Seydou Keita: Official Presentation
Seydou Keita: Official Presentation
Seydou Keita was officially presented to the press today. The FCB official has all the pics, of course. While he doesn’t have a number yet, neither his international number (12) nor his old Sevilla number (21) are currently in use at Barça. Maybe he likes a different one, though… Regardless, welcome to the club, Keita! May [...]
Seydou Keita was officially presented to the press today. The FCB official has all the pics, of course. While he doesn’t have a number yet, neither his international number (12) nor his old Sevilla number (21) are currently in use at Barça. Maybe he likes a different one, though…
Regardless, welcome to the club, Keita! May your stay be wonderful and full of more goals against Real Madrid!
A big day in Barca history….a.k.a. “Votar no!”
As in, vote no against the “no confidence” vote. This is, for many Barca fans, a big day in the club’s history. Bigger than any player signing, bigger than any match win or loss. Sunday, July 6 is the day that a vote that was forced by soci Oriol Giralt has, along with 5,882 other [...]
As in, vote no against the “no confidence” vote.
This is, for many Barca fans, a big day in the club’s history. Bigger than any player signing, bigger than any match win or loss. Sunday, July 6 is the day that a vote that was forced by soci Oriol Giralt 
has, along with 5,882 other socis, angled for a no confidence vote against current Barcelona board president Joan Laporta and his mates. (There are now more than 9,000 signatures on the petition.)
So, what’s at stake here? Essentially, control and direction of the club for the foreseeable future. Here are the facts. My rant will follow after that.
After two silver-less seasons, Giralt began to circulate a petition that garnered the necessary number of signatures to force the vote. If 65 percent of voting socis vote for the Giralt petition, the board is dissolved and elections will be held within three months, for a new president and board.
The in-person vote will take place at the Camp Nou on Sunday, July 6.
Now for speculation.
Sandro Rosell, 
who has a past with Laporta, is rumored to be the leading candidate to replace Laporta. He’s essentially running on a “I’ll bring Kun Aguero to the Nou Camp” platform. Rosell denies that he has anything to do with this petition drive, but has of late criticized everything from player sales and transfers, to what Laporta had for breakfast and the color of his socks.
Laporta is saying that a no confidence vote could paralyze the board and the team at a critical time, in effect freezing all player activity and allowing for nothing but the basic, day-to-day operations of the club. Here is the relevant passage:
“The interim committee exercises the functions of government, administration and representation that belong to the board, but limited to the acts that are necessary and inevitable for the normal functioning of the club and the protection of its interests.”
Now, that bold-faced bit is where the lawyers are going to get involved. Laporta, quite naturally, suggests that passage does NOT allow for transfers or completions of ongoing negotiations. Giralt says that Laporta is a liar and scare-monger, that transfers at this time of the season are most definitely within the scope of “acts that are necessary and inevitable for the normal functioning of the club.”
You fans of irony should note that Laporta’s history with the club essentially began in 1998, when he forced an unsuccessful confidence vote against then-president Josep Nunez. Laporta then successfully stood for election in 2003, running on a “bring Beckham to the Nou Camp” platform.
Well, he couldn’t get Beckham, so he settled for this Brazilian named Ronaldinho, and the rest is history. His tenure began with the club trying to rid itself of underperformers, so that it could become the bright, shining entity that it has now become. Barca was big, but many argue that it became world-wide under the aegis of Laporta/Rijkaard/Ronaldinho, playing the kind of football that sold shirts and grabbed attention.
Many also say that with Laporta’s campaign against the Barca ultras, the Boixos Nois, the Nou Camp became a much nicer place to watch a match. No violence, no stress, just a tourist and soci-friendly little hamlet. Debt isn’t as crushing as it once was, either.
During Laporta’s tenure, the club grabbed a Champions League crown and two league trophies, ending six trophy-less years before Laporta. Hot on the heels of the side’s European crown, no other candidate even ran against Laporta in September of 2006, so he won another four-year term.
Now, it hasn’t been six years, but does any of that above sound familiar? Players out, coach out, new system in after two trophy-less years.
(Rant time….)
Giralt claims to have the best interests of the club at heart with his destructive foray, but he doesn’t. He claims not to want anything save the success of the club, should his efforts result in the dismantling of Laporta and the current board. Horseshit.
We have been silver-less for two seasons now, and have decided to reload the cannon, so to speak. There’s a new coach, a slew of new signings, and under or non-performers are being jettisoned. To unsettle all of that now is extremely dangerous. If Laporta were any other president, it wouldn’t be as bad. But he is almost as big a symbol of the club as any of the players. This helps on the public relations side, but it also helps with the transfer negotiations. Many believe that he was the one able to prise Alves from Sevilla, thanks to a relationship with Del Nido.
Dunno. What I do know is this: You can’t screw with a program before it is complete, which is, in effect, what Giralt and his cohorts are wanting. They say that everything will run as before, that nothing will be upset, that operations will continue as before. All they want is new folks running things, because Laporta and his board suck. Oh, and we’re keeping Eto’o and Ronaldinho, while adding Aguero, never mind that he isn’t for sale, and has a 40 million Euro release clause. We will most likely be as successful getting El Kun as Laporta was getting David Beckham.
Were I able to be in Barcelona on Sunday, I would be voting not just no, but hell no to this attempt. It’s a destabilizing, misguided power grab.
Barça’s New Jerseys
You can check out the new FCB kits here on the official site. Let’s hear what you have to say about them in the comments. Here are all three together: Update: And thanks to faithful reader JC for this newest link to the players in the new kits.
You can check out the new FCB kits here on the official site. Let’s hear what you have to say about them in the comments. Here are all three together: 
Update: And thanks to faithful reader JC for this newest link to the players in the new kits.
Vacation Time!
Hey folks, this is just a brief note to tell you that I, Isaiah, am going on vacation for 3 weeks. I’ll be doing the European backpack tour, so I’ll probably be completely out of contact during that time. It’s up to Kevin to hold down the fort in terms of telling you what’s going [...]
Hey folks, this is just a brief note to tell you that I, Isaiah, am going on vacation for 3 weeks. I’ll be doing the European backpack tour, so I’ll probably be completely out of contact during that time. It’s up to Kevin to hold down the fort in terms of telling you what’s going on.
I’ll be back the week of July 21, in case you’d like to keep a running countdown to my return.
As they say in the Czech Republic, “Kde domov m?j?…mezi ?echy domov m?j!”
It’s official: Dani Alves is in the house
Yessss! Cue my Darth Vader voice as I am saying, “The plans are almost complete.” Daniel Alves da Silva is official, and this shot is for the ladies in the house. I believe Alves is saying “I know that Yaya’s bicep is bigger. It’s supposed to be.” He’s 24 years young, and almost 5-foot-8 inches tall. [...]
Yessss! Cue my Darth Vader voice as I am saying, “The plans are almost complete.” Daniel Alves da Silva is official, and this shot is for the ladies in the house. I believe Alves is saying “I know that Yaya’s bicep is bigger. It’s supposed to be.”
He’s 24 years young, and almost 5-foot-8 inches tall. And he’s our most exciting signing of the summer transfer season. He’s also the most expensive defensive transfer ever. Is he worth it? Time will tell.
Interested fans will recall that some of us were saying that Mr. Henry was the most exciting transfer of last summer, and one Toure Yaya turned out to be in fact the most exciting signing of the summer, in the 20/20 goodness that is hindsight.
Be that as it may, I repeat:
This is the most exciting signing of the summer season. Davi Alves is considered by most to be the best right back in the world. He is a terrier on the pitch, who seems to take losing possession of the ball personally, as does our very own Leo Messi. The road was long, which began with our offer of a lot of money, and Sevilla’s own Skeletor saying “For 25 million, I will send them Alves’ boots, so that a junior player can wear them.”
And so it went. We don’t have exact numbers, but figure he’s a 30 million Euro man, by the time the incentives, etc are finished.
A quote from the very geeked Mr. Alves: “I am hungry to start playing and the sooner the better so I can show they did not make a mistake with me.”
I like to hear that. It’s hunger, the same kind of hunger that makes him the fittest player on the Brazilian national side, the same kind of hunger that made him a thorn in the side of every Liga team for season after season.
I’m not big on stats, so I won’t bother with them, because he’s starting from ground zero with us. But the question is demanded: Why did we sign him?
Well, we had a pretty good right back, Gianluca Zambrotta. But he wanted to go home and frankly, he would have been sent home anyhow after this signing. Alves is faster, better with the ball, a better shooter and an exceptional crosser of the ball. He’s also one of the world’s best free kick takers, not quite up there with the soon-to-be-gone Gordinho. It is a significant upgrade for the position, and more importantly makes us verge on unplayable.
Last season, Zambrotta was an excellent defender, but not really a threat. This season, Alves can stop an attacker, steal the ball, lead the break, lace in a cross or take the shot himself. The other big part of his game is free kicks, which means the “when in doubt, foul Messi” program is officially at an end. Who’s more dangerous, Messi in the box or Alves over a dead ball, just outside the box?
“I am happy to be living this dream,” says Alves.
So let’s all join in a rousing Blaugrana welcome for Dani Alves.
P.S. Yes, the plan is almost complete, because there’s still that striker complexity.
Welcome, Alex Hleb, a.k.a A Little Taste of Belarus
Welcome, Aleksandr Hleb, another piece of the puzzle that is being put together by Pep Guardiola and the technical staff. His path went through Stuttgart, then Arsenal, where he learned a love for the beautiful game, which should make him fit in very well now that he is wearing the colors. Hleb is 27 years [...]
Welcome, Aleksandr Hleb, another piece of the puzzle that is being put together by Pep Guardiola and the technical staff.
His path went through Stuttgart, then Arsenal, where he learned a love for the beautiful game, which should make him fit in very well now that he is wearing the colors. Hleb is 27 years old, almost 6 feet tall and can play all across the midfield as an attacking mid. His left or right versatility makes him great for adding to our overall team depth.
His strengths are pace, ball possession and dribbling ability. He’s also an excellent passer, and will work very well with Thierry Henry. The two, often along with Emmanuel Adebayor, were formidable at Arsenal, with no real threats coming from anywhere else.
With us, there will be Henry, Messi, Iniesta, that mythical “9,” Xavi, Alves and Keita pushing up, in addition to, at times, Hleb. He will make an excellent addition to our attacking force because the skills that he brings to the table are skills that we were lacking last season. He rarely gives up possession, and can dribble his way out of many a jam. He’s also a one-touch passer, which can be the difference between a striker being offsides and on.
There are, of course, knocks against Hleb by the Arsenal fans, namely that he doesn’t shoot enough. They’re right, in their context. In ours, we are going to have plenty of shooters. Recall that what made Deco so dangerous wasn’t his scoring ability, but his knack for opening up the defense with the right pass, from either in the box or just outside the box. Hleb has that rare ability. Everybody on a side doesn’t need to score goals, let’s not forget.
I am very excited about this signing, and not only for his technical skills.
“I want to win titles, titles are my priority,” said Hleb during his Nou Camp presentation, adding that he was even willing to play in goal if that would help the side.
Hard to argue with a guy like that, who apparently has been on our radar since his Stuttgart days, according to Txiki and the boys. This makes sense, when you look at the style of football that we play.
Guardiola said that Hleb “can play on either of the two wings, or in the middle, and can even play as a false center forward.” Like Iniesta, the adaptability of Hleb is appreciated.
Will he make the starting XI? Good question. I just don’t see it at present, not with the way that Iniesta is playing. But Hleb will give him a very good run for his money. I think that Iniesta has a better eye for goal, but Hleb is the better possession midfielder, and can keep the ball even if fouled. Players such as that are great to have in a side.
So everyone put your hands together, and say hello to our latest acquisition.
It’s now official, so welcome, Gerard Pique!
“I am proud and happy to say I am a Barca player, and I would like to retire here.” Strong words from Pique on his homecoming day. Yes, we signed him from Manchester United, where he had something of a difficult time getting a consistent first-team place. But that doesn’t mean that the homecoming for the [...]
“I am proud and happy to say I am a Barca player, and I would like to retire here.”
Strong words from Pique on his homecoming day. Yes, we signed him from Manchester United, where he had something of a difficult time getting a consistent first-team place. But that doesn’t mean that the homecoming for the defender, who was signed away when he was 17 years old from our youth ranks, isn’t any less sweet.
And now, the stats. He’s just 21 years old and can play center or right back (for those wondering about the Alves stand-in). He’s 6-foot-4 inches tall, and is known for his good head. The fiscal deal isn’t really all that well-known, but as has been reported earlier, it’s probably something around the bargain price of 5 million.
He gives us size, he gives us pace, and on set pieces he’s a real threat with his height and size. This is no Crouch. Pique has some meat on his bones, and gives us much-needed defensive depth. It goes without saying that he can defend with his head as well, and you’d need to be one hell of a leaper to outdo him.
Are we as excited about this signing as the others? Not quite, because I don’t figure Pique to have a regular spot in the starting XI. But as well all saw, depth was a huge problem for us last season. As back line players got tired, the folks that were brought in weren’t quite up to snuff. Thuram worked hard and knows a lot, but he isn’t anything vaguely approximating the man he once was. So there was lots of flailing. As the season wears on, easy controls of counterattacks become just a step behind the attacker, which leads to goals. Depth is critical, and Pique is part of that program.
He’s Catalan, so he understands what it means to wear the shirt.
Pique continued, “My desire to play for this club is unlike that I have for any other.”
I have no doubt that he’ll show it. Man U sold him at a good time for his development. He’s going to become one hell of a defender, and like all good young’uns coming up in Catalunya, he bleeds blaugrana.
So let’s give it up for the newest member of the side, and wish him well.
P.S. Yes, I know what his last name is, and I don’t care that it isn’t all that uncommon in CataLand. I just can’t bring myself to type it sometimes.
