More news and less commentary today. No silly transfer rumours, as always.
Samuel Eto'o speaks out about racism in football. You know, one of the reasons I was surprised that Henry came to Barca in the end was the well-known racist behaviour in some Spanish grounds, given Henry's own high profile anti-racism work. (Also, Goal.com, your headline writers suck.)
Eto'o has also once again maintained that both him and Ronaldinho are staying with the club. The same article also has his opinion of the new dressing room code (he approves of having one), the mentality Barca will need to have next season, and a reference to his 'grandfather', Spanish NT coach Luis Aragones, who coached him at Real Mallorca. (Rather ironic given Aragones' infamous remark about Henry.)
Eidur Gudjohnsen's father and agent says that his son is determined to stay at Barca and fight for his place, contrary to reports of a move to Newcastle. He also attempts to sow the seeds of dressing room unrest by suggesting that Gudjohnsen would suit Henry as a strike partner more than Eto'o would. Thanks, man.
On to Real Madrid, and president Ramon Calderon has spoken out about his transfer targets for this off-season. He indicated that Real were interested in unsettled Roma centerback Christian Chivu and also a left winger, who he says is either going to be Lyon's Florent Malouda or Chelsea's Arjen Robben. Take that with a grain of salt (Malouda wants to go to Chelsea, and I was under the impression that Robben just signed a contract extension), but what's certain is that Christoph Metzelder has already been signed, and he wants Cassano and Emerson out. Not many people are going to argue with that part.
Update: I was mistaken about Robben - he hasn't extended his contract yet, although there have been negotiations. So if Malouda goes to Chelsea, which looks increasingly likely, the Robben deal looks possible.
As for Chivu, sporting director Mijatovic maintains that there has been no offer, although the two clubs have talked about the deal. (By the way, although I haven't written about it here, I'm already as thoroughly sick of the whole Chivu to Barca saga as Chris from the Roma Offside. Someone please just sign the man, ridiculous salary demands and all.)
Speaking of Mijatovic and transfers, AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani claims to have told him to drop 'the Kaka business'. (Ignore the headline and read his actual words - Galliani's actually being pretty mild.) Accordingly, he cites Milan's own behaviour towards Barca in the Eto'o and Ronaldinho sagas as an example of following the proper procedures. I hate to say this, man, but that's really not the best example.
Even while the transfer machine finally cranks into gear in Madrid, they're still not assured of their new coach, widely reported to be Getafe's Bernard Schuster. Getafe president Angel Torres has decided that he wants considerable compensation for losing his under-contract coach - which is fair enough, I think - but Real have not indicated any willingness to step in and pay the fee to free Schuster.
While Real seek to get their team-building underway, their city rivals Atletico have finally concluded one of the longest running sagas in La Liga by selling captain Fernando Torres to Liverpool. (How many years have they been linked to him now?) They get themselves a nice bit of cash - about 26.5 million pounds (!) - and they've already replaced him with a proven striker in Diego Forlan. Not bad.
Additionally, the Luis Garcia deal I mentioned a few days ago is completely done for about 4 million pounds - very good price, really. He says he's pleased to be back and wants to win the title for Atletico. Well, good for him. I've always liked Garcia, and it's nice to see him back in La Liga. Atletico have also signed a Brazilian midfielder named Cleber Santana, but unfortunately I know nothing about the player and can't comment. Overall, they've done very good business so far. I'm impressed.
Two related pieces of Valencia news. The first is that title-winning Stuttgart goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand will finally be joining the club. The bad news for Hildebrand is that I really don't see him displacing current no.1 Santi Canizares, since the guy who wanted to sign him has now been ousted, and the coach doesn't like him all that much. Cesar at the Valencia Offside has more on this and other transfers.
Speaking of the guy who was ousted for being a bit of a wanker, former sporting director Carboni has 'spoken out' about his sacking, criticising his victorious foe, coach Quique Sanchez Flores, and departing defender Roberto Ayala. I find it incredible that Carboni apparently talked to Bernard Schuster about taking over for Flores when the club were dithering over who they were going to side with in the feud. Flores really doesn't deserve to be sacked. He deserves a sporting director who will sign players according to what the coach thinks the team needs. As for Ayala, a man I have never seen give less than 100% in a game, I find Carboni's argument unconvincing and spiteful.
Goalkeeper German Lux of River Plate has finally moved to Real Mallorca. I wrote about this deal at the last transfer window. Not sure why it hasn't happened until now. Lux is a classy keeper and will give Moya competition for the no.1 spot.
Espanyol have decided that they'd rather not sell club talisman Raul Tamudo (good friend of Barca captain Carles Puyol, oddly enough) to Villarreal, who are looking for a replacement for Diego Forlan. If Villarreal want Tamudo, they'll have to pay his buyout clause.
Speaking of Villarreal, they've done yet another clever bit of transfer business by signing midfielder Rio Mavuba from Bordeaux for 8 million euros. Mavuba's quite highly rated and has been linked to many of Europe's elite in the past, including Juventus and Manchester United.
Next up: my take on Argentina v Columbia, and (finally) my Barca 06-07 player assessments.
Showing posts with label luis garcia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label luis garcia. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
La Liga news round-up
It almost seems like there's more news in the off-season than during the actual season itself. Maybe it's just everybody going transfer crazy, plus all the sacking and hiring going on. Whatever it is, here's another news round-up, and as usual - no baseless rumours.
Starting at Real Madrid, where despite the lack of an annoucement everyone and their dog knows that Bernard Schuster of Getafe is going to be unveilled as the next coach soon. There's an interesting article from the Times discussing the fate of Capello and other Real coaches in the last 10 years or so. They're certainly not alone in having a rapid turnover of coaching staff - in fact, I'd say that most Spanish clubs have similar tendencies. It's just the fact that they've famously sacked winning coaches twice since the beginning of the new century.
Whether the decision was the right one or not - and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of what I've read from Madridistas sugges they're not that impressed - it's a done deal, and now the priority must be to have Schuster appointed so that they can get started in the transfer market. Robinho, for one, welcomes his new German overlord (sorry). More on him later in my Copa America post.
Not much Barca news today after the initial flurry of transfer activity. Having been designated surplus to requirements, Thiago Motta is eager to get a decent move abroad, and has demanded that Barca let him go on a free transfer. For once, I'm sympathetic to this argument. I think I'd like to get some cash for everybody else (Belletti, Edmilson, Giuly, possibly Gudjohnsen and Ezquerro), but Motta came up through the youth system, so he didn't cost the club a lot of money, and he's lost what seems like the majority of his playing career to injuries. When he's played in the last 2 seasons, his ratio of good games to disastrous ones has been about 50:50. (You may think I'm being harsh, but a look around any Barca fan forum will tell you that I'm being kind compared to some of the vitriol that's directed at him and Oleguer when they have hapless games.) He's not going to get a good deal if we slap a large price tag on him.
Still on the topic of Barca and transfers, I don't usually touch transfer speculation, but this article about how Barca must sign Frank Lampard seems so misguided that I feel the need to respond to it. My personal nightmare scenario for this transfer window is the Deco-Lampard swap. I've already written about why Deco should stay, but I thought the 'why Lampard should not be signed' part was kind of obvious. Apparently not.
This article made me laugh, which is possibly a bit mean spirited, but the comment from an unnamed Barca executive pretty much sums it up:
On to Valencia, who've finally off-loaded Tavano, the Italian striker signed by former sporting director Carboni against coach Quique Sanchez Flores' will. His destination is Livorno, having had a season of largely being left on the bench in Spain. Valencia have done some sensible business post-Carboni and moved fast in erasing all signs of his overt influence. I'm impressed.
The big transfer saga of the last few days has been the Torres to Liverpool deal, which at the time of writing is still rumbling on. Atletico have signed Diego Forlan from Villarreal for (allegedly) 21 million euros , which has been seen by many as a sign that Torres is definitely leaving. I'm a bit puzzled by why Forlan left a club who have consistently been playing in European competition in the last few seasons for one which, well, hasn't. It's a good bit of business for Villarreal, who paid only 2 million pounds for him, got quite a lot of goals in return, and now a large profit from his sale. The question for them will be how to replace him. On the Atletico side, they as always seem to have cash to spend, and at least it's being spent on a player who has proven that he can score goals in La Liga.
Staying with Atletico, it appears that while the Torres deal isn't done yet, the semi-attached deal for Luis Garcia to move the other way is. Garcia has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for Atletico again, having had a good spell there on loan from Barcelona before he went to England. I don't know if Liverpool fans are happy about this move, but he's surely repaid his transfer fee with all those goals on important occasions. He'll probably do well for Atletico, actually. They've got themselves a very nice squad on paper for next season, but then I said that at the beginning of this season too, and look how that turned out.
The last two items both involve two very different Argentinean defenders. Real Zaragoza have indicated that Gabriel Milito will definitely be leaving the club, and that Juventus are the only club to have submitted a bid, which they found to be unsatisfactory. They're basically inviting Barca to start a bidding war for his services. I have a feeling that he'd be too expensive for what we're looking for, given the prices we've been quoted as offering for Chivu. We'll see, but my early guess is that he ends up at Juve in the end, given the above and his previous run-in with Real Madrid when he nearly signed for them but for a failed medical that he's disputed ever since.
The second Argentinean defender under discussion is the former West Ham, Deportivo La Coruna and Racing Santander defender/winger Lionel Scaloni, who has been signed by Lazio. Apparently he'll be their first choice full-back. I can imagine the expressions of surprise on the faces of any West Ham faithful who witnessed his performances for them, and it's the same expression I had on my face when I read about this transfer, having seen him play for Argentina and Depor. Easy as it is to make fun, for the few times I saw him play for Racing he actually looked decent as a right winger. Maybe Italy will suit him.
To wrap this up, here are some interesting numbers: how much each club collected out of the marketing pool for this season's Champions League.
(I'll start referring to 07-08 as 'this season' when Primera clubs begin their pre-season.)
Starting at Real Madrid, where despite the lack of an annoucement everyone and their dog knows that Bernard Schuster of Getafe is going to be unveilled as the next coach soon. There's an interesting article from the Times discussing the fate of Capello and other Real coaches in the last 10 years or so. They're certainly not alone in having a rapid turnover of coaching staff - in fact, I'd say that most Spanish clubs have similar tendencies. It's just the fact that they've famously sacked winning coaches twice since the beginning of the new century.
Whether the decision was the right one or not - and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of what I've read from Madridistas sugges they're not that impressed - it's a done deal, and now the priority must be to have Schuster appointed so that they can get started in the transfer market. Robinho, for one, welcomes his new German overlord (sorry). More on him later in my Copa America post.
Not much Barca news today after the initial flurry of transfer activity. Having been designated surplus to requirements, Thiago Motta is eager to get a decent move abroad, and has demanded that Barca let him go on a free transfer. For once, I'm sympathetic to this argument. I think I'd like to get some cash for everybody else (Belletti, Edmilson, Giuly, possibly Gudjohnsen and Ezquerro), but Motta came up through the youth system, so he didn't cost the club a lot of money, and he's lost what seems like the majority of his playing career to injuries. When he's played in the last 2 seasons, his ratio of good games to disastrous ones has been about 50:50. (You may think I'm being harsh, but a look around any Barca fan forum will tell you that I'm being kind compared to some of the vitriol that's directed at him and Oleguer when they have hapless games.) He's not going to get a good deal if we slap a large price tag on him.
Still on the topic of Barca and transfers, I don't usually touch transfer speculation, but this article about how Barca must sign Frank Lampard seems so misguided that I feel the need to respond to it. My personal nightmare scenario for this transfer window is the Deco-Lampard swap. I've already written about why Deco should stay, but I thought the 'why Lampard should not be signed' part was kind of obvious. Apparently not.
This article made me laugh, which is possibly a bit mean spirited, but the comment from an unnamed Barca executive pretty much sums it up:
There is no other option. He has been offered to us, Milan, Inter and Real Madrid. Basically all of the big clubs. But none are interested. We are the same as those clubs are, we're looking for a player who is more creative and has a greater technique than Lampard. So it looks like he will go nowhere.Don't get me wrong, his statistics speak for themselves, but contrary to what is claimed by the article championing Lampard, Deco, Xavi and Andres Iniesta can and do score goals. Maybe not as many as Lampard, but neither do they take as many potshots that go nowhere instead of passing to someone in a better position. The type of midfielder preferred by Barca is best exemplified by the ones steadily produced by the youth system: the likes of Pep Guardiola, Ivan De La Pena, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Fran Merida and Marc Crosas. People who have a sound mind for tactics, a team mentality and a killer pass off the first or second touch. Not Frank Lampard.
On to Valencia, who've finally off-loaded Tavano, the Italian striker signed by former sporting director Carboni against coach Quique Sanchez Flores' will. His destination is Livorno, having had a season of largely being left on the bench in Spain. Valencia have done some sensible business post-Carboni and moved fast in erasing all signs of his overt influence. I'm impressed.
The big transfer saga of the last few days has been the Torres to Liverpool deal, which at the time of writing is still rumbling on. Atletico have signed Diego Forlan from Villarreal for (allegedly) 21 million euros , which has been seen by many as a sign that Torres is definitely leaving. I'm a bit puzzled by why Forlan left a club who have consistently been playing in European competition in the last few seasons for one which, well, hasn't. It's a good bit of business for Villarreal, who paid only 2 million pounds for him, got quite a lot of goals in return, and now a large profit from his sale. The question for them will be how to replace him. On the Atletico side, they as always seem to have cash to spend, and at least it's being spent on a player who has proven that he can score goals in La Liga.
Staying with Atletico, it appears that while the Torres deal isn't done yet, the semi-attached deal for Luis Garcia to move the other way is. Garcia has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for Atletico again, having had a good spell there on loan from Barcelona before he went to England. I don't know if Liverpool fans are happy about this move, but he's surely repaid his transfer fee with all those goals on important occasions. He'll probably do well for Atletico, actually. They've got themselves a very nice squad on paper for next season, but then I said that at the beginning of this season too, and look how that turned out.
The last two items both involve two very different Argentinean defenders. Real Zaragoza have indicated that Gabriel Milito will definitely be leaving the club, and that Juventus are the only club to have submitted a bid, which they found to be unsatisfactory. They're basically inviting Barca to start a bidding war for his services. I have a feeling that he'd be too expensive for what we're looking for, given the prices we've been quoted as offering for Chivu. We'll see, but my early guess is that he ends up at Juve in the end, given the above and his previous run-in with Real Madrid when he nearly signed for them but for a failed medical that he's disputed ever since.
The second Argentinean defender under discussion is the former West Ham, Deportivo La Coruna and Racing Santander defender/winger Lionel Scaloni, who has been signed by Lazio. Apparently he'll be their first choice full-back. I can imagine the expressions of surprise on the faces of any West Ham faithful who witnessed his performances for them, and it's the same expression I had on my face when I read about this transfer, having seen him play for Argentina and Depor. Easy as it is to make fun, for the few times I saw him play for Racing he actually looked decent as a right winger. Maybe Italy will suit him.
To wrap this up, here are some interesting numbers: how much each club collected out of the marketing pool for this season's Champions League.
(I'll start referring to 07-08 as 'this season' when Primera clubs begin their pre-season.)
Friday, January 12, 2007
Premiership: a defence of Benitez and Mourinho (!)
It's a bit odd watching the fireworks in the Premiership from the point of view of a neutral, but perhaps that gives me the benefit of some unbiased insight - which makes the whole thing seem at times utterly ridiculous.
Liverpool
Oh, man, Liverpool. I feel terrible for Luis Garcia - his season is pretty much over, which sucks on its own, but now a triumphant return to Barcelona in February isn't going to happen. It's easy to say that an enormous goal threat in European competition has been removed from the tie, but Luis was a part of the Barcelona youth program. When he was playing for Barca B, that team also contained current club captain Carles Puyol, current third captain Xavi, and Gabri Garcia (now of Ajax) amongst others. They won promotion to the Spanish second division in 1998, relying amongst other things on goals scored by Luis, made by Xavi. So there's an emotional connection there, and I'm sad he's going to miss the match.
For those criticising Benitez, remember he's not in an easy position. I have a lot of sympathy for him, despite the fact that you have to place some of the blame for a defeat like the latest on the coach. After all, Arsenal had 6 shots on goal and scored 6 goals. That's not acceptable from the defence. That said, and I know this is not a popular opinion right now, those who say that he should have concentrated on the Carling Cup as their last realistic chance of silverware are mistaken. Remember how everyone said that Manchester United had merely won a consolation for other failures in the League and the Champions League when they won it last season?
Benitez has to worry about a good finish in the Premiership, preferably automatic qualification to the Champions League for next season (which is not going to be easy, obviously) and start thinking about the tie against Barca. Being out of cup competition might actually help in that respect, since their fixture list is now a lot lighter than say, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd or Barca's.
(Speaking as a Barcelonista, I can't help but worry that these two defeats against Arsenal only makes Liverpool more dangerous in the Champions League: after all, if it's their last shot at silverware this season and they've got their backs against the wall, we all know how Benitez's team can rise to such occasions.)
He's spent a lot of money, some of it on players who haven't worked out, but doesn't that happen to everybody? The problem he has had with the Liverpool board seems to be that while he gets a reasonable sum to splash around, having a 40 million dollar transfer kitty can feel very different when you need 3 world-class players to complete your team or 8. Obviously the quality of players who do end up coming are going to suffer for that. Think about it - other than Xabi Alonso, how many other proper bidding wars have Liverpool won for a truly world-class player in the last 3 seasons when up against the other great clubs of Europe?
When not everybody in your squad is ready to give performances that don't shame the shirt they're wearing, (and taking injuries into account) some important players are going to end up playing too many games. It surprised me to read that some of the Liverpool team had played every game this season, given his famous preference for rotations, but it was inevitable. It's simply not physically possible, especially given the English season, for anyone to do that through the whole season. So Benitez is within his rights to rest key players.
Comparative statistic: no Barcelona player has played every game this season, nor in the previous one. Mind you, we did lose a cup game 4-2 (away to Zaragoza) when Rijkaard rested Puyol last season, which demonstrates the perils of rotating key players, but it's simply something that has to be done for practical and physical reasons.
It's hilarious to read about people criticising Benitez's attitude and aptitude towards the domestic cups. Have people already forgotten that he won the FA Cup last season? And then there are those who say that he had nothing to do with the miracle in Istanbul. Ever heard of the phrase 'game-changing substitutions'?
Chelsea
Regular readers (if there is any such thing) will know that I don't like Jose Mourinho very much. But I have to say, I feel bad for him right now. He's in a very difficult situation in regards to suspensions and injuries, and for me he's handled it as well as he possibly can. Every game he seems to have key players suspended (Makelele and Ashley Cole for the next game, for example) not to mention the impact losing John Terry has had.
At Barca, we know how you feel, Mou. People say that it's his fault the squad isn't deep enough, but a 20 man squad is hardly small. Barca have a 22 man squad, which I think is plenty - that's not a big difference. Mourinho's being hammered about the lack of quality back-up, but how many top class players are willing to sit on the bench waiting for a starter to get injured, regardless of the money? Is the irony not lost on those who persist on this point while going on about how criminal it is that the likes of Wright-Phillips are rotting on the Chelsea bench? So if he does dare to get some high quality substitutes, he's wasting talent?
Mourinho's aura as the perfect manager is shattered, there's no doubt about that. The number of duds in the current squad leads one to conclude that he's not the most astute shopper in the transfer market - either that, or he has no control over transfers, like a Spanish club coach. Neither are empowering images. But nevertheless, I don't think he's down and out just yet. Besides, he can hardly be blamed for the uselessness of the Chelsea youth system in producing players who are good enough to cover for the first team.
This is probably the only time you will ever see me defending Mourinho. If he ever turned up in La Liga I'd probably contemplate suicide. But really, people. Be reasonable. Piling on is unseemingly.
Liverpool
Oh, man, Liverpool. I feel terrible for Luis Garcia - his season is pretty much over, which sucks on its own, but now a triumphant return to Barcelona in February isn't going to happen. It's easy to say that an enormous goal threat in European competition has been removed from the tie, but Luis was a part of the Barcelona youth program. When he was playing for Barca B, that team also contained current club captain Carles Puyol, current third captain Xavi, and Gabri Garcia (now of Ajax) amongst others. They won promotion to the Spanish second division in 1998, relying amongst other things on goals scored by Luis, made by Xavi. So there's an emotional connection there, and I'm sad he's going to miss the match.
For those criticising Benitez, remember he's not in an easy position. I have a lot of sympathy for him, despite the fact that you have to place some of the blame for a defeat like the latest on the coach. After all, Arsenal had 6 shots on goal and scored 6 goals. That's not acceptable from the defence. That said, and I know this is not a popular opinion right now, those who say that he should have concentrated on the Carling Cup as their last realistic chance of silverware are mistaken. Remember how everyone said that Manchester United had merely won a consolation for other failures in the League and the Champions League when they won it last season?
Benitez has to worry about a good finish in the Premiership, preferably automatic qualification to the Champions League for next season (which is not going to be easy, obviously) and start thinking about the tie against Barca. Being out of cup competition might actually help in that respect, since their fixture list is now a lot lighter than say, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd or Barca's.
(Speaking as a Barcelonista, I can't help but worry that these two defeats against Arsenal only makes Liverpool more dangerous in the Champions League: after all, if it's their last shot at silverware this season and they've got their backs against the wall, we all know how Benitez's team can rise to such occasions.)
He's spent a lot of money, some of it on players who haven't worked out, but doesn't that happen to everybody? The problem he has had with the Liverpool board seems to be that while he gets a reasonable sum to splash around, having a 40 million dollar transfer kitty can feel very different when you need 3 world-class players to complete your team or 8. Obviously the quality of players who do end up coming are going to suffer for that. Think about it - other than Xabi Alonso, how many other proper bidding wars have Liverpool won for a truly world-class player in the last 3 seasons when up against the other great clubs of Europe?
When not everybody in your squad is ready to give performances that don't shame the shirt they're wearing, (and taking injuries into account) some important players are going to end up playing too many games. It surprised me to read that some of the Liverpool team had played every game this season, given his famous preference for rotations, but it was inevitable. It's simply not physically possible, especially given the English season, for anyone to do that through the whole season. So Benitez is within his rights to rest key players.
Comparative statistic: no Barcelona player has played every game this season, nor in the previous one. Mind you, we did lose a cup game 4-2 (away to Zaragoza) when Rijkaard rested Puyol last season, which demonstrates the perils of rotating key players, but it's simply something that has to be done for practical and physical reasons.
It's hilarious to read about people criticising Benitez's attitude and aptitude towards the domestic cups. Have people already forgotten that he won the FA Cup last season? And then there are those who say that he had nothing to do with the miracle in Istanbul. Ever heard of the phrase 'game-changing substitutions'?
Chelsea
Regular readers (if there is any such thing) will know that I don't like Jose Mourinho very much. But I have to say, I feel bad for him right now. He's in a very difficult situation in regards to suspensions and injuries, and for me he's handled it as well as he possibly can. Every game he seems to have key players suspended (Makelele and Ashley Cole for the next game, for example) not to mention the impact losing John Terry has had.
At Barca, we know how you feel, Mou. People say that it's his fault the squad isn't deep enough, but a 20 man squad is hardly small. Barca have a 22 man squad, which I think is plenty - that's not a big difference. Mourinho's being hammered about the lack of quality back-up, but how many top class players are willing to sit on the bench waiting for a starter to get injured, regardless of the money? Is the irony not lost on those who persist on this point while going on about how criminal it is that the likes of Wright-Phillips are rotting on the Chelsea bench? So if he does dare to get some high quality substitutes, he's wasting talent?
Mourinho's aura as the perfect manager is shattered, there's no doubt about that. The number of duds in the current squad leads one to conclude that he's not the most astute shopper in the transfer market - either that, or he has no control over transfers, like a Spanish club coach. Neither are empowering images. But nevertheless, I don't think he's down and out just yet. Besides, he can hardly be blamed for the uselessness of the Chelsea youth system in producing players who are good enough to cover for the first team.
This is probably the only time you will ever see me defending Mourinho. If he ever turned up in La Liga I'd probably contemplate suicide. But really, people. Be reasonable. Piling on is unseemingly.
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