A Common Fan’s Sports Diary

A good performance at the World Cup will invariably spike the value of a footballer. His club will demand a higher transfer fee and the player will want higher wages. The same player could have been had for a lot less before the World Cup.

Some people will argue that the World Cup throws up a lot of exciting new talent. And as the new talent gets discovered at the World Cup, they can only be signed after it. This argument doesn’t hold good anymore – because clubs have scouts spread all over the world and hardly anyone with a shred of talent escapes them.

Therefore, if someone gets ‘discovered’ at a World Cup, it’s likely that they have performed above their regular level. This can happen at an event like a World Cup. Players can play out of their skins.

Should, clubs sign such players?

Absolutely not.

Because, the only reason these guys weren’t on the scouts’ radar earlier is because they weren’t playing well for their clubs. They were incapable of performing at the same ‘out of their skin’ level in club football. And I will trust the larger data from club football gleaned from around 50 matches in a season rather than base my judgement on a handful of World Cup matches.

Remember how experts were raving at Senegal’s Salif Diao after he outplayed Patrick Viera in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup. As Liverpool were to discover later, Diao was incapable of doing the same at club level.

So we agree that a good World Cup performance inflates a player’s value. Does that counter intuitively imply that bad performances will lower a players value and make him a bargain?

Unfortunately for clubs, that never happens. Many a star name has endured miserable World Cups without damaging their transfer market value by one bit. If that was case, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema would have seen their values plummet after disappointing at Euro 2008.

It never happens because they are proven performers in the league and clubs value that more than anything else. World Cup performances don’t count.

The only things which get a boost from a player’s World Cup performance are his marketing and promotion rights. Fans will lap up replica jerseys of players who do well at a World Cup.

Other than that. Zilch.

Therefore, the moral of the story is that when you are picking players to play in the league, look at what they are doing at club level. Don’t bother with how they perform at the World Cup. Clubs already have data on a players performance at club level before the World Cup. So they don’t need to bother waiting for the World Cup to complete their signings. It will not give them any additional insight on the players ability. It will only increase the amount they have to pay for his services.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

United's contingent of life time employees

One club men – football players who spend their entire professional careers with one club are an extremely rare breed.

There are a number of reasons which cause players to change clubs. A lot of younger players start out at small clubs and move to bigger clubs which are more befitting of their talent. Similarly, many older players move to lesser clubs to prolong their careers as their physical prowess starts to ebb away. Players have ambitions to play in different leagues and at different clubs, often leading to movement. Sometimes a player just doesn’t get along with the manager or doesn’t fit well in the playing system.

The Bosman ruling of 1995 opened the flood gates to free movement of players. Clubs could no longer hold onto players against their will. They were literally free to go wherever and whenever they wanted. This led to a quantum jump in player activity. And therefore, a one club man became an even rarer species in the post-Bosman era.

For a player to spend his entire career at one club, a number of things must fall in place. He must start out at a club which is just right for his level of talent. His development must be commensurate with the expectations of his club and not more or less than that. As his physical powers wane, he must add new dimensions to his game to be able to hold his own at the club. He must continue to be in the good books of successive managers and always be part of the clubs long term and short term plans. And finally, the club should have enough success to match his personal ambitions.

If even of these things don’t happen, then a move is inevitable.

It happened when Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Liverpool great Michael Owen moved to greener pastures because their clubs weren’t successful enough. It happened when one of Fergie’s fledglings – David Beckham fell out with his manager. It happened when life-long Barcelona supporter and loyalist, Pep Guardiola’s powers diminished and he wasn’t good enough for the Catalans. It happened when Leeds United were relegated and club legend Alan Smith had to mov

There are a lucky few who have managed to beat the odds and spend their entire playing careers at a single club. Today we will celebrate them by picking an all-star eleven made up entirely of such players. This list will be limited to players who played the game after the Bosman ruling; atleast the majority of their career happened after 1995. It will be a traditional 4-4-2 formation.

Here we go. A few of these players are still playing and might not be members of this exclusive club by the time they are done with their playing days. We are only considering their careers in the senior team for this exercise.

A lifetime at Real Madrid

Goalkeeper

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) – Saint Iker is easily one of the best goalies of his generation. Destined for greatness at the most successful club in the world, he first made the playing eleven at 17. Has a buy-out clause of 128 million pounds and reportedly turned down an offer of 11 million pounds per season from Man City. Has won 2 Champions League and 4 Primera Liga titles with Real. He could have had serious competition from Gianluigi Buffon but the Italian was lured by a 52 million euro transfer fee- the biggest ever for a goalkeeper.

Defence

Paulo Maldini (AC Milan) – One of the all time great left backs has been part of the Milan family forever. His father Cesare also excelled at Milan and Paulo’s son Christian is already part of the club’s youth side. Debuted at 16 and is going strong at 40 – don’t think anyone has spent 24 years as a player at any club in the world. His haul of 5 Champions League and 7 Serie A titles is also unmatched. Will surely continue his association with Milan long after his playing days are over. He is surely the mascot of this ‘one club’ fraternity.

Jamie Carragher (Liverpool) – A Merseysider, he rose through the Liverpool youth ranks with Michael Owen. But while Owen was making the headlines at senior level and getting frustrated at Liverpool’s lack of success, Carragher was finding life difficult as an unsettled utility man. He finally established himself in defence and played a stellar role as Liverpool re-established themselves as European heavyweights. With his best form coinciding with club success, he was never a dissatisfied want-away like Owen. Winner of one Champions League title.

Carlos Puyol (Barcelona) – Barca is the pride of Catalonia and playing for the club is the highest honour for a Catalan. The challenge lies in being good enough to play for them regularly. Carlos Puyol has risen to the challenge with aplomb. He was part of a superbly talented group of young Spanish players at the club, but while most of the others fell by the wayside, he has continued to flourish as the leader at the back; at a club where chronic defensive problems result in a regular churn of defenders. Winner of 1 Champions League and 2 Primera Liga titles.

Gary Neville (Man United) – Joined United after leaving school and debuted in the senior side at 17. Part of the celebrated youth movement under Alex Ferguson. Much admired and respected at Old Trafford for his leadership and fighting spirit; qualities which have become increasingly relevant as his plying skills have diminished. That and a willingness to accept a reduced role, rather than trying for regular first team football elsewhere, have meant that he will wind up his playing career with United. Winner of 7 Premier League and 2 Champions League titles.

Midfield

Ryan Giggs (Man United) – United’s most capped player has been with them for 22 years now and looks good for many more. This has come thanks to his amazing transformation from a dashing left winger to a mature playmaker. While his past was all speed and breathtaking skill, his present is all guile and intelligence. Thanks to that he has continued to be a valuable squad player. Sir Alex is keen on holding on to him and uses him quite judiciously. A member of Fergie’s fledglings, he has been part of everything that United have won under the Scot – 10 Premier league titles, 3 FA Cups and 2 Champions League titles.

Paul Scholes (Man United) –Grew up as a supporter of Oldham Athletic but has been at United throughout his youth and senior career. His is another story of a player changing and flourishing in new roles as his career progressed. Once a striker, he has made a name for himself as a driving force in United’s midfield. Continues to be a vital member of United’s squad, especially on European nights when Fergie can still count on his big game temperament. He is another player whose career will be extended thanks to Fergie’s intelligent use of him. Winner of 8 Premier League and 2 Champions League titles.

Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona) – Another fiercely proud Catalan who joined the club’s youth side in 1991 at age 11 and is already contracted to play for them till 2014. His rise as the home-grown lynchpin of Barca’s midfield is especially creditable considering the club has largely relied on foreign talent in the attacking department. Largely under-rated thanks to the presence of a galaxy of stars at the Nou Camp, he announced himself to the world at Euro 2008 where he was voted best player. Barca have always known his worth and have tied him down for good with a massive contract. Winner of 4 Primera Liga and 1 Champions League title.

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – He almost followed Michael Owen out of Liverpool after a frustrating Trophy less season in 2003-04. But luckily for him, for new manager Rafa Benitez and for Liverpool Football Club, he decided to stay. Istanbul happened in 2005 and in his own words; Steven Gerrard couldn’t leave the club after a night like that. The player has since become a legend at the Kop and few players can dream of achieving the status he enjoys at the club. A long overdue league title is also within touching distance and once Liverpool win that, Steven Gerrard can have the key to the entire red half of Merseyside. Winner of 1 Champions League title.

Forwards

Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid) – A cult hero at the club, who can continue to play for Real Madrid for as long as he desires. Holds almost all the goal scoring records for the club and continues to be their leading striker at age 31 with 24 goals in the 2008-09 campaign. Has been their golden boy from the time he became their youngest debutant at age 17. The ironic part is that he started his youth career at bitter rivals Atletico and had to move to Real because the youth system was closed down by President Jesus Gil. If not for Mr Gil’s short-sightedness, Raul Gonzalez would have made this list as an Atletico player. Winner of 6 Primera Liga and 3 Champions League titles.

Francesco Totti (Roma) – A symbol of the club who was probably born to play for Roma. He was born in Rome and he and his family have been lifelong Roma supporters. His mother refused a lucrative contract from AC Milan when he was a teenager and Totti first played for the Roma senior side at 16 and became captain at 20. His trophy collection is the most meagre of all the players on this list and he could have easily moved to bigger clubs to win more titles but the option of leaving Roma is one that Totti has never considered. Will probably end up as the greatest Roma player of all time. Winner of 1 Serie A title.

We will be back shortly with a team of polar opposites – players who can’t seem to stay at one place for too long.

Does he see his dreams coming true?

Manchester City are the richest football club in the world. They are also perhaps the only club with tons of money to spend in the January transfer window. The clubs Abu-Dhabi based owners want to make it the biggest most successful one in the football world. And they have made it abundantly clear that money will not come in the way of making this a reality.

Man City have before them the examples of Real Madrid and Chelsea – clubs which have won numerous honours on the back of massive spending to bolster their squads.

But after three weeks of transfer activity it seems Man City have no ambitions of matching or bettering the likes of Chelsea or Real Madrid.

They seem to be headed more in the direction of aping the Newcastle Uniteds and Tottenham Hostpurs of the world.

What else can we make out of the signings of Wayne Bridge, Nigel De Jong and Craig Bellamy?

Would any of these players be ever coveted by one of the big Four in England or by one of the major European powerhouses?

Man City must be in fool’s paradise if they think they can challenge the big boys with players of this calibre.

Chelsea wouldn't have dreamt that they would make such a profit on Wayne Bridge

Wayne Bridge was an often unused second choice player at Chelsea – so Man City have basically picked up the leftovers of the second richest club in England.

Nigel De Jong wasn’t really setting the Bundesliga alight and Craig Bellamy has been an average to decent player at best – the kinds of which are already aplenty at Man City. Why add more mediocre players to an already mediocre bunch.

And it isn’t very clever of them to think that breaking the world record for a single transfer will make the January activity a super success. In the midst of all this mediocrity, they have been involved in a 105 million pound pursuit of Kaka – as if they had to somehow spend the full transfer budget, even if it was on just one player. Haven’t they realized already that one world class Brazilian hardly makes a difference? Their ambition is completely misplaced – Kaka even plays the same position as City’s current best player – countryman Robinho. Was he really worth spending so much on – I would have rather spent 35 million each on three world class players – Three players who would have been far better than Bridge, De Jong and Bellamy.

It looks as if their transfer activity is being handled by someone suffering from multiple personality disorder – one personality wants to become the biggest club in the world and goes after Kaka while the other target premiership survival and goes after Bellamy and Bridge.

Fulham president Al-Fayed had warned of the threat of Man City’s financial muscle. But the might of money also needs a marriage with tactical acumen to create a world-beating sports team. And at this point in time Man City football club seem to have all of the former and none of the latter.

This article was originally published on www.goal.com

As you can see Robinho's brain is empty

As news broke out that Kaka would move to Man City for a world record transfer fee of 105 million pounds, fellow Brazilian footballer Robinho was taken to task by his father for not spending enough time learning and acquiring knowledge. In what is definitely a moral victory for those who advocate that world class sportsmen should spend more hours reading and gaining knowledge, Robinho Senior argued that had his son utilized all the time he spent on Real Madrid’s bench (which was a lot of time because he was never in the playing eleven) in the pursuit of knowledge, he wouldn’t have been tricked into believing that he was actually going to Man United and not to Man City. And had that not happened, Robinho’s transfer would have also commanded the same wages and transfer money that Kaka’s movement to Man City will involve.

Grey haired Mark Huges in his playing days

It is believed that the gullible or shall we say ignorant Robinho didn’t even know that a club called Man City existed. When the current Man City manager Mark Hughes met him, the Welshman showed the Brazilian footage of his playing days with Man United and sold him the story that he was actually a player manager at Man United. That Hughes’s hair had already greyed during his playing days would have made the story convincing and fooled Robinho into believing it.

This story has taken Real Madrid and Spain by storm. Club president Ramon Calderon has taken responsibility for giving away Robinho for so less and resigned. He has however requested the media to report that he resigned because of vote rigging so that he can be seen as a cunning and manipulative man by the Public and not as a financial fool. The loss in export revenue to the tune of more than 50 million pounds and the subsequent loss in export duty have also been taken up in the Spanish Ministry of Trade. It is believed that a high-level committee will be set-up to handle player transfers in the future.

Italy on the other hand is celebrating. In addition to match-fixing and drugs, the football authorities have always let the players have a healthy dose of news and information. The AC Milan clubhouse has increased the number of subscriptions for news dailies and magazines and other clubs are expected to follow suit. The ministry of Education has set up a help-line which players can contact in case they need information on foreign clubs and managers.

It is also believed that after Kaka, AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi plans to offer, first Ronaldinho and then Beckham to the Sheikhs of the Abu Dhabi Group. Rich people have a fetish for collecting rare items and which football-mad sheikh would mind having in his collection, three of the finest Brazilian footballers who all happen to play in the same position. As for David Beckham, he will be used as a mascot in the derby games against United while wife Victoria will lead the chanting of the Club anthem. The overall package will net Berlusconi more than 300 million pounds. An out of job investment banker has warned the sheikhs that this will be enough money for the Italian to buy the Man City Football Club itself. After all, it was last sold for 200 million just a few months back. But Berlusconi has already scuppered such speculation by saying that he will never buy a club which doesn’t even have a trophy cabinet.

Kaka is well informed and even has reading glasses

Meanwhile Robinho has countered that had it not been for his mistake, Kaka would have also fallen for the same trick. He has in fact asked his international team-mate for a share of the 105 million pound transfer fees – he argues that he had to make the sacrifice for Brazilians to discover the truth about Man City. Kaka hasn’t agreed to give him any of the money but has decided to send him all his old books and newspapers and promised to help Robinho learn about the World when he joins him at Man City – after all it was his knowledge that set him apart from Robinho.

The IPL has the advantage of having multiple role models

The first year of the IPL saw player auctions, player quotas, icon players and a draft equivalent for the U-19 players. The organizers of the IPL – the BCCI got most of these spot on, well, except the concept of the ‘Icon Players’ maybe.

Now in its second year, the IPL has new modality-related issues to deal with. Mr Lalit Modi borrowed heavily from international Leagues like the NBA and the EPL in the first year of the IPL and it turned out to be a good move on his part. So why not do the same this time as well. So let’s look at the various issues that need to be dealt with and what is the best possible solution for each – based on how similar issues have been best handled the world over.

The first matter is the salary cap. This was a completely new creature for everyone involved and most of the teams wouldn’t have envisaged the complexities it would involve. And that is precisely why the cap needs to increase – because most of the contracts are for three years and teams will have no financial flexibility to engineer any changes in their composition if they have already utilized the existing cap.

It would also be a good idea to announce approximate cap numbers for the next 4-5 years. This is how it works in the NBA and allows teams to plan out their cap structure. It also gives them a lot of options in devising player contracts. For e.g. If you have less money free in your cap this year but have a lot more next year, you could still sign up a big time player for big bucks by offering more money in the second year of the contract. But all this becomes possible only when the contract structure is not rigid. Teams should be allowed to offer contracts ranging from one to any number of years. Such flexibility is beneficial to both players and teams and ensures that both their interests are protected. The combination of cap planning and flexible contracts adds another exciting element to the league and rewards teams who plan their team composition judiciously and just throw money around – which is how a league should be.

Another question is about the sanctity of the Cap amount – should teams be allowed to spend more? Yes, they should be for the simple reason that there is no league in the world where the cap amount is sacrosanct – it allows teams to go for the jugular and assemble super star squads. You can however protect against teams going over board by having a luxury tax – for every rupee that they spend over the cap they need to pay the league a percentage of it as tax.

The next issue is that of transfers. The league proposes a transfer fee similar to that in European football, with the decision to move depending on both the player and the owning club. As we have seen in football, the balance of power soon shifts to the player and the club targeting the player. The club dangles the carrot of a massive contract and the player soon starts putting pressure on his parent club leading to ugly episodes.

The American model is based on barter and far more cordial. Their exchanges generally involve players moving in both directions with some money and draft picks also thrown in. The club has full right to decide whether it wants to transfer a player or not. Therefore, teams can hold onto their best players and don’t have to re-build every now then. It also encourages a club to develop new talent as there is no risk of richer teams snatching their precocious young players away from them. And development of young talent is high on the BCCI’s agenda for the IPL.

In these transfers, the team also tries to match the annual component of the contracts of the players moving out to that that of those moving in. In this way they can still improve without adding more salary. So for example, Hyderabad could trade one of its big hitters in return for a bowler to fix the balance of their side and not take on any additional salary. This kind of cap management is also a key feature of running professional teams. It’s a far healthier system where disparity between teams is far less than that in Europe where there is a huge gulf between rich and poor teams.

The next point concerns the entry of new players in the league. The League had four different systems last year. There was an auction system for international players; a draft for Indian U-19’s, a catchment area system for domestic players and the rest where signed up in an open market system. The auction was a unique method but a necessary one to form the teams the first time round and can be done away with for the second year. The draft works best in an American scenario where there is a very organized collegiate system and each and every player enters the league via it. Therefore, the draft system for U-19’s who are taking their first steps in big time cricket via the IPL. The catchment area concept was based on the popularity of domestic players in their own states. However, as we saw in the first episode, fans don’t care for that. They just love performers. Therefore, this system can be done away with – will also ensure that there is one uniform recruitment system.

The ‘Icon’ player system also needs a re-think. It was unfair that some teams had certain players thrust upon them and that too for big money, whereas some used the same moolah to grab players of their own liking. However, the three year contracts are already in place and the ‘Icons’ will continue to be so for another two seasons. Some concessions could balance the situation though. The full salary of the ‘Icons’ should not count towards the cap. This way the existing contracts stand but teams with ‘Icons’ have a little more money to play with.

The IPL did well to copy the best practices of the top international leagues during its inception. A similar approach would do it a world of good this year as well

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