Not so sweet
Hypocritical Laporta
After Real Madrid paid artificially inflated prices way over the market values for Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, Laporta mirrored the disapproval of many by claiming that their practices were distorting the market, and that FC Barcelona has a different philosophy. Instead of buying Golden Ball winners, Barça creates them – claimed Laporta – and the rest of the slots that the youth academy couldn’t fill in, had to be provided by prudent transfers that reflect the market value. True Barça fans nodded in approval and exhaled with pride thinking of their unique and productive Cantera as well as Barça’s rational pricing of players. But, like many people who speak one thing and do exactly the opposite, Laporta betrayed his own words as well as the approval of his own fans, and embarked on a manner similar to that of Real. He offered Inter, the club from Milano, arguably the best striker in the world, plus a sum which is not clear but is thought to be around 40 million Euros – for the transfer of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Some sources also cite Aleksiandr Hleb as another piece in equation, with him going on loan – probably for nothing. Now the matter is simple; either Laporta thinks that Eto’o has no value whatsoever, or that at most he costs 10 million Euros – or that Ibrahimovic is pricy, standing at 90 million Euros. Whatever the case, Laporta must be smoking some very strong (extraterrestrial) recreational drug to come to any of these conclusions. I’m not going into the argument of who is better, I think Eto’o clearly is, but I never thought that anyone would beat Real Madrid in Worst Player Evaluation contest. Not only changing Eto’o for Ibrahimovic is a mistake, which as I said am not going to discuss here, but the financial manner in which this exchange is being completed, undoubtedly makes us witnesses of the worst transfer in the history of FC Barcelona. Laporta, who was the prime admirer of Eto’o and bought him for 24 million Euros when he was just a decent player from Mallorca, is now willing to let him go for absolutely nothing. To sell a player in this manner, someone who statistically ranks as one of the most prolific strikers in the history of Barça, is a disrespect to the player and to the Club. Whether Eto’o goes to Inter, which seems quite likely, or whether the deal collapses, he is never going to be the same. Laporta betrayed his promises, disrespected Eto’o and along with the famously incompetent Txiki Begiristain drained Barça’s precious money in the sewer. No wonder the deal with Inter was reached so quickly and Maxwell came in cheap. Well done Inter, you’ve got a great player and a lot of cash for getting rid of one tall lazy guy.
Late pre-season, wrongly-timed friendlies
I bet all Barça fans are buzzing to see the team back in action, I definitely am, but that doesn’t mean the preparations have gone well. Well, at least not for me. Most of the clubs, even those that start their competitive matches after Barça, have already started their preparations, but Barça just landed in London. Without the key players, with many others unsure whether they’re going to stay or leave, and without the completed transfers – Barça aren’t really preparing. For most top clubs, it is a pre-seasonal principle that the team doesn’t work with the ball for at least one week and only completes strong physical preparations. Barça will only do that for two complete days before facing Tottenham, who have already started their preparations. Now the result is not important, but a thrashing is definitely on the cards here. After the match, Barça won’t be given enough time recuperate, because they have another match two days after against Al Ahly. I don’t know what Guardiola has in mind, but I can’t see him completing these two matches without dividing all the squad and in the end coming out tired but not one unit more fit. Friendly matches are important to add detail and sharpness, but only after the hardcore physical exercises have been completed, like last season for example. Adding to the fact that Barça has competitive matches much earlier than last season (Spanish and European super cups), it only highlights the negligent preparations more.
Sport over money, or is it the other way around?
Barça is famous for its philosophy of putting sporting matters over money, contrary to Real Madrid for example, but whenever it comes to pre-season – Laporta tells us that Barça needs to travel around the world a bit. Sure, having Barça fly to different places where there are many fans dreaming of the club is a nice thing, but there are sportive problems that are related to these long journeys. Players have repeatedly complained about jet lag, tiredness, inability to focus or problems with adaption to different weathers. These factors have seriously hindered proper physical exercises, which are absolutely vital for the coming season. It is a firm fact that without a decent pre-season, players will lack spark during the season and fail to be fresh and sharp enough. It is more beneficial to cut back on earning and provide the players a decent environment to prepare in, rather than fly around the world and bring about conditions in which they can’t fully exercise. Barça is going to travel 24,167 kilometers this pre-season, which is almost the same as they did in 2006/07 pre-season. In the 2007/08 pre-season, Barça travelled 28,059 km, the season where lackluster performances were the best the team could offer. Guess what happened last season? Barça travelled the least with only 19,000 km, significantly less than other pre-seasons as well as the current one. This is a clear sign that the more the team travels, the harder it is for them to prepare.
- 2006/07: 25,000 Kilometers (9 matches)
- 2007/08: 28,059 Kilometers (7 matches)
- 2008/09: 19,000 Kilometers (5 matches)
- 2009/10: 24,167 Kilometers (5 matches)
Conclusion
Laporta should cancel the Eto’o-Ibrahimovic deal. If they really want Ibra and want to sell Eto’o, then Inter should be paying extra because they’re clearly getting the better player. If Pep really thinks that Eto’o isn’t better than Ibra, because he has “a feeling”, then at least Barça shouldn’t be paying anything and a simple, random swap head-to-head deal should go on.
Barça should review their pre-season preparation system; they should put in more physical work in a more comfortable sportive environment that doesn’t involve long journeys. Scotland, Ireland or even London (the current location) are all great places because of their temperature and good working conditions. Players should be given time to work hard and be pushed to do so, in order to regain fitness and the necessary pre-conditions. Friendly matches should be apart from each other at least 3 days, and they should start with an easier opponent – not Tottenham. Pre-seasons are extremely crucial, and the players have to come out feeling comfortable and fit, as well as motivated to tackle the coming season. With the super cups coming early, these things should have been sorted earlier.
I may sound pessimistic, but I’m a fan of “prepare for the worst, hope for the best” school.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
wow i read the first 5 sentences and i stoped .. idk but i dont agree with what he said about laporta goin back on hes word of creating not buying golden ball players… i believe in that to.. but when your rivals are getting so many good players and your cantera dont have players like that.. the only option is to buy them.. and i dont have anything against that!!!!! laporta is one if not the best president in barcelona history!!!!!
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
“Laporta should cancel the Eto’o-Ibrahimovic deal. If they really want Ibra and want to sell Eto’o, then Inter should be paying extra because they’re clearly getting the better player.”
Oh, come on! Eto’o is better than Ibra?! You’re wrong, man! And even if what you claim is true, Ibra suits the needs of Barca right now, more than Eto’o with the needs of Inter (If you look at the Serie A and La liga, and also the Champions league).
This deal is VERY GOOD! Barca is not like Real Madrid in terms of money. Given Pep’s decision to not want Eto’o, the prices in the market right now, and the professional needs of Barca, it’s a great deal!
You should trust Pep! I think he has a better point of view of what’s going in the club.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Hey Bardh, good to see you again.
I enjoyed reading your last weeks article, and this one as well. I agree with most of what you said, and we all know Laporta ain’t no saint but criticizing Madrid for spending big and then doing the exact same himself. However where I disagree is Eto’o better than Ibra ? Come on, I’m sure you know that is not true. Ibrahimovic is more complete for someone his size, he can dribble extremley well, shoot from distance, head (what I think we need) and having someone with such physical presence and yet so technical is exactley what Barca needs. Eto’o is a world class striker, his goal tally says it all, but take into consideration that he’s being assisted by players like Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Alves Etc. all the time. Ibrahimovic doesn’t have that kind of support at Inter and yet he scores so much. Thus I can’t imagine what damage he would do to other teams in a Barca shirt. Price is inflated ofcourse, but that’s the market, and Eto’o staying after all like you suggested would only do the team harm due to the awkwardness between Eto’o, Pep and Laporta. I wouldn’t be healthy.
Anyways, keep writing up mate, good to hear your opinion. Cheers !
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
ur wrong. ibra is surely better than eto’o and laporta is one of the best presidents in barcas history. dont forget wat happened to us 3 years ago. we need to buy big to stay on the top
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
oh yeh haha who the fuck are you mister sry but don’t speak about laporta we know he is great and if he wasn’t great he wouldn’t have brought guardiola who made history with winning the treble also ibra is the best player in the world i’am not saying that eto’o is not good but ibra is much better and with more quality as we can witness that all european teams want ibra in their team but it seems you don’t love the team or you hate barca or you are a real shit fan.You don’t know in buisness So “SHUT UP “
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
eto’o is not a better player than ibra..
perhaps he is a better worker, but not a better player!!
We need someone( like Tamer said) with his technical & physical play.. this things what ibra got, eto’o doesnt have it..
about respect, bardh is right..they must show more respect to him!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
oh yeh haha who the fuck are you mister sry but don’t speak about laporta we know he is great and if he wasn’t great he wouldn’t have brought guardiola who made history with winning the treble also ibra is the best player in the world i’am not saying that eto’o is not good but ibra is much better and with more quality as we can witness that all european teams want ibra in their team but it seems you don’t love the team or you hate barca or you are a real shit fan.You don’t know in buisness So “SHUT UP “
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I absolutely agree with Bardh on all all points. Even if one disagrees, it´s his column and it´s there for him to express his views.
A very nice read!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I can understand some of you that claim Ibra is better than Eto’o, but saying the “deal is good” is just madness. The deal is as good as Real’s Kaka and C. Ronaldo deals. In fact, they are far better because both of them are better than Ibra and way more commercial.
Ibra better than Eto’o? OK let’s re-asses:
1. Strikers score goals. The first characteristic by which you compare strikers is the number of goals they’ve scored.
- Ibra never got past 29 goals (all matches!), and in his 10 years as a pro, scored 154 goals in 348 matches.
- Eto’o's record is 36 goals (all matches), and in his 11 years as a pro, he scored 203 goals in 399 matches.
Winner: Clearly Eto’o, with 0.508 per match vs. 0.442.
2. Style of play. Ibra is tall, good with head, has presence in the box, great stamina (hard to wrestle) and good technique. Eto’o is very fast, agile, has an amazing work rate, always pressuring the defenses (the only striker that defends), averagely good with head and strong.
- Eto’o is already proven, so no need to compare his style with Barca’s.
- Ibra is simply not a Barca-type striker. Where’s the pressure that Eto’o gives to defenders? Where’s the hard-work (anybody who has seen him twice knows he’s lazy)? Are we going to become like Rangers and start playing long balls, totally change our game, because we have a tall guy in the team who needs crosses? He’s too imposing against Barca’s current style. He doesn’t have the speed of Eto’o, he can’t surprise a defender. He drags too much behind because he’s used to play with two strikers. All the people involved with Barca said they won’t change the philosophy, but with Ibra they HAVE TO, because he just doesn’t fit the description (as David Villa would for example). With Henry upfront? I just don’t see his style working. Which of his characteristic will surface? Tell me.
3. Attitude.
- Ibra is probably the most egoistic, narcissistic player in Serie A. Whenever he scores a goal he makes an arrogant gesture, he’s full of himself although he never won anything big. I don’t see him making it twice to a CL final, let alone scoring twice. He’s not that type of character. What’s worse, he’s lazy. When he doesn’t want to, he won’t play and will only roll around in the pitch.
- Eto’o is egoistic as well, but he always translated it into passion, hard work and pressure. You want Eto’o to be angry because that’s when he’s in the best form.
4. Age. Absolutely irrelevant. Ibra is only 7 months younger than Eto’o. There’s no signal that he can improve as a player to overcome Eto’o. He already played for two of the biggest clubs in Italy and he never offered something spectacular. Eto’o's only big club was Barca and he proved himself.
5. Settling in. Eto’o doesn’t have to, Ibra has to. It’s the most unnecessary risk there is in football.
6. Individual trophies.
- Ibra won Sweden’s Sports Personality of the Year 2007 and Swedish Male Athlete of the Year 2007. Might as well gotten anything from a local newspaper.
- Eto’o won UEFA Champions League Best Forward 2006, African Cup of Nations Top Scorer Of All Times with 16 Goals, Most Goals Scored In History Of Cameroon National Team, FIFA World Player of the Year: Third Place 2005 (way to go!)
I’m still waiting for a constructive rationale why Ibra would be better than Eto’o for Barca. Most of your arguments totally override Barca’s style and therefore its specific requirements. You can’t just put in any striker to do that job, especially one that has only started to score goals recently (and still hasn’t managed to get close to Eto’o's best). Pep doesn’t give us a good reason either; he has “a feeling”.
Most of you Ibra supporters are under the influence of “transfer mania”, that is fans talking and getting excited more about transfers and changes rather than other ways which can improve the team. One way to divide plastic fans from real ones.
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:54 am
you need to read this comment from hector at the barça offside. because you are pretty misinformed about a few things, not only your opinion that eto’o is better than zlatan.
eto’o is a brilliant striker, but he has benefitted from the service of our midfield for his 6 years at the club. hes great, and i love him in a footballing sense. but its time for something new and for barça to get something for him while they can.
———
RE: Ibra Deal. Let’s look at it from a different perspective.
1) Hleb is NOT part of the deal. It is a separate operation that will leave cash FOR Barcelona. In any case it is a COST REDUCER. I hate it when all the sites and rags publish that we are including him in a straight swap. False.
2) Samu has one year on his contract and we are not renovating. This drastically lowers his value. Something a lot of folks can’t seem to accept.
If the deal goes through, Samu will sign a new contract with Inter. Hence, if we include Samu we will technically be gifting Samu to Inter for 4-5 years but doing it at a cost of technically only 1 year of Samu to us.
Look at it this way. If Citeh were really offering 35 million euros for the right to sign Samu to a 3-5 year contract… Lets be conservative and say they were willing to pay that amount for Samu and intended to sign him for only three years. That would mean they valued Samu’s presence, salary notwithstanding at approx 11.6 million Euros per year. That said, this is a rather qualitative value but for the example’s sake, lets use it.
This implies that the cost of the deal would be 11.6 + 45 (lets go on the high end) = 56.6 million Euros – Income from Hleb. If you look at it like that then the deal makes a lot more sence.
It looks bad if you factor in opportunity cost (what if we had sold him to Citeh for 35 mill) but financially this is irrelevant.
Ibra will earn almost the same salary that Samu did so financially , our cost is technically 45 million Euros + salary increase for Ibra – Hleb Income.
In summary. The deal is, financially speaking, much sounder than it is being made out to be. Its the opportunity cost that makes it seem too expensive but in terms of the health of our books, that is totally irrelevant.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:02 am
Eto is not a bad player. Pep said that there were no sporting reasons. Use bit more brain bro. There are only a few teams who can afford Eto wages. Man City, Milan, Inter, Chelsea, Real, Man U,etc. And If we want to keep Eto, he will leave us next year 4 nothing. Eto will get his wages but Barca will get nothing and must pay 50 or 60 m (look at the inflation every year) for another class forward. So it is not a bad bad move. I m sure you are a real Eto fan, but not a real Barca fan(may be plastic
)
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:14 am
BL,
1. You’re only speculating about Hleb. Nothing official has even come out of whether FCB or Inter. It’s all rumours and unless you’re involved with any of the clubs you have no way of knowing it. So this kinda distorts your big equation. Besides, even if it was true and Hleb was loaned, FCB would only get a tiny sum (e.g. 0.5 million), because that’s the practice when loaning a player. You ask for his wages to be paid and then a small sum as cash. If he was sold, he wouldn’t make more than 10 million. And even if he made that sum, selling other players to justify an overpriced buy doesn’t seem logical.
2. Eto’o has one year in the contract for two simple reasons: a) The Club doesn’t want him, that’s why he didn’t renovate. b) They offered him the same terms, only a 2-year extension. How can you offer the same terms to someone who consistently offered you more? In every season that Eto’o played since he came, he scored more and more. In 2007 and 2008 he was injured for 4 months, but he still managed a perfect goal per game ratio. How can a player improve constantly, and still be given the same old contract? It’s illogical. Besides, every time FCB hands out new contracts, 4 years is the least figure. But for Eto’o? Only 2 years, a sign of complete distrust. His treatment has been shitty, like many other Barca players in the past.
The reason his contract ending next year is a problem, is only because they want to sell him. If they wanted to keep him, this wouldn’t be a problem because he would have signed (probably with the given terms too!).
I doubt Ibra will want to drop his wages from a record-breaking 12 million per season to less than 10 million. I don’t believe Laporta will be telling the truth about his wages, in the same manner that he’s hiding the whereabouts of such an important signing.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 am
Wild child,
“Eto’o is not a bad player”, OK, since when have you been watching Barca? That’s a pretty lame comment to make. Read my previous post. The reason that Eto’o's contract is a problem is because Barca want to get rid of him. If they wanted to keep him and offered him the proper contract, he would have stayed and that one year left in his contract wouldn’t have been a problem. That only becomes a problem when you want to get rid of him. I’m a huge Eto’o fan and a real Barca fan. I’ve been around quite a long time for you to doubt my credentials, so spare yourself the embarrassment.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 am
Thanks for the column Bardh. Made interesting reading. However i wanted to pick you up on your thoughts of Laporta not valueing Eto’o.
A transfer fee is not what a player is worth in the context of every other player. A transfer fee is how much it costs to buy that player out of his contract. If eto’o remained another season and moved for free, that doesn’t mean that Laporta valued eto’o at nothing…it means the price for a club to release eto’o from his contract is zero because his contract is over.
However the fact is that eto’o has one year left on his contract. Thats why laporta is valueing him at such a small price. Not because thats what Laporta thinks he is worth. If laporta had his way he would swap him for Ibra without any money. But given that eto’o has just one year left on his contract and is looking unlikely to sign an extension, no club would pay more than perhaps 20mil for him (on top of his salary), because instead they can wait for one season and spend a quarter of the total figure (salary + transfer fee) to entice eto’o. Eto’o would be on astronomical wages, the new club would sign eto’o on a 3 year contract, they would have saved money by waiting a season, and fcb had no say in the matter. That’s why the value of 10-15mil has been put on eto’o. Laporta is trying to wring out the last euros from the value to buy him out of the last year of his contract.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:29 am
maz,
I’m sorry maz but that’s simply not true. Why do teams pay more than their contracts to get players? That’s because the transfer fee stands for the contract value + an extra evaluation.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:44 am
Yes i committed a mistake. Eto is a great player. ……. Eto was a good player and barca made him great. Ibra can replace Eto. And can do even better. He ll get assists from world’s best midfield and Mr Through ball. He ll get assists from worlds best player and titi.
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:40 am
Eto’o is playing at a club that has mastered the skills of passing and supplying the striker with the most perfect chances. Ibrahimovic has never been given that luxury with Ajax, Juventus, or Inter. Yet he managed to score over 20 goals and amost 90% of them came from a move he started. I think the only part Eto’o has an advantage over him is work rate. But if you look at technical skills, shooting, heading, physical presence, dribbling … Eto’o doesn’t even come close to Ibrahimovic.
Bardh, your taking the whole Eto’o matter way to seriously, it’s not like he’s loyal to Barca, or gives a shit about the club anyways. How many times did he have arguments with the coach last season ? at one point he was even dismissed from training. I even remember when he made that statement mid-season saying that his heart lies in Mallorca and Barca is only work for him. So we are treating him according to his statements, in a professional manner and keeping all emotions aside. Him staying at this point would only do the team more harm than good, plus we get nothing when he becomes a free agent next summer.
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:22 am
Bardh, a transfer fee is the fee that a team will pay for the current owner to release the player from the current contract (ignoring the ruling that players above 28 can buyout their contract because its an unwritten rule in football that although that ruling is valid, if it becomes common then it can cause chaos). Transfer fee is not contract value + extra valuation. If that was the case then a player could hypothetically NEVER move for less than the remaining wage he has left on his contract (assuming you mean contract value is the remaining pay owed to the player).
The reason teams pay more than the contract is worth because they are giving an incentive for the current player’s club to release the player from contract. If eto’o was on a 5 year contract, then if a team wants him then they aren’t going to wait 5 years until he is free of contract. Instead they have to pay enough money so that fcb releases him from his contract. However since eto’o has one year left, teams know that they can wait only a year (in fact, 6 months since that is the time when pre-contracts can be negotiated for bosman players) to sign him up. Surely you must realise this? Players on their last year of contract are always valued at less. This does not mean that the player is half as good as a player who recently was transferred for twice eto’o's ‘valuation’. But that the ball is not in fcb’s court.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 am
Exactly, Maz.
Samu is certainly a polarizing figure. I’m not gonna argue about which player is better than the other because the battle lines have been set, people have taken sides, and their opinions are not gonna be swayed. Bardhyl is obviously a big Samu fan. Nobody is going to convince him that Ibra is the better player. In all fairness he will have to prove it on the field and that’s a fair stance. The one thing we can agree I think is that this transfer is a risk. It may pay off or it may not. We will see. What I do want to talk about is some of the financial assertions being thrown around.
1) Maz is spot on. A player with a contract with technically 5 months left is worth WAY less than a guy with 4-5 years remaining in terms of transfer fees. Lets try to take the emotional out of this and understand that Samu will NOT be renewed. Right or wrong, low-balled or unaccurately reported info, it is irrelevant right now. Lets worry about what can still be controlled. I know it is hard to swallow but the hard fact is that a guy with 5 months on his contract is worth very little. Inter could just wait until January and scoop him up with a Bozeman. Why should they get him now?
2) Lets take the Hleb part out of this.
3) We have NO debt right now. We are in the black. How many big clubs can say that? Opportunity cost in this case is IRRELEVANT. If Citeh did offer 35 mill, it does not matter in financial terms. That matters to economists, not bankers.
4) The cost of this transfer would be 40-50 mill + Ibra salary increase relative to Samu. What’s the difference between this deal and the Kaka/Thong Boy deals? We all know Laporta has to learn when to shut the hell up but… The difference is that we actually have the money to do this without getting 250 million + in debt. Its Barca’s money. If we do get a loan it will be relatively small. We have the money to do the transfer. Will it be a waste? Its unfair to say that “I am 100% sure this is a complete waste and Ibra will fail at Barca”. The fact is that it is a risk and nobody knows how it will turn out. Hell, re-signing Samu who is a dynamic striker who depends on his speed and athleticism more than an Ibra type when he is about to hit 29 or a David Villa at 28 would also have been risks. This is the one Pep apparently decided to take. BTW Dani Alves cost us 41 million. For a Right Back. How come nobody is screaming bloody murder about that? Because he produced. If Ibra produces, it will be worth it. If not, its not.
In conclusion to this part, this deal is not mortgaging the club’s future, it is not worth 75 or 90 million. In cold financial terms it will probably be in the 50 million neighborhood and we have the money for most if not all of it (without going into further debt).
Regarding some of the other arguments here?
- Famously incompetent Txiki? The same guy who assembled the teams that have won 2 of our 3 UCL’s while taking us completely out of debt and the ashes of the Gaspart fiasco? That one? Really?
- It hurts me to see a player treated like this (note: the slanderous Sport and EMD articles and the low balling more than anything). Just like it hurt to see no-name nobodies like Maradona, Schuster, Laudrup, Ronaldo (the real one), Cruyff (as a coach), and even the very same Pep Guardiola forced out by either being under-appreciated or booted out to pasture against their will. The club is still here. I still love it. It is a sad legacy of this football club to under-appreciate some of its best players. It is nothing new. Either come to terms with it or….whatever. It has happened before and it will happen again. We will never know the full story. Who knows? Maybe Pep has some really good reasons to want him out. Althoug, if you think he as going to straight out say them (IF they exist) in a press conference…well, that’s naive. He’s still a coach and will use coach speak. He pretty much in effect shifted all the blame to himself and exempted Samu from blame, not affecting his value. Don’t you think that is something he might have purposely wanted to do?
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:47 am
wow are you a fc barcelona fan or an Etoo fan… and did people forget pep just led us to the treble?
ps etoo got amazing service from some the best passers in the world 65% his gols were tap ins/easy easy finishes…i..bra made most his gols himself and led inter in assist…
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:49 am
ps ibra is a born winner winning the last serie a titles with inter and juve… etoo never carried the team when messi or iniesta was gone
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:56 am
Your complaining about the preaseason? Barça just had one of the Longest seasons, and are about to have one even longer (did u forget the 3 cup games b4 game #1 in la liga?) and the players played internationally this summer so of course they need a little time off to rest or we would be already tired going into the new season.. i was actually somewhat dissapointed to see messi back early (even though it shows detication) i beleive he needs as much rest time as possible… unlike madrid who has to learn to play together this preseason we already have a chemisty, so i think the preseason is perfect for FCB and also it is giving the youth good chances.
well written article, but shocking opinions.. are u a cule or u support etoo?
tricampions tricampions ole ola ole
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:24 am
wow i have never heard such a complaining Barça fan…… the treble was not enough for you Mate?
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:30 am
Excellent article Bardah .. very well thought and to the point… sadly so many Laporta groupies who will just say Amen to anything the club official website says without making proper debate to your point of view… respect man
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I will only respond to the people who seem to try and have constructive arguments, such as maz or Hector. The rest of “fans” who nod to everything Laporta and Pep do just because they have provided the most successful season in the history of FC Barcelona can continue to be plastic.
maz,
I know players who have one year left on their contract don’t make a lot of money, but again, that’s if you want to sell them. Selling a player in the last year of their contract is hard. If the Club decided to keep Eto’o, this contractual problem wouldn’t exist.
You still didn’t answer my question. You say the reason clubs pay more than the contract value is the incentive, but when you talk of Eto’o, incentive is not necessary, only his one year left in his contract. Paradoxical. If things were like you say, then Ribery, who I doubt earns more than 10 million per season, would cost 30 million because he has 3 years in his contract. As I said, you’re simply wrong.
Hector,
1) Read the above paragraph. And to correct you; 1) Eto’o doesn’t have 5 months left on his contract, he has 12 months. 2) It’s Bosman, not Bozeman.
3) Of course opportunity cost matters. Even more so in football. Why should I sell to someone who’s giving me less than the other guy? Plainly stupid. But City isn’t a strong argument anyway (I didn’t use it, someone else brought it up) because they only offered 25 million euros, which is too low for Eto’o.
4) First, just because you have the money, it doesn’t mean you can spend it however you like. This is a basic fallacy. Second, the deal differs from Kaka/C. Ronaldo because a) they are both better than Ibra, and b) they are much more commercial meaning they bring in revenue from image rights + shirts. Third, I never said Ibra will fail. I said a) the deal is very bad in financial terms, and b) Eto’o is better in sporting terms. I’m not talking about risk here, I’m talking about money that is being spent unwisely. Ibra would have to score 50 goals to justify this kind of money being thrown in for him. Fourth, I did scream “bloody murder” for Dani Alves. He has been fantastic, I absolutely love him, but I still think he was a bit pricy. Fifth, with Eto’o being worth around 40 million, and an extra 40 million paid to Ibra, you do the math.
5) Txiki didn’t bring those players, Barca’s stature as a Club brought them. He consistently fails to pay the right prices, always paying more when buying and getting less when selling. It was Laporta’s entire team (the board) that got the Club out of debt, not Txiki. Get your facts right.
6) What? “The clubs historically treated great players like shit, just deal with it.” Is that your stance? Doesn’t sound like a true Barca fan. The players are the main components of the team. If they are mistreated, there are no results. Barca has to change once and forever this bureaucratic and authoritative way of treating their best players.
Why doesn’t Pep give us good reason, but he only responds with “I have a feeling”. That’s so unprofessional, it’s like his decisions are built in instincts which he can’t explain. Again, my article was criticizing the deal in financial terms rather than sporting. I can’t wait for the season to start and to see Ibra play. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Bardh you say “Fifth, with Eto’o being worth around 40 million”
That is not the correct price for Eto’o, he would be worth that much with 3-4 years left on his contract. But with his contract expiring next summer it is quite impossible to put a fixed price on him, as the mere fact that he could be a free agent in a few months time depreciates his price excessively !
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
aside from this argument, i have to say i really don’t like your tone very much bardhyl. a couple people have come here and formed constructive, sensible debates and you fire back about spelling mistakes, minor details and are generally rude.
not very impressive, in one of your previous articles you state “note author is not a native speaker of english” yet you attack others for spelling who are clearly in the same situation? grow up.
and its not unprofessional for pep to take the blame on himself and say he has a feeling, would it be better for him to slander and speak his true mind to the world? he was trying to be respectful to eto’o while giving the fans something of an explanation for why one of the best strikers in barça’s history is leaving the club.
and how dare you call people plastic for trusting in the team that brought the greatest season in la liga history to our club? your comments are arrogant and very defensive and not much fun to read.
more than a club, not more than the players. being loyal to fc barcelona is top priority, sure there have been some crappy treatment of players in the past. but in general most of those players were ready to go, ronnie? check. deco? check. eto’o? check. hes brought us all much joy in his 6 years at the club and now its time to move on. we were never going to renew, hes too much trouble off the pitch, too hard for the coach to handle and just plain time for something new. man you have to get over the fact that we were never going to get 40mil for eto’o, its just not possible. why do you ignore this?
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Tamer,
Then why would you engage in such a financial activity whereby your negotiating chip is so worthless? The sporting benefits are way below the financial burden that is being carried. As I said, for this deal to be justified (where such a great player as Eto’o is being valued at around 10 million), Ibra would have to score 50 goals per season. It is the same expectation that Real Madrid have raised with Kaka and C. Ronaldo, only they are better than Ibra and are more commercial (they pay themselves to a certain degree).
BL,
I don’t usually correct people on spelling unless their spelling is crucial to their point. In fact, I only corrected someone once. The other correction was about a fact, not spelling, that is Eto’o's remaining months in the contract. When I said I’m not a native speaker of English, I meant my structuring of the sentences may not be clear enough. Spelling is not a problem because there are plenty of spell checkers, ones that I use whenever I write, to correct everything. It’s a technical matter.
Pep is in an apologetic position, exactly because he doesn’t know for sure (or can’t explain) why Eto’o should leave. That’s why he takes a rather defensive stance on the issue. Besides, he never said he took the “blame”. If this is a blame, then he is admitting publicly that he’s wrong about selling Eto’o, along with all of you Ibra supporters. What he said is that he hopes Eto’o doesn’t get angry. I bet he will, and he has every right to be.
Well, if you’re blinding following someone because he provided some astonishing success, then why are you here? Why are you here to discuss? Because clearly you have nothing to say, you’re only nodding to everything the staff does. I think the purpose of discussions is to rationally reflect on the staff’s decisions, because no matter how successful one can be, he can still be wrong. I just don’t understand your admission to Pep’s omnipotence and approval to absolutely everything he does, even though he doesn’t even care to make an explanation for his decisions.
Your argument “it’s time to move on” is pretty vague. Why is it the time to move on? That’s what most of you Ibra supporters cling on, and forget that you’re supposed to use your own brain and form your own judgments instead of blindly following others. I’m not obsessed with the fact, I’m just defending my point. As a fan who truly cares about the Club, I don’t want money to be wasted. I can easily ask a similar question, “Why are you always bound to changes when a permanent risk is adjunct in them?”. You want changes just for the sake of it, because you clearly fail to explain why.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I didn’t fail to explain why, I just simply didn’t explain. Lets just say I have a “feeling” haha. Similarly with Pep he doesn’t want to air his dirty laundry regarding Samu with the world, you really think he doesn’t know why he doesn’t want him? That’d be strange.
Thanks for your reply and excuse me for believing. I believe in Pep, he took an underachieving team and made it the best ever. That is an extraordinary achievement and I trust the man implicitly and understand that he doesn’t have to nor perhaps should he explain every detail of his mind to us. We are the fans, many perhaps are socios and demand this sort of knowledge. However knowledge is dangerous – especially when it involves Eto’o. And when in the process of selling our great striker, it may not be the best idea to let everyone know the real reason why they want him out. Don’t you think? Maybe one day we’ll know, maybe we won’t.
I am no Ibra fan, I am currently in the process of attempting to convincing myself he will be good for the squad. I wanted Villa.
Embrace the change Bardhyl (you’ll live longer), its proven that football is cyclical we went through our good cycle in 04-06 then the bad cycle because of complacency. I am worried about that happening again, the core of the team is largely the same from the dramatic failures of 07/08. Goals per game ratios are not the only thing in football and I believe that in order to keep the hunger it would be wise to take a long time servant such as Eto’o, who is on his last year in his contract – and sell him before he is allowed to leave for free.
You seem to be desperately clinging to your threads of hope that if Eto’o had stayed this season, perhaps he would continue? But that isn’t the case, he’d 100% leave the club for free at the end of next season. Perhaps he would’ve scored 30 more goals and that would’ve been great. But then what? Barça would still need to shell out upwards of 50mil or more to buy another crack to replace him. Laport and his crew saw opportunities now in Villa and Zlatan, there is 1 year left for this management team then elections – they want to leave a legacy. You have to factor in more than just “OMG Samu is worth 40mil”, clinging to that is sad. Barça is not just the players, there is politics to think of unfortunately and money and rights and so much, these have all factored into the purchase of Zlatan and the sale of Eto’o.
You say Zlatan isn’t marketable… I disagree. Hes far more marketable than Eto’o will ever be, and since Zlatan is a Nike man… put 2 and 2 together please. The money that will be generated for Barça over the next 5 years of Zlatan’s contract will be astronomical. Think of how massive La Liga will be next season? Think of what Barça will be able to command when negotiating TV rights? Despite what you think of Zlatan, millions across the globe feel he is in the top 5 players in the world, that brings viewers. La Liga now houses perhaps the best 5 attacking players in the world (minus Ribery).
When Zlatan starts scoring goals you’ll chill out about Eto’o just as we allowed Ronnie to drift into history when Leo became King.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
eto’o has only a year left on his contract and so he is less expensive, on a good day hell be worth close to 60m thats the logic and the story bout hleb isnt official. ibrahimovic is more marketable and u should know he was the biggest star from serie a , a poster boy who’s best is about to show by signing 4 barca and inter were not really willing to sell him, and wot is the difference between ibrahimovic and CR9 and kaka? he has been in the wrong clubs all along.WELCOME TO PLANET BARCA
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
*Sigh*
If somebody doesn’t approach an argument with an open mind, he’s not worth arguing with. Seeing some of this irrationality, rudeness, and defensiveness, its not even worth breaking down your replies. Well, go ahead and scream at the world, there is nothing you or any one of us can do about this. I hope you have a happier time next season than this offseason.
Peace and love, dude.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
BL,
You took on the wrong points all along your arguments. First, how can knowledge be bad? There’s no tricks in this thing, Inter knows the value of Eto’o and that’s why they’re selling Ibra to get him. What team sells a player when they want to reach another higher level? They do that only if they think they’re selling one to get a better one. This isn’t CIA, the more transparent the transfer is, the easier it is for the fans to get it. You say Pep doesn’t want to tell us why he doesn’t like Eto’o. For what reason possibly? Because he thinks he’s a bad influence? The guy is already gone, whether you say “We’re selling him because he’s a dick” or “because he’s not good” won’t make any difference. No need for Pep to hold things to himself. The Club already offended Eto’o, there’s nothing he can cite as a reason for his transfer that can possibly make things worse.
You don’t have to tell me about “cycles”, my first article was all about that. I understand that we need refreshment, but Eto’o didn’t have to be offloaded, and again (you consistently miss this point), NOT under these financial conditions.
If the Club wanted him, he’d sign (as I said earlier, even under the given terms).
I didn’t say Zlatan isn’t marketable, please, stop challenging the wrong points and constantly bending my words. I said that in relation to Kaka and C. Ronaldo, Real’s astronomic spending is less evil since both of them are better than Ibra and are MORE marketable. Besides, sport over money is not part of Barca’s philosophy.
I rest my case here because I don’t want to spend more time arguing about this issue. As I said, I can’t wait for the season to start and see how Zlatan is going to justify the money the Club spent for him.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Hector,
Just because you fail to convince people, it doesn’t mean they’re not approaching you open-mindedly. If anything, I spent way more time explaining my position (aside from the article itself) than you even tried. So don’t give me that approach judgement.
I rest my case here.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
You rest your case? More like throw in the towel after beating your head against the wall that is your own fallacy.
This was fun. I hope you enjoy Zlatan in the end.
“sport over money is not part of Barça’s philosophy” – hmm. Don’t you mean that the other way around?
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Haha dude, you can’t rest your case twice. I’m waiting for the third resting of the case nevertheless.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
BL,
Nope, I rest my case because you are dumb. It’s more efficient to put you in a psychiatric hospital than spend time arguing over you.
Hector responded while I was writing so I decided to prolong my argument to debunk his.
“Sport over money”, yea, I made a mistake. Finally.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Ahh finally out of the bag, your true character is revealed. Resorting to insulting your readers and fellow Cules. Classy guy.
As they say, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
BL,
How is “beating the head against the wall” not insulting?
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I agree with the author on some points. In my opinion, it makes us look stupid that we announce that our transfers budget for this year will total some 30-35 mln Euros, criticise Real for their spending and then we offer 40 mln Euros + Etó + Hleb on loan for Ibra. And this comes after we already spent on Maxwell and Keirrison. I mean, come on guys! You are officials, think twice before you say anything!
I just cannot compare Eto and Ibra, because one of them was crucial in all our recent successes, while the other one is still to prove himself in Blaugrana shirt. It is a pity though that we have to say good-bye to Eto in such circumstances.
However, I am surprised how some people build their judgements about something they simply cannot know. We cannot judge who is right in Eto-Pep-Laporta saga and who is wrong. And we cannot know what the outcome of the Ibra deal will be. The fact is Eto is leaving. So let’s stop speculating, wish Eto all the best and hope that Ibra will cut the mustard.
I also think that the author is a bit unfair in relation to Laporta and Pep. I personally was criticising them, when they let Ronaldinho and Deco go last year. And I think they both deserve the benefit of the doubt after all they have done for the club.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
@Bardhyl
“1. Strikers score goals. The first characteristic by which you compare strikers is the number of goals they’ve scored.
…
Winner: Clearly Eto’o, with 0.508 per match vs. 0.442.”
OK lets see … i play with my friends every sunday. I think i easily score like 4-5, sometimes even 6 or 7 goals each sunday. I think my average goals per match should be in the region of ~ 5.000
Clearly Me > Etoo
“2. Style of play…. Eto’o … has an amazing work rate, always pressuring the defenses (the only striker that defends)…”.
Srsly, i just cannot fuckin read this work rate shit anymore. Work rate has absolutely nothing to do with skill, technique of whatever. Its plain determination and depends solely on stamina. If you got that you can play pressing on the opponent – if your coach asks for it. There is simply no reason to believe Ibra wouldnt fulfill the pressing job.
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Sergey,
Of course there is no way for us to know whether Ibra is going to work out well or not for sure. But all we can rely on is our reason in forecasting the future. I’m not being a bigot, saying Ibra can’t possibly work. I’m just saying that after I reflected on the financial terms, it seems like too much is being paid; and on sporting terms, Eto’o is a better option. Thanks for your constructive argument.
el tren,
I’m surprised you think that the work rate comes whenever you ask for it. I think that you need natural fitness as well as a winning character to complete such a task. If all it took for players to have a great work rate was the demand of their coach, then every player would be good at it.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:42 am
Dude, you totally has missed the point with ibra. He hasnt had anywhere near the supporting cast etoo has had. If you switched players now a couple of years ago, I can guarantee you that etoo wouldnt been as good with worse supporting cast.
Ibra on the other hand, has basically worked him magic by himself with a weak midfield in Inter.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:09 am
santac,
No shit? Ibra won’t benefit from the ‘supporting cast’ of Barca because they don’t play a long balls game like Rangers FC. His style doesn’t suit Barca’s at all. How has Ibra worked magic, averaging 19 goals in his 3 seasons with Inter? I must admit your bar on magic is quite low my friend.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:51 am
Are you for real? Zlatan excels when there is a very technical play involved. He does not like long balls. There is a reason Ibra is on of the most skilled players in the world.
19 goals on average is good for low scoring Serie A, as you noticed, no one in Inter came close to him.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
It’s all Pep’s fault. Laporta listens to Pep and Pep is intransigent.
Salut!
July 25th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Jose Mourinho:
“Inter had to choose whether to say: ‘We’re not selling you’ to Ibrahimovic, or get Eto’o plus Hleb free for a year, plus 50 million euros (£43.2m),” he said.
“This seems an extraordinary deal to me, a 100m (£86.5m) euro deal, the deal of the summer. For me it’s worth 100m (£86.5m) because Eto’o is not worth a euro less than Ibra’”.
Sums the scandal all up. Let’s see how Ibra justifies this money.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
There will be immense pressure on Ibra to deliver his best in the first season itself. After all what us fans have been through, he better score 30 goals at least!
It is also clear that Valencia (Villa) and Athletico Madrid (Forlan) didn’t want Eto’o as part of the deal. And he was one person that Pep wanted out of the Barca locker room. So we obviously went for a deal in which the priority was to let go off a striker than sign one.
July 26th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I think point-by-point refutations have been carried out about as far as they can go. On that I’d only like to reiterate that Eto’o's value to Barcelona is not only highly speculative but also *different* than his value to Inter Milan. Barca’s valuation must be based on how likely they feel Eto’o is to renew or extend his contract. Reading the recent comments from both sides about how said extension has been handled (blame aside), it seems relatively unlikely that Eto’o would be at Barca for more than one more season. As such, the future benefit to Barca of holding Eto’o is significantly less than the future benefit to Inter of signing him. Placing a flat value on him appears overly simplistic.
That said, I reserve judgment on how much Ibra is really worth to FC Barcelona.
More important, I think, is the claim that Ibra is completely contradictory to Barca’s style of play.
“Ibra is simply not a Barca-type striker… All the people involved with Barca said they won’t change the philosophy, but with Ibra they HAVE TO, because he just doesn’t fit the description (as David Villa would for example).”
If I understand your argument correctly, it basically reads that Ibra’s style will force Barca to change their fundamental approach to the game: namely, their fluid passing, off-the-ball movement, and bent toward cleverly maintaining possession to force the opposing defense into difficult situations. The refutation of this argument relies on the demonstration that :
a) Ibra requires a change in Barca’s *tactics,* rather than their *philosophy,* those being distinct aspects of the game; and
b) this tactical change is, in fact, complimentary to Barca’s underlying philosophy on the game.
These two points being accepted, we must also accept that Ibrahimovic will *increase* the overall effectiveness of FC Barcelona’s strategy.
a.
Barcelona’s philosophy primarily relies on pulling defenders out of position (if slightly) and then using speed and technical ability to exploit the resulting gaps. However, this is the philosophy employed by *all* good offensive units. What makes some more effective than others are the *tactics* they are able to employ.
Take Lio Messi and Eto’o as one example. When Messi burns his defender, it forces another defender to come to him, leaving a hole where that defender left. Eto’o regularly exploited that hole so that a simple pass from Messi set up an open shot on goal. The defense was pulled out by dribbling infield. This requires extreme speed and skill, and so is a tactic employed only by correspondingly quick and skillful players.
As the alternative, take Ronaldinho and Inzaghi. Ronaldinho, having not yet recovered is pace, has played recently as a playmaker who is able to slow down and maintain possession of the ball. Meanwhile, Inzaghi feints one dangerous run and then pulls off his marker’s shoulder to open up a shot on goal. Ronaldinho supplies the ball. The same underlying objective and philosophy are the same: distort the defensive shape by forcing the defense’s hand and then exploiting them with short passes. Yet the tactics – juke vs. psych – could not be more different.
By example, we can thus see that changing skill sets does NOT alter the ultimate philosophy of the team as a whole. The objectives, and the means, are the same. Only the immediate tactics are different. This is true of the above examples. As with all good footballers and teams, it will be true also of Ibra and Barca.
b.
You personally outlined the differences in Ibra and Eto’o's styles of play. Using this comparison, I hope to demonstrate a way that Barca can exploit the change through minor tactical modifications.
“Ibra is tall, good with head, has presence in the box, great stamina (hard to wrestle) and good technique. Eto’o is very fast, agile, has an amazing work rate, always pressuring the defenses (the only striker that defends), averagely good with head and strong.”
1. To take only the slightest liberty on your assessment, Ibra is the proverbial “fox in the box” type of player, while Eto’o is much more balanced in an attacking midfield perspective. The difference here is offensively negligible – Messi and Henry become the go-to-ers for through balls requiring speed, and they have a more reliable player to lay it off to in the center. Defensively (and defense is my particular specialty) the forwards’ work rate isn’t especially important. The occasional pressurization keeps centerbacks honest, but generally a CF simply needs to stand between on CB and the other to cut out the passing lane. Ibra is far more than equal to that task. The result is that Messi will have to track back against fullbacks more often, as they won’t be checking to the pressured CBs. This is, in fact, a good thing, because it means that Messi will be recovering slightly deeper than last year, allowing Ibra to receive, turn, and then either shoot or pick out Messi’s run from midfield.
2. As we both have touched on, Ibra has good technique and is “hard to wrestle.” Unlike Eto’o's speed, this makes the CF position much more of a pivot point which collects and then makes the play. The result is that Ibra will take over some of Messi’s transitional responsibilities (which is size is much better suited for) while Messi and Henry supply the pacy runs to get in behind. I think Messi is better in such a role, so the team will benefit on the whole from that. Defensively, his stamina and technique means that Ibra will practically never surrender possession during the transition game, especially in Spain where having the ball makes you more or less immune to hard contact. By holding up play while giving a virtual guarantee of movement, he will allow Alves to easily move into the attack and generally allow the defense more breathing room.
3. Finally for this list, Alves is important. One of Barca’s greatest weapons is to force the defense to play tight against the talented forwards, then just drop it out to Alves for crosses into the box. Ibra, aside from forcing this tight marking due to the above two points, is far better at receiving crosses than Eto’o, and thus makes Barca’s ace-in-the-hole that much more deadly.
Surely more points can be made on both sides, but I hope this limited list helps you to understand how a clever coach like Pep will be able to exploit the *tactical* benefits of Ibra to *enhance the philosophical aims* of the team. Whether or not the ones and zeroes are ideal I cannot fairly judge, but never let it be said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will ruin the great synergy of the world’s greatest football team.
July 26th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Nice take there GD. I sent you an e-mail.
July 27th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
all things aside, quote of the week, “Instead of buying Golden Ball winners, Barça creates them.” Messi will be this past years FIFA footballer of the year award winner
July 27th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
bardhyl, you can’t take mourinho’s word for it, that is just silly. hes vastly simplifying the situation and making it sound best for his interests (keeping inter fans happy).
just yesterday moratti himself claimed the deal is good business for both clubs, why?
“It seems to me an intelligent move by Barcelona to begin new paths,” he added. “And for Inter, we’re talking about a positive deal also in the financial sense. You have to bear in mind that Eto’o's value as a player is not that of his low transfer value. It was great business for both. I can’t recall a deal of this level between European clubs”
brilliant comment GD, hopefully that email from the admin is to ask you to begin an editorial called “GD’s tactical breakdown”