A Common Fan’s Sports Diary

Is Ibrahimovic 46 millions euros better than Eto'o ?

Ever since the Eto’o – Ibrahimovic deal happened, I have been trying to think of a more lopsided transfer.

Finally, I have to accept that I have failed.

If I were Inter, I would take Eto’o and 46 million euros in exchange for Ibrahimovic, eleven times out of ten without as much as batting an eyelid.

Assuming we put a value of 35 million euros on Eto’o (the same amount that City paid for a far less accomplished striker in Carlos Tevez), this puts the value of Ibrahimovic at 81 million euros, which technically is more than the value of Cristiano Ronaldo (80 million euros)!!!

Does that mean that Barcelona have pipped Real in making the biggest transfer splash of the season, in terms of signing the player with the highest transfer value?

You can make the argument that Eto’o’s tempramental ways was good riddance for Barcelona (and hence we can discount his transfer value) but what about Ibra’s sulking ways and his poor reputation as a team player.

And while both strikers have been feared hitmen in their resppective leagues, Eto’o has proven to be the more reliable goal poacher on big match ocassions. That should accord some premium on the Cameroonian’s market worth.

That, we can actually debate who is better is the reason this transfer is such a shocker  – if the difference in value of two players is 46 million euros,  the possibility of the debate shouldn’t even exist. Normally you would assume that they are on a different plane altogether.

Its baffling because Barca found David Villa’s 50 million euro price tag too high. Even a 20 million booty for Eto’o could have reduced Barcelona’s net outlay for the Valenica striker to far less than the 46 they paid for the Swede.

The big winners in this transfer are Inter Milan and some praise is due for the usually much maligned Massimo Moratti.

He usually ends up on the wrong side of any transfers involving big-name players.

But this one makes him look like a genius.

What does it say for Barcelona if they can make you say that for the Inter chairman!!!

To be a BIG Club Man City first need a BIG Manager. Like one of these guys

When Jose Mourinho went to Inter, the likes of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard were ready to go join him.

When Luis Felipe Scolari came to Stamford Bridge, Deco and Bosingwa followed

As soon as Carlo Ancelotti became manager of Chelsea, rumours of Kaka and Pirlo joining the Blues started doing the rounds

In Mark Hughes’ reign at Man City, the only player willing to come to Eastlands purely because of the manager has been Roque Santa Cruz.

See the difference.

Forget tactical acumen and man management skills, Mark Hughes is light years away from the likes of Mourinho, Scolari and Ancelotti, when it comes to having the persona and the resume to attract big name players to come and play for them.

In the case of Man City this becomes an even bigger handicap because they are a second rung club – not big enough in their own right for the big names – a club which for all its riches has managed to sign just a single world-class player; and that guy supposedly thought he was joining Man United and often appears to be disenchanted at the club. The club has suffered the humiliation of having its overtures for the likes of Kaka and Buffon turned down in spite of tabling bids which would have dwarfed previous transfer records. And that too in today’s recessionary times.

You can argue that Mourinho, Scolari and Ancelotti can attract these players only because they have coached them previously and the superstars are very comfortable playing for them again. But that is exactly the point that we are trying to make.

Big time players want to move to a club primarily for two reasons – either because of the club’s name or because of the star power of the other players playing for the club. Man City have neither. They are the poor cousins of Man United, have never won anything and I don’t know any super stars who are dying to rub shoulders with the likes of Stephen Ireland and Richard Dunne.

They cannot change their history or their stature overnight. And they don’t even have European football to offer.

As for raising the quality of their players, that is exactly what City are trying to do in the first place -they are caught in a classic catch-22 situation. Until, they get the first lot of quality players, other big names are not going to join.

That brings us back to our original argument now that we have exhausted all the other options.

The most sure shot way of getting the first lot of superstars is to target the ones who are willing to move with their manager. And the easiest way of doing that is by getting a manager who has managed a clutch of big name players. Once City have their manager and their first set of big names, the others will automatically follow. They will be assured in the knowledge that this club is now on the move in the right direction.

Additionally having a big name manager helps in keeping the inflated egos of the superstars in check. Do we have any evidence to believe that Mark Hughes can handle the tantrums and mood swings of players like Didier Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic? Especially after having seen Robinho toy with him on a regular basis.

That leaves us with one last question.

How hard will it be to get a world class manager?

Not too hard at all.

There are scores of great managers around. In addition to big bucks, which is quite an incentive in itself, City also offer any manager a fresh challenge, a complete free hand to run things and an opportunity to build a world beating club. Great managers have fallen for far less.

It is difficult to understand the reluctance of the Abu Dhabi Sheikhs in parting with Mark Hughes. Even from a purely footballing standpoint, he has fared worse than his predecessor Sven – Goran Eriksson and that too with a far bigger budget.

Time is running out fast. Ideally City should have moved into the top 6 in the 2008-09 premiership season and put on a good show in the Europa League to establish their credentials as a club growing in stature. That would have helped in attracting big time talent. Now they are hopelessly running from one agent to another, chequebook in hand. They will end up signing a bunch of mediocre names or some talented malcontents, much like their efforts in the January transfer window. With Florentino Perez back at Real Madrid and Chelsea looking to start afresh under Ancelotti, the bidding war for big names is going to be hotly contested.

Man City with Mark Hughes doesn’t have a chance to compete with these big boys.

That is unless they decide to get a big boy of their own.

This year's final is bound to have a mouth watering match-up

The Draw for the Champions League Semis; Chelsea- Barcelona and Man United – Arsenal, while mouth-watering in itself, sets up the possibility of a very interesting finals match-up. Each of the four possibilities is extremely fascinating; both in terms of the action on and off the field, the history between the two sides and the other associated story lines.

The football fans are really spoilt for choice here.

So let’s look at each of the 4 potential show downs and identify the reasons why we would want to see a final featuring these two sides.

Chelsea – Man United – These two sides gave us 120 minutes of attacking football in last year’s final – a rarity in ECL finals and therefore, this match-up would be the first choice for those who are bored of the safety first defensive approaches which are the staple of such occasions. This would also pit two of the greatest managers of the last 20 years, Guus Hiddink and Alex Ferguson, and that would be a real battle of wits. And finally, there is the revenge and redemption angle as well, a chance for John Terry to exorcise his worst nightmare. Man United’s successes over Chelsea in the last two Premier league races, in the last ECL final and in their last encounter has resulted in the sacking of Mourinho, Avram Grant and Phil Scolari respectively. Another triumph could bust all the euphoria over Hiddink and herald the arrival of yet another new manager at Stamford Bridge.

The battle Royale

Man United –Barcelona – This final would determine a lot of things. The battle between two of the most dominant and attack-minded teams in Europe would settle the debate, about who are the real Kings of the continent. As the leaders of their respective leagues, this clash will also be billed as the showdown between the Primera Liga and the Premier League. The two best players in world football, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would come together for a long –awaited duel which will give one set of supporters the bragging rights as the fans of the best player in football. In addition, hostilities will be resumed between United and their old foe, Thierry Henry.

This final could prove one man right

Barcelona – Arsenal – As the rematch of another final, the 2006 one, this match will also re-kindle passions of revenge and deliverance. A much greater twist will be added by the presence of Thierry Henry. Losing the 2006 final forced Henry to leave Arsenal in pursuit of trophies. A win would justify his decision, although it will be ironic to see one of the greatest Gunners ever, denying the club, their long awaited place in the annals of the European greats. A loss would make the Frenchman a massive loser – the only person to end up on the losing side in both Barcelona – Arsenal finals. An Arsenal win will be doubly sweet for Arsene Wenger as the triumph will vindicate his decision to let Henry leave rather than compromise on his youth policy. It will shut up his critics once and for all.

Arsenal – Chelsea – Thanks to their lack of European pedigree, these two clubs are the second class citizens of the Premiership Big 4. After this final, there will be only one set of supporters suffering from an inferiority complex. It will also be a contest of two contrasting philosophies – the most frugal big name club in Europe with an unwavering belief in the power of youth and the biggest spenders in the history of the game with a penchant to throw obscene money at established superstars. Liverpool and United have foiled Abramovich’s European ambitions in the past and Arsenal could become the third English club to do so, also becoming the third Premiership side to win the title, the Russian craves the most, since the time he heralded the Russian revolution at Chelsea. It could well be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Personally, I want to see United play Barcelona. You tell us which final match-up you want to watch.

Even the talismen of Liverpool will find it difficult to overcome this crushing debacle

A high-flying side chasing multiple titles takes on a hated adversary in a high-profile clash at home. Gets an early goal and it looks as if they will coast to victory. Their opponents slowly claw back into the game and then literally blow them away, tearing their defence to smithereens. A historic win for the opposition and a morale crushing defeat for the high-flyers – one which brings them crashing down to earth.

Liverpool did this to Man Utd last month and look what’s happened to the Champions ever since – there is no confidence in the side, no rhythm in attack and tentative is a euphemism for their defence.
Liverpool were dealt an almost identical blow last night by their hated ECL rivals, Chelsea. The Old Trafford triumph gave a massive boost to the Merseysiders and turned the EPL title race back into a two horse one. Chelsea will get a similar lift from their conquest of Liverpool and the possibility of the race turning into a three –way chase cannot be ruled out.

Crash-landings like these are crushing and it is difficult to see Liverpool escaping without any scars.

Finally Roman could have found his man

The Legend of Guus

Another chapter was added to the storied career of Guus Hiddink. The same Chelsea side were beaten by both Man Utd and Liverpool, not too long ago. And look what they have done now. It was easily the most convincing performance by either side in the five year history of Liverpool-Chelsea clashes in the Champions League. The English FA were undecided on whether to hire the Dutchman when he was available and their dithering and indecisiveness pissed him off. Luckily for them, they managed to hire Capello. What are odds of Hiddink signing a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge?

Another European night at Old Trafford where United's defense collapsed against an unfancied opponent

Déjà Vu for United

While Liverpool were getting a taste of their own medicine, Man Utd relived the horrors of one of their worst European nights. And I am not talking of the defeat to Porto in 2004. I am referring instead to the 2-2 draw they suffered at Old Trafford against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League semis in 2002. That year also, Utd had got the luck of the draw, facing an unfancied Bayer side in the semis.

Unfortunately for them, the Germans passed the ball around beautifully and almost played United off the park. United were horrible in defence and had no answers to the trio of Ballack, Basturk and Bernd Schneider, just about escaping with a draw. And if they need any more bad tidings, they drew 1-1 in the return leg and crashed out of the competition, after conceding another late goal.

A silver lining in the dark cloud

Liverpool have a near impossible task of overturning the first leg deficit. They have a far better chance of challenging for the League title. One can argue that the return leg clash is now less important than the remaining premiership fixtures. So how about resting their big guns and saving them for the more important games instead. I am sure the Anfield faithful will not mind as long as it improves their chances of winning the league. Man Utd on the other hand have a realistic chance of making the semis and cannot afford their players any such luxury. The premiership race could come down to how much hunger and energy the players of the two teams have in the final stretch. Thanks to the defeat Liverpool are actually better placed on that front than United. The crushing defeat could well be a blessing in disguise.

So who are the favourites?

As we have seen, form in the ECL can change from one round to the other. So it is still too early to predict the champion. But which was the most impressive side in the first leg games?

Barcelona enhanced their reputation as favourites with a brilliant attacking display at the Nou Camp. But in spite of that virtuoso performance, the laurel of the best side rests with Chelsea; for the sheer tenacity and mental fortitude that they displayed. Anfield is an intimidating fortress on European nights and it requires supreme self belief for a visiting side to not just recover from an early but totally impose their dominance on the game. Attacking firepower is great to have but it is the self belief and mental strength which will count for more in the final reckoning. And that is why Chelsea look best equipped to go all the way

We always talk about the impact players and managers have on clubs. As they are actively involved in the matches, it’s simpler to measure the impact of their efforts and therefore it becomes so much easier to judge whether a player or a manager has been good or bad. Not so easy in the case of club owners.

Most of them hardly get involved in running the club. Others who do get their hands dirty have different levels of involvement – and that makes the task of comparing owners extremely difficult. Therefore, for the purpose of this exercise we simply got down to the bottom line – we judged the owners based on the success or failure of their clubs irrespective of their level of involvement. You are still a good owner if you hire correctly and then sit back to enjoy the hired men bring success to your club.

So here we go, in particular order. We will be limiting the timeline of this exercise to the last 25 odd years. We will have just 5 owners in each category and hence will have to miss out on a few good and bad ones

The Best

GLazer has a proven past record of winning titles

Malcolm Glazer and Man United – He took over in 2005 when United had just finished their worst season in the premiership. He had financed his purchase through debt financing and there were fears that the heavy interest charge would sink the club. Three years on United have two league titles, a Champions league crown, a reduced debt and money flowing in from everywhere. Thanks to Glazer, Sir Alex always has the money to get his transfer targets and has no management guys interfering with his football decisions. The club has never been in better shape

Tapie put the squad together which brought him the big cup

Bernard Tapie and Olympique Marseille – Forget the match-fixing scandal which finished his involvement with football. Remember the two trips to the Champions League final including one title – the likes of Chelsea, Inter and Lyon would give an arm and a leg for that. Their accomplishments continue to remain the most glorious chapter of French club football. Also won 4 consecutive Ligue 1 titles. Tapie achieved this by signing a bunch of great players and managers – and did this within the foreign player restriction of the pre Bosman era – a highly creditable effort.

Berlusconi's is by far the winningiest owner in Europe

Silvio Berlusconi and AC Milan – When he took over AC Milan were the target of constant ridicule at the hands of cross town rivals Inter – having faced the ignominy of multiple relegations in the 80’s. Today Milan are the most successful European club of the last 20 years and their bitter rivals are the ones getting ridiculed. Berlusconi gets his hands into everything – from player signings to match formations. But it seems to work and Berlusconi has built Milan into one big happy family. Big time players rarely leave and retired ones stay on to join the coaching or management staff.

Gianni Agnelli and Juventus – He ran the club just like his family ran Fiat – like a corporate organization and the club was just as successful as the car company.
They have won the most Serie A titles and made 4 trips to the Champions League final. Agnelli built Juve into the most well-supported club in Italy and one with a very solid foundation. Other clubs would have taken years to rebound from the point deduction and the relegation. Juventus were back amongst the Serie A elite in just one season.

Jean Michel Aulas and Olympique Lyonnais – Imagine a new guy takes over at a club like West Bromwich Albion and step by step builds it into the most dominant side in England – one which wins 7 premiership titles in a row virtually unchallenged. That is exactly what Aulas has achieved with Lyon. They were oscillating between Ligue 1 and 2 in 1986 when he took over. He had a 15 year plan for the club with lots of small targets thrown in. His painstaking approach is an anomaly in modern football, but one which has worked wonders.

The Worst

Roman Abramovich and Chelsea – He is the polar opposite of Aulas in terms of patience and markedly different from Glazer by not letting his manager take complete charge of football matters. And that is why in spite of spending almost 600 million pounds on Chelsea and guiding them to two titles he makes the latter list. He wanted to build Rome in one day. Chelsea are already onto their fourth manager during his stint – and that is never the sign of a good owner.

The trophy collection tells the story - Inter and Moratti are not even close to Milan

Massimo Moratti and Inter Milan – He is Abramovich spread over a longer period of time but with a little less money and even less success. Thanks to him, Inter are no longer spoken of in the same vein as Milan and Juventus. They are a dysfunctional club which keeps losing its big stars all the time. Ronaldo, Vieri, Roberto Carlos, Cannavaro have all moved out. Moratti also has no patience and just fires everybody and starts afresh every time things get too bad. His father brought glory to Inter under the managerial aegis of Helenio Herrera. Massimo’s managers don’t stay long enough to emulate the Fench-Argentine.

Who needs enemies when you have Hicks and Gillett as owners

Gillett and Hicks and Liverpool – Liverpool welcomed the pair with open arms in stark contrast to the hostile reception given to Glazer by United. But while Glazer has brought money and success, the financial restraint of the American pair almost always leaves their manager Benitez narrating his sorrows in public. The Spaniard is often forced to sell players to finance his purchases and even then fails to get the players he wants. Ironically Tom Hicks is famous for giving Alex Rodriguez the most expensive contract in baseball – he finally sold the player off to the Yankees by agreeing to pay half his salary! To add to the tragedy for the club, the pair is embittered and was almost on the verge of a break-up.

Mike Ashley and Newcastle United – His manager turnover ratio beats that of Abramovich and Moratti and that too when his club is without a manager now. Also belongs to the category which believes in reducing the manager’s powers. The fans hate him and want him out. And he has managed to do all this in just one year.

The Norwegian businessmen who bought Wimbledon when Joe Kinnear was manager – Wimbledon had no stadium and a meagre transfer budget. Yet Joe Kinnear’s men continued to defy the odds finishing regularly in the top ten in the premiership and securing impressive results in the cup competitions. Then a couple of Norwegian businessmen bought the club. They thought Kinnear was no good and brought in countryman Egil Olsen to run the club. The club got relegated, Egil Olsen left and then they went on a free fall, finally ceasing to exist in 2004. As they say, if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.

This article was originally published on www.goal.com

Pizarro and Sheva - the Blue of Chelsea didn't suit them

Claudio Pizarro scored a vital equalizer for Werder Bremen on the same night and the very next day another Chelsea flop Andriy Shevchenko scored the winner for AC Milan in the UEFA Cup.

Talk of a club having bad karma

I hope Roman Abramovich got the message.

Related Article

Meet the Roman Abramovich All-Stars

For a long time the owners of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan were the richest owners in football. Technically, Barcelona and Real Madrid had no owners but had purses which were just as deep.

Then Roman Abramovich came in. He took the battle to the Spaniards and the Italians giving Chelsea more financial muscle than any other club. The likes of Man United, Liverpool, West Ham, Aston Villa and Man City have since got billionaire owners of their own but nobody has quite matched the Russian oligarch.

The Russian is the current big daddy of super rich owners

This was followed by the part ownership of Queens Park Rangers by Laxmi Mittal. Mr Mittal is the richest man in Britain and has more billions than Roman but unlike the Russian he hasn’t quite got down to throwing his millions around. While his disinterest in football is bad news for the club, people in India don’t mind – as long as the Mittal Champions Trust continues to be endowed magnanimously. There are other super-rich part owners as well – but minor compared to Mr Mittal – the likes of Alisher Usmanov and Bernie Ecclestone.

The Sheikh has quickly taken ownership of the British transfer record

Now a real challenger has emerged – in the form of the Abu Dhabi group which has bought Manchester City. While the full extent of their money power will be known only during the January transfer window and much beyond that, they have already shown a glimpse of their ambition and their recklessness. Their last-ditch signing of Robinho can beat anything that Abramovich has expended for thus far.

The premiership is the perfect platform for Anil to display his global ambition

And then there are more pretenders. Anil Ambani – the fourth richest man in the world lurks. The Ambani has great ambition and will hold nothing back (meaning no expenses will be spared) in his quest for success.

Paul’s an old hand at money games and knows no limits

Paul Allen is another – Microsoft’s co-founder has been linked to Southampton in the past and can be counted upon to make an entry if some other club becomes available. He has less money than Mittal or Abramovich but is far more profligate – has already contributed to changing the money dynamics in the NBA and the NFL.

While the likelihood of the richest man in the world – Bill Gates – jumping in the fray is quite slim, we cannot rule out two others – men who have more money than any of the current owner or the pretenders – the Mexican Carlos Slim and Anil Ambani’s brother Mukesh. Carlos Slim could do on a far larger scale what Thaksin Shinawatra dreamt of – use a premiership club to boost his own popularity in his football-mad homeland. Mukesh Ambani has already tasted blood with the IPL and always loves to take on his younger brother. So Anil’s entry into European football could quickly lead to a purchase by the elder brother as well.

The battle of Britain could be like no other. That there is a fair correlation between spending and foot balling success has already been proved and is a fact known to all the rich guys. The coming times could well become a battle of the purses. I now wonder – If it ever comes to a ‘let the richest man win’ win kind of situation – then who will be the winner? What do you guys think ?

This article was originally published on Goal.com

United should let Real Madrid have Ronaldo if they can get a fortune in return

And finally, a fair portion of fans also think that United could do well to make the most of this opportunity. I guess most of these are United fans like me, who can see the benefits of a mega transfer kitty – which Ronaldo’s move to Real could bring. United could use that money to buy a right-back, a striker and also pay for Carlos Tevez’s transfer fee. They haven’t managed to ad a single player to their squad this year. The heavy expenditure made last year seems to have tied down Fergie’s hands this season. And how good is a disgruntled superstar. And nobody will pay more for Ronaldo than Real Madrid. The first two options will give us (United fans) a lot of wicked pleasure but option three is most beneficial for the club. Man United and their manager should just shed their pride and sell Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a fortune.

The final of the Euro 2008 was played last Sunday and most soccer fans are already over it and involved neck deep in the transfer activities that will go a long way in determining the destiny of their favourite clubs in the coming season. It is therefore a good time to look back and try and identify what could possibly be the lasting memories of Euro 2008.

After all, the euphoria is already over (except for in Spain) and we can no longer re-collect the amount of tiny details that we could do a week back. The short-term memory bank of Euro 2008 has already been wiped clean and the condensed reminiscences that are still with us are finding a place for themselves in our long term storage.

So lets pick out the memories which will define Euro 2008 and remain entrenched in our minds forever – much in the same way as the Van Basten volley of 1988, the double strike of Olivier Bierhoff in Euro 96, the Danish fairy-tale of 1992 or the heroic performance of the Italian defence in Euro 2000.

To ensure that the process is robust, I am not going to be relying on the internet and I saw enough of the tournament to not miss anything important.

So here goes (in no particular order)

The ‘wonder goal’ scored by the Dutch against Italy

Most of us never saw the ‘Total Football’ of the 70’s (in person that is). But we caught a glimpse of what it would have been like as the Dutch scored a spectacular counter-attacking goal against Italy. Holland had a disappointing exit from the tournament but their performance in the first 270 minutes was a thing of sheer beauty. We should be hearing more of Van Basten the coach in the future.

The ‘heart-breaking’ Turks

Grabbing one win with a sensational late goal is usually gratifying enough. The Turks managed three in a row!!!. Their late comebacks were heart-breaking for the opposition fans – the Swiss, the Czechs and the Croats. No one would have broken so many in the course of one tournament. Their exploits could usher in a new term – doing a Turkey, every time someone gets a late winner. And all this with nearly half the squad injured or suspended.

No suffering as an English fan

I am an Indian. But we identify a lot with the English – having been ruled by them for so long and then from watching the comprehensive coverage of the EPL week in and week out. Not having our home nation India to cheer for, we invariably end up supporting England at most major tournaments and needless to say, we are a dejected lot when all is said and done. Therefore for once, we could watch the tournament in peace without the threat of a heart break looming large (I am not counting the 1994 World Cup as we had no EPL coverage then). Unluckily for us and luckily for England (now that Capello is on board) this might be a one off. The memory will surely last.

For once the Spanish were victors

Will not delve too much into why this would be a lasting memory. We all know why

The ‘Master Coach’

It takes a really special manager and an outstanding coaching job to pass the ‘lasting memory’ criterion. Guus Hiddink and his effort with the Russians got full marks on both. The most accomplished manager heading into the tournament was also the ‘best manager of the tournament’ – like a top seed who also ended up winning – doesn’t happen too often in major tournaments. We’ll always remember the Dutchman who brought the Dutch juggernaut to a grinding halt and did that with such attacking verve that we almost forgot that it was the team at the receiving end (Holland) which had been winning hearts for their attacking play. As a neutral fan (who just supports good football) I had been rooting for the Dutch yet there was no sadness when they went out.

The blunders and the ‘what if’ discussions

There is a chance that we might forget the guys who did well but rarely are the villains forgotten. Usually their blunders have a decisive impact on their teams fortunes and spawns a ‘what if’ discussion for the ages. Romanians will talk about Mutu’s missed penalty and what could have been. Same goes for the Czechs and the horror goal conceded by Petr Cech. Portuguese fans will debate the impact of Scolari’s Chelsea announcement and then there will be the regulars – the referees and the usual set of refereeing decisions which could have gone either way.

And finally

Euro 2008 did not have a single player who took the tournament by storm – a clear cut ‘player of the tournament’. Many like Ronaldo were expected to do so but failed. There were some wonderful performances no doubt but no player stood out like a colossus. We will not be associating this tournament with the brilliance of any player. Rather we will remember the team efforts. The ‘total football’ of the Dutch. The crisp passing of the Spaniards. The boundless energy of the Russians and the indefatigable spirit of the Turks.

This article was originally published on www.soccerlens.com

Arshavin and Barcelona should avoid a repeat of Riquelme’s frustrating spell at the Spanish giants

Andrey Arshavin has openly expressed a desire to join Barcelona. While players do this all the time, in this case the Spanish Club has opened negotiations with the player’s current club, clearly showing intent to add the player to their squad.