Before I get down to brass tacks tomorrow with the first installment of my full on La Liga preview (I had to wait for the end of the transfer window…or at least that’s my excuse), there is news afoot in Catalunya that’s worth discussing. First and foremost, Carles Puyol, our beloved captain, injured his left calf in Spanish national team training on Tuesday. I’m not sure if the injury actually occurred during warm-ups for the Racing match, but regardless, it seems rather irresponsible that he then went to full training with the national team. It’s both Puyol and the medical staff’s fault for not keeping him out when he was obviously not 100%. There’s no official word on a timetable for his return, but 3 weeks is the going rate for such an injury, unless it’s less severe than previously thought.
So, then, we’ve shipped out SuperMartin Caceres to Sevilla on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season and we’ve also sent Alexander Hleb to Birmingham City. Then we re-upped Seydou Keita until 2014 and increased his buyout clause from €90m to €100m…because there was a chance someone was going to buy him for €90m and we were worried about that? Is there something I don’t understand about these buyout clauses?
I said I would do it if Ibra left this summer and so I shall: I will be writing here under the name Queen Elizabeth until the end of September. You know what that feels like? Birmingham City will soon:
Well that was an absolutely dreadful weekend of transfer news, culminating in the proverbial and yet somehow literal kick in the crotch that was Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s odd loan + buy option for next year at €24M the following term. In its wake, enough e-ink has been spilt over the transfer saga to drown even the most epic of football or FC Barcelona fans. Predictably, much hand-wringing has been made about the financial bath that the Blaugrana took from this mess, and rightly so. This was an unmitigated financial disaster that is going to cause us a fair amount of monetary distress, not to mention the problems if Zlatan is injured during the season and Milan balks at the purchase, but also making everyone involved in the deal look very very bad. Truly this was another of Pep’s phyrric victories, his scorched earth policy that consumes all who get on his bad side and all agents who would deign to deride his managerial style. However, should we, as Barça supporters be so down about this as to become fed up with everything and start laying blame everywhere, even when it may not be so deserved? Maybe we can brave this one with a little humor, a level head, and the man with the knowledge on La Liga at the Guardian Sid Lowe, whose excellent article provides all the quotes below.
Javier Mascherano has been officially presented by Barça today at the Camp Nou. He’ll wear the #14, replacing Thierry Henry in that number. He signed a 4-year deal with a salary reported to be €5m a year.
Some details: Javier Alejandro Mascherano, 26 years old, is listed at 5’8 1/2″ (174cm). He started his career at River Plate in Argentina in 2003 at the age of 19. He then moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005. It was his transfer from there to West Ham in 2006 that ended up costing the Hammers 5.5m GBP in fines due to illegal signings, even after he’d moved on to Liverpool in 2007.
Commenter IS summed up the transaction a lot better than I could have, so I’ll reprint it here, so that we can all have a giggle:
Galliani: “How much for the big guy?” Rosell: “70” Galliani: “Last price?” Rosell: “50” Galliani: “I’ll give you 5” Rosell: “No, last price 45, and like that I’m already losing compared to how much he cost me” Galliani: “I can go up to 10, but that’s it” Rosell: ” Ummm …. No? 40?” (Galliani walks away) (Rosell chases him with ‘the big guy’ in his hand and shoves ‘it’ in his hand) Rosell: “Ok, ok, 30 — but just for you!” Galliani: “25” (Galliani waves the cash infront of Rosell) (Rosell’s eyes widen and sparkle as he starts dreaming of all he can do with the monies — but then reverts to a a big frown) Rosell: “Fine, 25, here you go…” (Rosell hands over ‘the big guy’ and takes the money and counts it) Rosell: “Mister, Mister! There’s only 24 here!!” Galliani: “Sorry, that’s all I had on me” Rosell: “Oh, ok… well.. please come again and I make you another great deal. Oh… and tell your friends!!”
I don’t have much to say about this one, yet. At least not any depth. Numbers aren’t available yet, but AC Milan and FC Barcelona have agreed to a one-year loan deal with an obligation to purchase at a number in the neighborhood of 40 million Euros.
I’m a little sad right now, not for the player and his gargantuan potential and never seeing it again in FCB colors, but for the way that this all transpired. In just a season, the man we labeled BANGS went from tens of thousands of fans swooning over him at the Camp Nou, to not good enough, to gone. And it was a mess. A big, fat mess that should have been handled better, irrespective of whose ultimate responsibility it was.
And the reputation of our club is a little …. no, a lot tarnished. At present, it is unknown whether we are going to replace him, or soldier on with what we have. While we’re figuring it all out, here’s a tip-top compilation of all of the goals of BANGS from this past season.
Well, this is turning into an interesting back half of the week. Today FC Barcelona announced on its official site that the club has reached a deal with Liverpool to buy Argentine MF Javier Mascherano assuming proper medical clearance and all that jazz. Terms are being reported differently everywhere, ranging from 25M euros to 21M + 3M in incentives to 16 + 3 and so on and so forth. All seem to agree that Mascherano will sign a 4-year deal with the club following medicals, photo-ops, and pledging allegiance to Lord Pep. Continue Reading
Javier Mascherano joins us from Liverpool. He’s not even 5-foot-9 inches tall, but he plays like a giant. Ramzi will post, once he is finished dancing a mambo of joy. Meanwhile, Busquets gets competition that, as with Keita and Abidal and Maxwell and Pedro!, can only make him better. More importantly, we get a thug. A flat-out. for-sure ass thug. Yes, he has ball skills galore, and is an excellent passer and handler of the ball. He’s Argentine. Come on. But more importantly, he will get all up in that ass.
Daddy likey. The happy number was a 16+6 deal, as in fee and incentives, and that’s in Pounds, rather than Euros. Watch the video, and then wonder about a Busquets/Mascherano trident with Xavi, and whether anyone would ever get the ball past midfield. Our defenders will be able to go out for Barca Xips.
Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but the man in that picture at left, want-away whiner Alexander Hleb, could be one of the keys to this season. So the news that he is going with the squad on the Asian tour warms my heart, even though I know that it is to put him in the shop window, in the hopes that somebody, anybody, will pay around 7m for our 15m midfielder. Continue Reading
The Kaiser of Michoacan, Rafael Márquez Álvarez, made his debut for Barça on September 3, 2003 against Sevilla and, 242 official appearances later, he has come to an agreement with the club to rescind his contract. Rafa has always been a team player for us, has always played wherever we needed him to, and has made little to no noise behind the scenes, but the arrival of Piqué and the resurgence of Milito have pushed him towards the back of the center back queue. That’s not a position Márquez feels comfortable in–he’s the captain of his national team, after all–and with several canterano centerbacks vying for a place in the first team, it makes sense for Rafa to move on and, hopefully, find a team where he can be a star.
There’s no reason I need to stop seeing him play just because he’s leaving the blaugrana, though, right? Yaya, you should have moved to Red Bulls too!
Take care, Rafa, and many thanks for your 7 years of service in blaugrana. Your leadership (and looks!) will be missed.
