker in Ronaldo, but Inzaghi isn't getting any younger, Gilardino isn't a sure thing, especially in the Champions League and Oliveira's just been useless since his move from Spain. Hence their stalkerish pursuit of Samuel Eto'o, despite the player repeatedly rebuffing their advances. Might I note once again that this behaviour is still on-going from Milan, despite repeated statements from both the club and the player that he is not for sale.
Update: those pesky Milan suits never give up, do they? Here's an article quoting vice president Galliani, who restates his interest despite Barca and Eto'o's frequent 'back off' signals. Geez, they're really like a persistent suitor who can't take no for an answer. Worth reading for the hilarious quote from Laporta about the possible personal consequences for him if he sells Ronaldinho.
Fortunately, coach Ancelotti is more realistic and further contends that they'll be fine even if they don't sign anyone.
Those Sheva rumours never go away, but since Chelsea are apparently suing people for saying that he's going to go back to Milan now, I'm guessing that's not likely to happen. The latest seems to be a rumoured bid for David Villa, which is highly unlikely to come off given who they're dealing with. Valencia are a big club, and for the most part they are not a selling club. Especially not their best player.
Arsenal
Having lost Henry, the search for a striker would seem to be a priority for Arsenal. The most persistant rumours involve Nicolas Anelka, now of Bolton. Given his past history with Arsenal, opinion seems to be divided on the appropriateness of his return. He's certainly a talented player, but I don't know what Bolton think of selling and therefore won't comment on the likeliness of this transfer. (Tabloids of England, Spain, and Italy need to 1) learn to fact check, and 2) learn to say 'we don't know'.)
While we're on the subject of Arsenal, there's a lot of debate about the club's future going on right now. I wouldn't presume to comment, but I did like this Guardian piece about Cesc Fabregas and his potential leadership role within the team. Fabregas is probably the former Barca youth player I would most like to come back and play for us again someday, but I wish him a long and successful spell at Arsenal before that.
Update: here's another Guardian piece, this time on the possible replacements for Henry.
By the way, AS (otherwise known as Real Madrid's mouthpiece in the same way that Sport is Barca's) is apparently perpetuating the ridiculous rumour that Arsenal were offered Eto'o in a swap deal with Henry and refused in favour of getting the cash. Really? 1) Barca are not keen to offload Eto'o since he's the president's pal, and 2) you're telling me Arsenal wouldn't like getting a younger, and also a proven big name striker if they had to lose Henry? 3) There's no way anybody would be prying Eto'o off Barca's hands with just the 17 million pounds we eventually paid for Henry.
Lastly, here's Henry's last interview given to Arsenal's official website. It's clear he's trying to make the farewell as amiable as possible, and who can blame him for that given his many years of glory at the club? He's probably given his best years to Arsenal, after all.
Liverpool
It has been said many, many times by various commentators, but Liverpool really need a top-class striker. They've got a great, world-class midfield, a solid defence that I envy, but watching the Champions League final their lack of a lethal finisher was painfully apparent. And no, much as I like Peter Crouch, he is not that man. Same applies to the hard-working Dirk Kuyt.
Given Rafa Benitez's Spanish connections, everyone assumes he's going to sign Fernando Torres of Atletico Madrid or David Villa. I already covered the unlikely nature of the Villa deal above.
Like the other clubs covered here, Liverpool has its own draws because of the nature of the club as an institution of European football. They're also apparently very popular in Spain, so that's convenient if you're trying to sign Spanish players. I bring this up because I've see the photo in which Fernando Torres' captain's armband slips and the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone' are revealed to be printed on the reverse side. The Torres to England rumours do seem to run every summer, but this time I think it might be for real. His buy-out clause is not prohibitive and though he loves the club, their failure to clinch an UEFA Cup spot this season has got to be galling. If he wants to go, the club have said they will not stop him. He's not had a great season, though. Maybe Benitez would bring the best out of him.
Update: Atletico claim that they've received no bids for Torres so far.
Liverpool have also been linked to Diego Forlan of Villarreal. The thing about Forlan is that his club have a very clear transfer policy regarding him: meet his buy-out clause. Luckily for any would-be suitors, it's not prohibitive. I'm just not sure Liverpool are actually interested.
Manchester United
They've already done several pieces of big, flashy business in this transfer window, but apparently they're not quite done. Given the injury-prone nature of Louis Saha, the effects of cruel age on Ole Gunnar Solskjær and the possibility of Alan Smith leaving the club, United could do with someone to lead the line.
There have been tons of rumours linking them with many different strikers, but as none of them seem substantial so far I won't mention any. One note on the Fabio Quagliarella saga - Udinese don't seem very keen to sell now that they own the player entirely, so that would seem to be that.
Real Madrid
I thought Real would have been set next season, at least striker-wise, but apparently Ruud van Nistelrooy's injury sustained on the last day of the season has got those in charge of the Bernabeu thinking otherwise. Actually, we're not sure who is going to be managing Real next season just yet, so that could be a barrier towards any significant moves until the Capello-Schuster mess is sorted out. Then again, transfer policy at Real - as it is at other Spanish clubs - isn't entirely dictated by the coach.
Van Nistelrooy's injury isn't very serious, but it is the type of muscle problem which is prone to recur, and while he's still a fine player he isn't getting any younger. The same could be said for Raul, although his value is of course greater than his tangible contributions on the pitch. Higuain and Robinho are talents rather than established names, and Cassano has just fallen apart completely. They won the title with this group, so they may not necessarily need anyone new, but they've got to be planning for possible injury problems next season.
They've been persistently linked to Barca's departing striker Javier Saviola in the Madrid press. If those reports are true I would personally be very unhappy, but then Barca did make the decision to let him go. Where he goes now is his own business.
By the way, I was quite impressed with this Capello interview. Ignore all that talk about Kaka, since everyone knows that already. The way he spoke about why people might not have warmed to his style (which says to me that he 'gets' Spanish football) and his pride in Real's title triumph and the fans' reactions was quite refreshing. You might not agree with him, but at least he says what he thinks and doesn't whine a lot about refereeing.
Argentinean birthdays and net etiquette
Ah, a nice break from the firestorm of news that's been the last few days. Two largely frivolous things to be covered here, one nice and one...not so much.
Firstly, a very happy birthday to Lionel Andres Messi, who turns 20 on June 24. Yes, he's still that young. Scary, isn't it? There's not much that hasn't already been said about him, so I'll skip all that and just say that as someone who supports both Argentina and Barcelona, I hope he goes on to become one of the best players in the world - if he is not in fact there already.
June 24 must have been a good day for Argentinean football, because it was also the day Juan Roman Riquelme was born, 9 years before Messi. My best wishes to him also, and if you want to read one of my posts waxing lyrical about him, you've got several to choose from.
Right, so that's the warm and fuzzy part over. Since I started this blog in September of last year, I've been very pleased by all the comments I've received and enjoyed all the discussion, which has enriched my own knowledge. So thank you to everybody for that. Today, I received my first personal attack.
To be honest, I kind of expected it long before this, but it's rather ironic that I've managed to discuss the future of Real Madrid with very nice and eloquent Madridistas (thank you, Gonzalo) without a problem on this blog while it's my post on Thierry Henry joining the club that got me attacked.
No, I'm not letting the comment past moderation. There's no need for that kind of language around here, and by that I mean the abuse of netspeak and the English language in general, not this poster's apparent desire to fornicate with my mother and young Leo Messi. No idea why he's even relevant in the discussion, but hey. Well done, wanker. You look really classy. Feel free to join the conversation any time in the future when you've learned to be civilized.
Firstly, a very happy birthday to Lionel Andres Messi, who turns 20 on June 24. Yes, he's still that young. Scary, isn't it? There's not much that hasn't already been said about him, so I'll skip all that and just say that as someone who supports both Argentina and Barcelona, I hope he goes on to become one of the best players in the world - if he is not in fact there already.
June 24 must have been a good day for Argentinean football, because it was also the day Juan Roman Riquelme was born, 9 years before Messi. My best wishes to him also, and if you want to read one of my posts waxing lyrical about him, you've got several to choose from.
Right, so that's the warm and fuzzy part over. Since I started this blog in September of last year, I've been very pleased by all the comments I've received and enjoyed all the discussion, which has enriched my own knowledge. So thank you to everybody for that. Today, I received my first personal attack.
To be honest, I kind of expected it long before this, but it's rather ironic that I've managed to discuss the future of Real Madrid with very nice and eloquent Madridistas (thank you, Gonzalo) without a problem on this blog while it's my post on Thierry Henry joining the club that got me attacked.
No, I'm not letting the comment past moderation. There's no need for that kind of language around here, and by that I mean the abuse of netspeak and the English language in general, not this poster's apparent desire to fornicate with my mother and young Leo Messi. No idea why he's even relevant in the discussion, but hey. Well done, wanker. You look really classy. Feel free to join the conversation any time in the future when you've learned to be civilized.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Welcome to Barca, TH14 (and other player-related news)
Looks like it's official.
Details later when he's presented - surely the signing who's going to take Cruyff's no.14 shirt? Henry has confirmed the transfer himself in a new L'Equipe interview. Hat tip to Gunnerblog for the translation:
There's a fairly nice - to me, but then I'm not an Arsenal fan - 'open letter' from him explaining his exit which is available on the Sun's website. (Not linking to that scumbag 'newspaper' but the BBC article I link to does summarize it.) For an Arsenal fan's perspective - which quotes from the above mentioned letter - East Lower has an interesting and very eloquent - far more eloquent than I would be if my club's talisman left - take on the matter.
By the way, Barca vice-president Ferran Soriano - who seems to conduct all our transfer business - wants you to know that there was no tapping up involved:
You have to admit, Henry and Barca are a good match, if only because he's got 1) that die-hard romanticism about playing football with a certain style and swagger that we have (which makes others label us pretentious bastards), and 2) an appropriately large chip on his shoulder to match the club's collective identity.
I mean that both ironically and sincerely. Some of the qualities that makes Barca sometimes seem smug and annoying to others are the same ones that endeared me to the club in the first place, and I'm not going to apologize for that. But I can poke fun.
With Henry, I suspect it will be the same. He's got a way to go to erase the 'only women dive' remark - not to mention the rest of his post-Paris CL final rant - from my mind, but he's made a good start. (Until then, I reserve the right to laugh at that French NT story about his 'melon énorme'.)
All joking aside, I'm not really sure how to feel about this. The impact of this transfer on the makeup of the squad, not to mention the way we play is going to be huge. Firstly, Gudjohnsen and Ezquerro are almost definitely following Saviola out the door. Most likely Giuly would be too, although his exit would only be tangentially related to Henry.
Second, how are Barca going to play next season? I can't see a way of playing Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Messi at the same time without sacrificing our midfield advantage and completely destablising the team in a way that will make the already leaky defence even worse.
Apparently the way club management have worked out is that Barca have about 55 games a season and things will be okay if each of the four end up playing about 35 of those. I don't really see how that would work. Who is Rijkaard going to leave out in a big Champions League game? Or I suppose Messi loses out because he's the most junior star amongst the four, but that would be incredibly stupid from any point of view if Barca want to hold on to him at all.
The third option is to offload one of Ronaldinho and Eto'o. (We all agree that Messi is going nowhere, right?) I've said from the beginning that if we gain Henry and lose Eto'o, I think we'd come out worse off, but this is a real possibility now. Sure, Eto'o's relationship with Laporta can pretty much ensure his continuity at the club, but as he himself acknowledges, he has enemies both within and outside the club, and they could make his lift difficult to a point where he is forced out.
Personally, I wouldn't want this to happen, as I believe Sammy to be a crucial player for Barca's successes in the last few seasons who is still very young and has loads more to offer the club. Plus, unlike the whiners (Edmilson - who's just had a knee operation, ruling him out for six months and won't be playing for Barca again - and Deco), he's ready to accept the newly imposed squad rules:
While we're on the subject of resting, and players who need it, how about our beloved Captain Caveman? In a clear demonstration of the absurdity of flying all over the world playing far too many meaningless friendlies, Carles Puyol suffered ligament damage in Barca's friendly match in South Africa and will be out for 3 months, missing the entire pre-season and about a month of league action, not to mention a couple of Champions League clashes. He was operated on as soon as possible, and here's what the doctor had to say:
Details later when he's presented - surely the signing who's going to take Cruyff's no.14 shirt? Henry has confirmed the transfer himself in a new L'Equipe interview. Hat tip to Gunnerblog for the translation:
I still have to pass a medical on Monday. But yes, I have chosen Barcelona. I am going to sign there for the next four seasons...for the football they play, their history, their stadium. For Frank Rijkaard, who I grew up watching.Oh, Thierry. Sweet talk us some more.
There's a fairly nice - to me, but then I'm not an Arsenal fan - 'open letter' from him explaining his exit which is available on the Sun's website. (Not linking to that scumbag 'newspaper' but the BBC article I link to does summarize it.) For an Arsenal fan's perspective - which quotes from the above mentioned letter - East Lower has an interesting and very eloquent - far more eloquent than I would be if my club's talisman left - take on the matter.
By the way, Barca vice-president Ferran Soriano - who seems to conduct all our transfer business - wants you to know that there was no tapping up involved:
He...insisted that Barcelona waited for the green light from Arsenal before making a move for the France international..."We don't want to point a gun at anybody," said Soriano. "We have good relationships with the European clubs."Henry himself is actually still recovering from a groin injury, but he is apparently conscious of getting fit and prepared in time for the start of Barca's pre-season. Which is nice.
You have to admit, Henry and Barca are a good match, if only because he's got 1) that die-hard romanticism about playing football with a certain style and swagger that we have (which makes others label us pretentious bastards), and 2) an appropriately large chip on his shoulder to match the club's collective identity.
I mean that both ironically and sincerely. Some of the qualities that makes Barca sometimes seem smug and annoying to others are the same ones that endeared me to the club in the first place, and I'm not going to apologize for that. But I can poke fun.
With Henry, I suspect it will be the same. He's got a way to go to erase the 'only women dive' remark - not to mention the rest of his post-Paris CL final rant - from my mind, but he's made a good start. (Until then, I reserve the right to laugh at that French NT story about his 'melon énorme'.)
All joking aside, I'm not really sure how to feel about this. The impact of this transfer on the makeup of the squad, not to mention the way we play is going to be huge. Firstly, Gudjohnsen and Ezquerro are almost definitely following Saviola out the door. Most likely Giuly would be too, although his exit would only be tangentially related to Henry.
Second, how are Barca going to play next season? I can't see a way of playing Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Messi at the same time without sacrificing our midfield advantage and completely destablising the team in a way that will make the already leaky defence even worse.
Apparently the way club management have worked out is that Barca have about 55 games a season and things will be okay if each of the four end up playing about 35 of those. I don't really see how that would work. Who is Rijkaard going to leave out in a big Champions League game? Or I suppose Messi loses out because he's the most junior star amongst the four, but that would be incredibly stupid from any point of view if Barca want to hold on to him at all.
The third option is to offload one of Ronaldinho and Eto'o. (We all agree that Messi is going nowhere, right?) I've said from the beginning that if we gain Henry and lose Eto'o, I think we'd come out worse off, but this is a real possibility now. Sure, Eto'o's relationship with Laporta can pretty much ensure his continuity at the club, but as he himself acknowledges, he has enemies both within and outside the club, and they could make his lift difficult to a point where he is forced out.
Personally, I wouldn't want this to happen, as I believe Sammy to be a crucial player for Barca's successes in the last few seasons who is still very young and has loads more to offer the club. Plus, unlike the whiners (Edmilson - who's just had a knee operation, ruling him out for six months and won't be playing for Barca again - and Deco), he's ready to accept the newly imposed squad rules:
In any place where there is a group there are rules to respect. We have been fortunate that Frank and Jan have given us some freedom or, in other words, responsibility. If they believe that the rules have to be tightened, then it's probably right.Ronaldinho himself has remained neutral on the subject of Laporta's statements, merely stating that he's not been 100% this season because he's exhausted. Which is fair enough, really, and I'd argue that he's done a lot for the team during the season despite being obviously unfit and a somewhat destabilising influence. Have a nice holiday, Ronnie, and we'll hope to see the old you back next season.
While we're on the subject of resting, and players who need it, how about our beloved Captain Caveman? In a clear demonstration of the absurdity of flying all over the world playing far too many meaningless friendlies, Carles Puyol suffered ligament damage in Barca's friendly match in South Africa and will be out for 3 months, missing the entire pre-season and about a month of league action, not to mention a couple of Champions League clashes. He was operated on as soon as possible, and here's what the doctor had to say:
...he has already said that the recovery time must be shorter, because he does not want to spend as much time without playing.Vintage Puyol. Not the first time he's been desperate to rush back from injury to help the team, and probably not the last. What a guy. I hope his recovery goes well and that he's back with us soon.
Argentina squad for Copa America
As has been widely reported, Juan Roman Riquelme makes his return to the national team. Coach Alfio Basile has opted to bring along a formidable squad, mostly made up of Europe-based players. At this stage, questions have to be asked about how a seeming overabundance of creative players will be used. For example, there's absolutely no point in calling up Roman if he doesn't start. So does that mean that Aimar will be relegated to the bench? What about Veron? Can Messi and Tevez be played together? Which striking partnership will Basile choose? I suppose we'll have to wait for the first match against the United States for these questions to be answered. For now, it's certainly a very impressive squad on paper.
Goalkeepers
Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe, Spain)
Juan Pablo Carrizo (River Plate, Argentina)
Agustin Orion (San Lorenzo, Argentina)
Abbondanzieri should be the undisputed number one, despite his alarmingly poor performance against Algeria. He's had a great club season in Spain and his expertise with penalties should serve the team well. I have to confess I don't know as much about Carrizo and Orion as I should, beyond the fact that Carrizo has impressed observers at River and is rated by some above Independiente (and next season Villarreal)'s Oscar Ustari, who I'm very fond of. (He would have been in the squad but for a last minute injury.)
Defenders
Roberto Ayala (Valencia, Spain)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale, Italy)
Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Gabriel Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United, England)
Daniel Diaz (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Nicolas Burdisso (Internazionale, Italy)
An impressive roster of defenders, really. If they can play like they did against France rather than the shambles that was the Algeria game, we'd be set. Ayala and Milito are a solid defensive partnership, which Burdisso is a nice backup to. I get nervous everytime he's played as right-back, but he really is a fine centre-back who gets used out of position too often. Otherwise Heinze can also double as a centre-back, although I prefer him on the left. Zanetti can play right-back or midfield, but with the options we have in midfield, I'd much rather have him in the back. Ibarra's experience will be nice to have in the squad, especially since we have all these young players. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Diaz, but he's just won the Copa Libertadores with Boca, so hopefully he's coming in with some good form should he be needed.
By the way, Ayala is a fine captain of the team, and I really hope his last international tournament brings him some well-deserved glory.
Defensive Midfielders
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England)
Esteban Cambiasso (Internazionale, Italy)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, Spain)
Very pleased by the options we have here. Neither Gago nor Cambiasso are pure holding players, but I can see Cambiasso starting with one of Gago or Mascherano since the Inter player is more of a central midfielder, and he's been a consistent member of the starting line-up for Argentina. If it came down to a choice between Gago and Mascherano, my personal preference would be for Mascherano. Yes, he's not much older, but he has tons more international experience and a better understanding with many of the other players who are likely to start. Plus, his form coming into the tournament looks very impressive. Gago has had a decent season at Real and Basile rates him very highly, but his performances haven't impressed me as much as Masche's have.
Creative Midfielders
Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez (Porto, Portugal)
Pablo Aimar (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes, Argentina)
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Oh boy. An embarrassment of riches, anyone? Especially since Basile seems to count Messi as somewhat amongst this category instead of a wing-forward. The problem with this group of players is that barring Lucho - who I think has a high probability of starting - arguably all three of the others need the team to be built around them, which means that only one of them can start at any one time. Arguably both Veron and Aimar could be deployed on, say, the left side of midfield instead of in the playmaker role, but there's no point in playing Roman if he's not in the no.10 role. So we'll have to wait for Basile to make a decision, and hope that the reported antipathy between Roman and Veron doesn't rear its ugly head.
Form-wise, Lucho has had a great season at Porto, where he is now frequently dubbed the best player in the league, or at least close enough to it. Aimar has been plagued by injury problems as always, but when not laid up in dry dock he's done very well for Zaragoza, playing on the left side of midfield. Veron had a great first half of the season, but I haven't heard enough to judge how he did in the second half. Roman of course had a great second half of the season with Boca, playing some of his best football.
Forwards
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Hernan Crespo (Internazionale, Italy)
Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham United, England)
Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Continuing the 'embarrassment of riches' theme, Basile has taken along 5 strikers who barring one - Palacio, who's had a decent but not brilliant season - have all done very well for themselves in 06-07. Crespo is arguably still Argentina's best centre striker and this is probably his last international tournament, so he'll want to go out on a high. 14 goals in his 22 Serie A appearances this season is a pretty good return. Milito has had a brilliant season, scoring 23 goals and just being pipped to La Liga's golden boot by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Leo Messi was out for 3 months with a serious injury but bounced back and played brilliantly for Barcelona during the latter half of the season. Last but not least, Carlos Tevez is widely credited with the survival of West Ham in the Premiership, carrying the team on his shoulders through his passion, hard work and sublime skill. Carlitos will also be keen to win the cup to erase the memory of the 2004 competition, in which he missed a penalty in the final shootout which Brazil ultimately won.
The mix is broadly similar to the '06 World Cup squad, actually, since Diego Milito is similar to Julio Cruz, except for the fact that Pekerman took 6 strikers. The one who has been left out this time around is Javier Saviola, whose lack of playing time this season probably counted against him in such a crowded field.
I would expect Basile to play one of the 'target men' - Crespo or Milito - and pair him with either Tevez or Messi. Palacio will probably only have an outside chance of starting, unfortunately.
So a good mix overall, but I'm still concerned about tactical arrangements. If supporting Barca for all these years has taught me anything, it's that just having a bunch of brilliant players won't help if there's no coherent tactical plan for how they're going to play together.
Goalkeepers
Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe, Spain)
Juan Pablo Carrizo (River Plate, Argentina)
Agustin Orion (San Lorenzo, Argentina)
Abbondanzieri should be the undisputed number one, despite his alarmingly poor performance against Algeria. He's had a great club season in Spain and his expertise with penalties should serve the team well. I have to confess I don't know as much about Carrizo and Orion as I should, beyond the fact that Carrizo has impressed observers at River and is rated by some above Independiente (and next season Villarreal)'s Oscar Ustari, who I'm very fond of. (He would have been in the squad but for a last minute injury.)
Defenders
Roberto Ayala (Valencia, Spain)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale, Italy)
Hugo Ibarra (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Gabriel Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United, England)
Daniel Diaz (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Nicolas Burdisso (Internazionale, Italy)
An impressive roster of defenders, really. If they can play like they did against France rather than the shambles that was the Algeria game, we'd be set. Ayala and Milito are a solid defensive partnership, which Burdisso is a nice backup to. I get nervous everytime he's played as right-back, but he really is a fine centre-back who gets used out of position too often. Otherwise Heinze can also double as a centre-back, although I prefer him on the left. Zanetti can play right-back or midfield, but with the options we have in midfield, I'd much rather have him in the back. Ibarra's experience will be nice to have in the squad, especially since we have all these young players. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Diaz, but he's just won the Copa Libertadores with Boca, so hopefully he's coming in with some good form should he be needed.
By the way, Ayala is a fine captain of the team, and I really hope his last international tournament brings him some well-deserved glory.
Defensive Midfielders
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England)
Esteban Cambiasso (Internazionale, Italy)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, Spain)
Very pleased by the options we have here. Neither Gago nor Cambiasso are pure holding players, but I can see Cambiasso starting with one of Gago or Mascherano since the Inter player is more of a central midfielder, and he's been a consistent member of the starting line-up for Argentina. If it came down to a choice between Gago and Mascherano, my personal preference would be for Mascherano. Yes, he's not much older, but he has tons more international experience and a better understanding with many of the other players who are likely to start. Plus, his form coming into the tournament looks very impressive. Gago has had a decent season at Real and Basile rates him very highly, but his performances haven't impressed me as much as Masche's have.
Creative Midfielders
Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez (Porto, Portugal)
Pablo Aimar (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes, Argentina)
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Oh boy. An embarrassment of riches, anyone? Especially since Basile seems to count Messi as somewhat amongst this category instead of a wing-forward. The problem with this group of players is that barring Lucho - who I think has a high probability of starting - arguably all three of the others need the team to be built around them, which means that only one of them can start at any one time. Arguably both Veron and Aimar could be deployed on, say, the left side of midfield instead of in the playmaker role, but there's no point in playing Roman if he's not in the no.10 role. So we'll have to wait for Basile to make a decision, and hope that the reported antipathy between Roman and Veron doesn't rear its ugly head.
Form-wise, Lucho has had a great season at Porto, where he is now frequently dubbed the best player in the league, or at least close enough to it. Aimar has been plagued by injury problems as always, but when not laid up in dry dock he's done very well for Zaragoza, playing on the left side of midfield. Veron had a great first half of the season, but I haven't heard enough to judge how he did in the second half. Roman of course had a great second half of the season with Boca, playing some of his best football.
Forwards
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Hernan Crespo (Internazionale, Italy)
Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham United, England)
Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors, Argentina)
Continuing the 'embarrassment of riches' theme, Basile has taken along 5 strikers who barring one - Palacio, who's had a decent but not brilliant season - have all done very well for themselves in 06-07. Crespo is arguably still Argentina's best centre striker and this is probably his last international tournament, so he'll want to go out on a high. 14 goals in his 22 Serie A appearances this season is a pretty good return. Milito has had a brilliant season, scoring 23 goals and just being pipped to La Liga's golden boot by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Leo Messi was out for 3 months with a serious injury but bounced back and played brilliantly for Barcelona during the latter half of the season. Last but not least, Carlos Tevez is widely credited with the survival of West Ham in the Premiership, carrying the team on his shoulders through his passion, hard work and sublime skill. Carlitos will also be keen to win the cup to erase the memory of the 2004 competition, in which he missed a penalty in the final shootout which Brazil ultimately won.
The mix is broadly similar to the '06 World Cup squad, actually, since Diego Milito is similar to Julio Cruz, except for the fact that Pekerman took 6 strikers. The one who has been left out this time around is Javier Saviola, whose lack of playing time this season probably counted against him in such a crowded field.
I would expect Basile to play one of the 'target men' - Crespo or Milito - and pair him with either Tevez or Messi. Palacio will probably only have an outside chance of starting, unfortunately.
So a good mix overall, but I'm still concerned about tactical arrangements. If supporting Barca for all these years has taught me anything, it's that just having a bunch of brilliant players won't help if there's no coherent tactical plan for how they're going to play together.
no place like home: the past, present and future of Juan Roman Riquelme
(Picture swiped from ole.com)The Argentine press had repeatedly asked him whether the final victory would put an end to his spell at Boca, but the midfielder didn’t want to talk about the subject.Punditry and fan opinion is sharply divided on Juan Roman Riquelme, especially amongst Argentina supporters. I think it's probably fair to say that the non-Argentina supporting press are far more admiring about him than the actual supporters. I'm one of his many strong admirers, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to his faults. It does mean that I'm willing to give him the credit he is due, and at least try to explain his issues as well.
“I’m very happy, I’m very happy”, he responded when asked about his plans.
the story so far
Even when at his peak in Europe, there were those who insisted that Roman's best days were back at Boca Juniors, under Carlos Bianchi, right after the turn of the millennium. The many honours he won during that time, both personal and as part of a great Boca team would seem to back that up. Before a combination of reasons led to Roman leaving for Europe, La Bombonera was his home in every sense, and many would say that he's never found anywhere to equal it since. Having seen him play amazingly for Boca this season, I'm starting to believe that.
However, there seems to be a tendency for current evaluations of his talent to dismiss his European adventures, which is an astounding bit of revisionist history. Leaving aside the Barcelona years, in which he was brought by a crazy president for a coach who didn't want him and didn't play him, I think it's hard to argue that his first 3 seasons at Villarreal were anything but a great success.
In the 02-03 season, Villarreal finished 15th. In 03-04, Roman's first season, they finished 8th in La Liga and went out in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to regional rivals Valencia, who eventually won the trophy. The next season they finished an amazing 3rd in La Liga and again reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. (Villarreal qualified for the competition by winning the Intertoto Cup both times.) In the 05-06 season, they gained international recognition by making it into the semi-finals of the Champions League in their first ever season in the competition, eventually going out to Arsenal by a single goal. Their Liga campaign suffered from the priority placed on the European stage, and they finished a reputable 7th.
Least anyone forget, Villarreal were only promoted to the first division in 2000. Prior to that, the club spent all of its time - bar one season - in the lower divisions. The town in which the club is based has a population of less than 50,000. The club's upturn in fortunes came when Fernando Roig decided to invest in the club, bringing in a succession of South American players who proved successful. While Roman was not the only player responsible for Villarreal's rise, he was certainly widely acknowledged as the most important.
Why did I bore you with the above two paragraphs, you ask. Because it's a self-contained argument against the statement that Roman came running back to Argentina because he couldn't cut it in Europe. Wrong. The European press spent the 05-06 season practically salivating over him and expressing surprise that he wasn't more highly rated. I'll come back this point later. For now, we continue with the story.
Various injury-related and other, less tangible problems plagued Roman as the 06-07 season opened, and led to both a loss of form on the pitch and a falling out with the coach off it. Eventually, they came to the decision to off-load him, and Boca came in eagerly for their prodigal son in the January transfer market with a loan deal. There were some initial struggles, but it seems that La Bombonera does indeed suit him in every way, and eventually Roman began to show some of the form they still remembered from his last stay. The rest, as they say, is history.
MVP of the final series and second highest scorer of the Copa Libertadores, I don't think anyone would protest the statement that he was the player of the tournament. Roman showed all his usual talent in controlling the tempo of a game, finding a killer pass and scored some fantastic goals. His deadballs were as deadly as ever. For those of us who were saddened by his downward spiral in the 06-07 season and heartbroken by his departure from Villarreal, the sight of him playing so well again is a great comfort.
However, there are fresh questions over Roman's future. I'll discuss his recall to the national team in another post, but on the club front this is a time of instability for him. Villarreal have made it clear that they don't want him back, while being open to amiable negotiations of some kind from interested clubs. Boca have consistently said that they can't afford him for more than the six months he's already been there, but now that the reunion has been so successful, there are rumours that he wants to stay and will try to swing negotiations in that direction. Otherwise, there will no doubt be European clubs interested in trying to convert Roman's particular brand of magic to their own use.
understanding Riquelme
In the previous section, I've recapped Roman's club career so far using facts and statistics. This section is based on my own conjecture, which while based on fact is still only speculation, and definitely not meant in anything other than the most admiring manner.
Many of the positive profiles of Roman that I've read in the press go into his rather unique personality. He possesses a type of reticence that is fairly rare amongst footballers, especially attacking, showman-type players who have teams built around them. The only two other flair players I can think of who have similar personalities which causes difficulties for them professionally are Sevilla's Jesus Navas and Barcelona's Leo Messi. The former has anxiety attacks and chronic homesickness to the extent that he has walked out on training camps within Spain because they were too far away from Seville. (So take any transfer speculation surrounding him with a pinch of salt.) The latter would seem to have no problems in his club career, but his extremely reserved nature complicated his integration into the Argentinean national team, especially while at the 2006 World Cup.
Roman suffers from what might be termed a sensitive and depressive personality where traumatic events - like missing the penalty that would have sent Villarreal into the Champions League final and Argentina's exit from Germany 2006, along with the associated criticism of him within the press whenever he plays for the national team - affect his mood and by extension, his form. (If you read the Argentinean press, this is nothing new.) He can only play well when he feels comfortable and happy. When Villarreal were accomodating of him and built their team around him, he was fine there. But the aftementioned penalty incident soured that.
Something about being at Boca seems to curb the depressiveness, at least at the moment. Therefore, I can only hope that he stays there. It's so good to see him smiling and playing his best football again. Long may it continue.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Barca news round-up
It's not been a vintage season, but there is one thing Barca have achieved that we didn't in the glorious 05-06 season, and that's maintain an unbeaten record at home in the league. It's the four months we went without winning away that let us down.
Club president Joan Laporta sent out a forceful statement that things will change at the club next season in a press conference, although he insisted that Rijkaard, Ronaldinho and Eto'o would be staying put.
In the same press conference, the club's stated transfer targets are said to be "A left back, a centre back, one or two midfielders and one or two forwards". Sounds good to me, although I'd prioritize the midfielders, which we desperately need.
Also mentioned: Barca C is going to be folded, given Barca B's relegation.
Speaking of Barca B, guess who's been tasked with guiding them back up to the third division? One of my favourite players of all time and former Barca idol Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year contract to coach the team, bringing him back to the youth set up which made him as a player. I definitely approve, and hope that he proves to be a success.
From Guardiola to one of his successors, both on the pitch and as a leader of the squad. Xavi Hernandez spoke frankly about the season in a recent press conference, in which he laid the blame squarely on the players for not being up to the job, backed Frank Rijkaard to continue, and insisted that the squad was a great one which was very capable of winning more titles. Also, this:
Technical secretary Txiki Begiristain also spoke about the changes in store for next season, strongly hinting that discipline would be tightened up in all respects, including speaking to the media and training. Three guesses which two players those concerns were directed at, and the first two don't count.
There's been a flurry of teams all over Europe unveiling their shirts for next season. If you're impatient to see Barca's, the designs for the home and away shirts have been leaked already. Looks genuine enough to me. I definitely approve of the home shirt. Not too sure about that shade of blue on the away one yet, although I like the collar. Having blue on both the home and away shirts probably means another season of getting out the third kit a lot on away trips. As long as it isn't the same unpleasant shade of brown as the last time we had blue on both home and away jerseys, I'll be fine.
Yes, another Asian tour. I thought we'd been over this enough times this season with the players complaining about how much pre-season tours screw up their physical preparations for the season? Ah well, at least it's a short one. Before that, Barca have broken with tradition and chosen to conduct their pre-season training in Scotland instead of Denmark. They'll play Dundee United and Hearts while they're there.
Club president Joan Laporta sent out a forceful statement that things will change at the club next season in a press conference, although he insisted that Rijkaard, Ronaldinho and Eto'o would be staying put.
In the same press conference, the club's stated transfer targets are said to be "A left back, a centre back, one or two midfielders and one or two forwards". Sounds good to me, although I'd prioritize the midfielders, which we desperately need.
Also mentioned: Barca C is going to be folded, given Barca B's relegation.
Speaking of Barca B, guess who's been tasked with guiding them back up to the third division? One of my favourite players of all time and former Barca idol Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year contract to coach the team, bringing him back to the youth set up which made him as a player. I definitely approve, and hope that he proves to be a success.
From Guardiola to one of his successors, both on the pitch and as a leader of the squad. Xavi Hernandez spoke frankly about the season in a recent press conference, in which he laid the blame squarely on the players for not being up to the job, backed Frank Rijkaard to continue, and insisted that the squad was a great one which was very capable of winning more titles. Also, this:
Xavi is already looking to the future and is determined to win more silverware next season: “You always get another chance in football. We can’t allow ourselves another year like this one”.Given that Xavi is the squad member who has been in the first team the longest and therefore experienced most of Barca's last long dry spell, his words carry some weight. He knows what it was like in the bad old days. Let's not do that again.
Technical secretary Txiki Begiristain also spoke about the changes in store for next season, strongly hinting that discipline would be tightened up in all respects, including speaking to the media and training. Three guesses which two players those concerns were directed at, and the first two don't count.
There's been a flurry of teams all over Europe unveiling their shirts for next season. If you're impatient to see Barca's, the designs for the home and away shirts have been leaked already. Looks genuine enough to me. I definitely approve of the home shirt. Not too sure about that shade of blue on the away one yet, although I like the collar. Having blue on both the home and away shirts probably means another season of getting out the third kit a lot on away trips. As long as it isn't the same unpleasant shade of brown as the last time we had blue on both home and away jerseys, I'll be fine.
Yes, another Asian tour. I thought we'd been over this enough times this season with the players complaining about how much pre-season tours screw up their physical preparations for the season? Ah well, at least it's a short one. Before that, Barca have broken with tradition and chosen to conduct their pre-season training in Scotland instead of Denmark. They'll play Dundee United and Hearts while they're there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)