A Common Fan’s Sports Diary

Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben were deemed surplus to requirements at Real Madrid after the Spanish giants signed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso. They were sold to Inter Milan and Bayern Munich for 15 million and 25 million Euros respectively. The transfers fees were huge amounts but nothing compared to the kind of money that was splashed out last year.

And now after, Sneijder and Robben have both engineered huge turnarounds at their clubs, the money looks to be the best piece of business done in the whole of last season. Sneijder is the single biggest reason ( other than coach Jose Mourinho) that Inter are a force in the Champions league; now on the cusp of their first final since 1965 and securing a historic triumph over all-conquering Barcelona. His presence behind the strikers makes Mourinho’s 4-2-1-3 system work like a dream. He has injected the necessary attacking flair to transform a dour, defensive minded side into a dangerous counter-attacking unit.

Robben’s impact is just as dramatic. He came when Bayern were floundering and immediately kick-started a revival scoring twice in the opening game itself and has since been their biggest offensive weapon. His biggest contribution, however, is the three key Champions League goals he has scored in the last three ties – hitting match winners against Fiorentina, Man United and now against Lyon. The first two won the ties for Bayern and the third could result in the same.

Their sparkling performances have ensured that a lot of people around Europe are now eating their words for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Two sets of people deserve special mention

One set which gave them away and one set which didn’t grab them.

First the people at Real who let go of both of them.

Why in God’s name did Jorge Valdano (or Perez or whoever made that decision) sell Sneijder and hold on to the likes of Van der Vaart, Diarra and Gago. Selling the three would have generated much more cash for Real ( The club sold Sneijder for a pittance of 15 million Euros. The other three could have been sold for 10 million Euros each. Just do the math Mr Valdano) and Sneijder’s presence could have altered Real’s fortunes on the pitch as well. He had made an impressive debut for them and could have done a lot more had he not been injured for the rest of the season. His sale for 15 million Euros was the bargain of the season.

Robben’s sale was even more surprising. Atleast Real replaced Sneijder with Xabi Alonso. Robben was Real’s only world-class wide player. They never got a replacement for him and have suffered for lack of width all season long. Also unlike Sneijder, he had already proved his match winning credentials at Real. Unfortunately for the Spaniards, that reputation is now getting enhanced further at Bayern.

And now Real are trying to buy Ribery to replace the void created by Robben’s departure. Robben has been far more effective than the Frenchman at Bayern but Real could end up spending almost three times the money to replace the Dutchman with the Frenchman. That will surely be a coup for the Germans. Upgrade from Ribery to Robben ( atleast for them Robben has been the better player) and make a cool 50 million Euros in the process.

Massimo Moratti of Inter is also smiling away to glory. He gets Etoo and Sneijder plus a hefty 30 million in exchange for Ibrahimovic.

If Bayern and Inter make the Champions League final, they atleast need to send a thank you card to Real Madrid.

The other person who should twitch with regret is Sir Alex Ferguson.

Just consider this

Man United are soon going to lose the services of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
Robben and Sneijder would have been tailor-made replacements for the two veterans.

Man United were handing over Cristiano Ronaldo to Real.
They could have surely negotiated the rights to Robben and Sneijder as part of that deal.

While Rooney is a great goal poacher, he cannot create goals out of nothing like Cristiano Ronaldo could.
Robben could have provided that spark of creative brilliance like he has time and again for Bayern.

Sneijder is better than any of United’s mid fielders
Robben is better than any of United’s wide players
Their addition could have overcome the subtraction of Ronaldo and Tevez.

In his defence, Sir Alex Ferguson had argued that he didn’t use the Ronaldo windfall because he thought the market was overpriced and he couldn’t have gotten value for his money.
But is 25 million Euros for Robben and 15 million for Sneijder a bad deal, when the same manager had splashed out the following amounts for other players.

Michael Carrick for 18.6 million pounds. A move which had left everyone stunned.
Antonio Valencia 16 million pounds.
Nani and Anderson for something in the region of 20 -25 million Euros each.

Therefore, Ferguson could have gotten both the Dutch players without adding significantly to the outlay he made last year. He could have just sold Carrick to Tottenham ( they are always ready to buy back their old players) to finance Sneijder and used the money he spent on Valencia to buy Robben.

And with both Robben and Sneijder being just 25 years old at the time of the transfer, Fergie couldn’t have argued that he was investing in players past their prime.

United’s lack of firepower let them down at crucial times in both the Champions League and the Premier League. We can only guess what it could have been with both Robben and Sneijder on board.

The transfer market is a beautiful thing. Even the smartest people are sometimes made to look like fools.

In the case of Robben and Sneijder, Real Madrid and Man United will have to bear that ignominy.

A player like Wesley Sneijder could really improve the United squad

Dale Johnson of ESPN Soccernet reckoned that Man United need the trio of Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Antonio Valencia to compensate for the creativity and goal-scoring that was earlier single-handedly provided by Cristiano Ronaldo. The 80 million pounds that United got from the Ronaldo sale wouldn’t have been enough to get all three, though. And, now with Benzema gone to Real and Bayern refusing to budge on Ribery, Johnson’s hypothesis is irrelevant.

So what should Man United do?

Man United should not lose sight of their other squad requirements in trying to find a suitable replacement for the Portuguese. There will definitely be a downgrade at his position – something which will adversely affect the over-all composition of the side and its performance on the pitch. After all we are talking of the most expensive player in the world here. But his loss can be compensated handsomely by upgrading a number of other positions which need attention. United need to upgrade at the right-back position where Rafael da Silva is promising but not fully equipped for the big games; atleast not yet. They also need to find suitable replacements for Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, who made huge contributions last season but might not able to deliver at the same level for too long.

Man United are quite capable of attracting top talent having both the money and the pedigree to do so. Real Madrid are mostly done with their signings and save for Man City, which few players want to join, nobody has the cash to dole out.

There is a fire sale happening at Real Madrid with a truckload of Dutch internationals being made available by the club which happens to have 10 squad players too many.

Amongst the lot, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Klas Jan Huntelaar make a lot of sense for United. Sneijder is the goal scoring, powerful driving midfielder that Paul Scholes was and Michael Carrick will never be. Robben is injury prone but has proven to be devastatingly effective in the premiership with Chelsea. Huntelaar has been coveted by United previously and will be a long term solution.

And then there are others. Brazilian Maicon is a world class right-back whose overlapping forays will seamlessly blend into the United attack. He is looking out but doesn’t seem to have a lot of suitors.

Even if United fail to get these players, there are others who Fergie can go after and who will still be a substantial improvement over the current lot.

The argument is simple.

The downgrade at one key position is inevitable but if that happens in tandem with improvements in other areas of the pitch, than it should ensure that the sum of United’s squad will continue to be as whole as before.