The Great Messi Question
The Great Messi Question
Just as the final decision by the board will be made on whether or not to let Leo Messi join Argentina’s push for another Olympic victory, I thought I would weigh in this complicated business of club vs sorta country. Let’s start with the overarching themes involved in this discussion: 1. The Olympics are a U-23 competition [...]
Just as the final decision by the board will be made on whether or not to let Leo Messi join Argentina’s push for another Olympic victory, I thought I would weigh in this complicated business of club vs sorta country.
Let’s start with the overarching themes involved in this discussion:
1. The Olympics are a U-23 competition with 3 age exemptions. That means that you can select a squad of 20 players who are 23 and under and 3 players who are over 23 (or any combination not exceeding the 3 over-23 players).
2. The Olympic competition is not a FIFA-sanctioned tournament and is thus time is not allotted for it under the FIFA calendar. This is, for example, in direct contrast with the World Cup, meaning that World Cup qualifiers force club competitions to stop or deal with the absence of their players during that the days allotted for WCQs.
Those are the essential points involved. Technically, according to FIFA regulations, clubs do not have to release their players to compete in the Olympics, but most do because those players are not vital to their opening few matches, which are generally friendlies due to when the Olympics take place. That this year’s Olympics takes place in August is no different than any other time (except Sydney 2000 which took place starting on Sept 1 due to the location), but the general trend towards pushing the club season further into August has put tremendous pressure on teams who are forced to qualify for various European tournaments. Barcelona is one such club, obviously.
Failure to qualify for the Champions League would be regarded as a major blow to the club’s season even before it really started. Thus the ever-increasing importance of young players, who clubs rely on more and more as the years go by, and the ever-increasing attempts by clubs to keep their young players out of non-sanctioned competitions.
The cases of Rafinha and Diego in Germany could very well determine Barcelona’s approach to “el caso Messi”. In those cases, the German Football Association (DFB) sided with the clubs attempting to keep their players, as did UEFA. The Spanish FA has given tacit approval of Barcelona’s attempt to keep Messi out of the Olympics. Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, insists the players must be allowed to leave.
Soccernet quotes him in an article as saying, ‘”The release of players below the age of 23 has always been mandatory for all clubs. The same principle shall apply for Beijing 2008.” The fact that this tournament is not included in the co-ordinated international match calendar “does not mean that there is no release obligation for the relevant clubs,” he added.’
I imagine that lawyers could argue both sides until blue in the face, but the fact remains that it is not part of the match calendar. That’s a big deal and it’s one that Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen are going to argue intensely. The “spirit of the rules” may be invoked by FIFA and they may win in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it will, in the end, be a pretty monumental case — at least until FIFA changes the rules and puts the Olympics on the official calendar.*
Then there’s the point of basic human decency on the part of the clubs. Do you let a player go who says he wants to play in the Olympics almost as much as he wants to play in the World Cup? You only get a few years in which to participate (sometimes just one chance, depending on when you become a pro), so shouldn’t clubs, especially rich ones, let players go? It’s good for morale and it might even be good for the development of your team because your second string players will get more serious competition under their belts before the return of the stars. Certainly it’s good to get some more experience for the younger players if they’re not starters (think Royston Drenthe or even ManU’s Anderson), but what of teams that are vying for the aforementioned European spots and will be losing important pieces of their squads to a competition that isn’t even on the FIFA calendar?
You can go either way on this one and I’d like your opinions on the matter, but, first, here’s mine: I do not want Lionel Messi to go to the Olympics. It’s not because I think that the clubs should win out over country, but rather because the season is far too long as it is and “club vs country” loses its sting as an argument when you’ve got 10 competitions to choose from throughout the year. Olympics, Euro2008, Copa America, Confederations Cup, World Cup qualifiers, etc. And that’s just the internationals. Champions League, Copa del Rey, Copa Catalunya, La Liga, to name just the ones Barcelona is involved in (you can add a couple more if you’re an English team). That amounts to too many games over too short a period of time. But if you’re going to have that many club competitions, cut down on the number of internationals. Or vice versa. There’s too much overlap and too much wrangling on everyone’s part to either keep their players or be allowed to play.
I personally don’t care for the Olympics because the whole idea of a unity competition was lost years ago in the Cold War when it became an “I’m better than you at sports, thus my country is better than yours” pissing contest. China has reinvigorated that ethos this year in an attempt to establish itself as a true world superpower, which is just dumb. The Olympics have lost their shine and I, for one, will be watching very little of them, as much as I love a myriad of sports going on at once. Thus, I do not support Lionel Messi leaving his club to compete in a silly tournament for kids. He’s above that in skill, so why bother? A gold medal? Not as cool as a Champions League trophy in my eyes.
But what do you think?
*They may not be able to do so because it’s a U-23 competition, but I’m not sure how that works.
Only one piece left, a.k.a. “Helloooo, Number 9!”
Whither thou goest, Samu? It’s almost as if, which is why I chose this picture, he seems to be saying “I’m going over there, away from here.” This Eto’o situation is huge, and is weighing on the club and dividing the cules. So let’s look at what we know: Eto’o has been told by the team that [...]
Whither thou goest, Samu? It’s almost as if, which is why I chose this picture, he seems to be saying “I’m going over there, away from here.”
This Eto’o situation is huge, and is weighing on the club and dividing the cules. So let’s look at what we know:
Eto’o has been told by the team that he is surplus to requirements, as they say so elegantly in England, and can seek a new home. We’ve slapped a very fair 30 million Euro price tag on the Cameroonian goal machine.
Guardiola is on record as saying he wants a big, strong central striker.
We have received no serious bids for Eto’o. As in zero. We’ve received many overtures, there have been rumors, but as far as real offers….none.
And what the hell about that trip to Uzbekistan?
Prima facie, we HAVE to sell him this year, or risk getting hosed next season, a la Dos Santos, right? Eto’o is in the next-to-last year of his contract, which leaves us with not many options. Keep him, and he becomes really cheap next season, as clubs will just wait for him on a free transfer.
But as usual with players, there are complications. Eto’o doesn’t seem all that interested in leaving, and will meet in-person with team officials today (probably Txiki and Guardiola) to determine where he stands. So by Monday we should know if he’s staying or not. If he’s practicing with the side and grinning, reckon on him staying.
The initial news that he could leave was greeted with a yawn, basically, as Eto’o said I’m on holiday, I’ll deal with that stuff when I get back. Well, Samu, you’re back. So deal with it.
That Uzbek thing just will not go away. It would, really, be the best move for us and for him. He needs to be revived. Right now, the world knows that he is unwanted by us. So he goes to Uzbekistan, scores about a million goals then returns to Europe on free transfer, since you know he’s going to sign a contract with no transfer fee. He gets a boatload of money, a rumored 50 million Euros for an easy season of work. We get his asking price, which the Uzbeks are more than willing to meet, and everybody’s happy.
The real question, however, is are we crazy??!! Samuel Eto’o has been a Liga goal machine, with a staggering goals to appearances ratio. Almost 90 goals in 136 games for us? Damn! He rolls up in the parking lot and the ball is flying into the net. So what’s the deal, and what do the bosses know that we don’t?
(Ding! It’s Speculation Time!)
He can’t score goals in Champions League play unless backed by the very serious firepower of R10, Messi and Deco. Two of the three are gone, and Eto’o’s 1 goal in 6 appearances last season speaks for itself. If you build a squad to win Europe, the Liga probably goes without saying. The reverse is rarely true, however. Look at the Evil Empire the last two seasons.
And it would seem that the only two real possibilities for Eto’o, given his demands of a big club and Champions League play, are Inter and Chelsea. Inter has only signed Mancini this summer, but Mourinho has a great, big war chest with which to play. But they have one hell of a striker in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They also have Cruz, and the suddenly revived Adriano. Nobody has been mentioned as being for sale, which means Eto’o is pretty unlikely for Inter, despite rumor-mongering.
Chelsea always has money to splash, and are looking to minimise the leverage that Drogba has by essentially being their only striker worth a damn. They have The Great Sulk, Nicolas Anelka, and the has-been, Shevchenko. So Eto’o would seem a nice move for them, right? Sure. But at present, they’re busy trying to keep on Frank Lampard down on the farm.
Liverpool has been mentioned as a possible suitor, but they already have Kuyt and Torres, and are looking to grab Robbie Keene. Eto’o comes up as a possibility if Keene doesn’t work out.
This means that Eto’o is unsettled, but so are we. We want him gone, both for the money and the closure. Psychologically, this would be Messi’s team through and through, with Guardiola as the steward. Two years. Make it happen or hit the bricks with Laporta.
So what if Eto’o is sold? Let’s look at the possible replacements.
Adebayor, the best option for Guardiola’s requirements, seems to be out of the frame, though I suspect if we sold Eto’o, he would be back in, as we’d have 30 mil or so to play with. Arsenal, for some reason, are being exceptionally difficult with that transfer as regards us, which doesn’t make sense after our gift of a Fabregas egg to them. But Adebayor’s real number, right now, would be about the same as Eto’o, in the 30 million range.
Trezeguet is on the rumor mill again, with the buzz that he recently told Henry that overtures, however preliminary, have been made, despite the “I’m staying put and Juve isn’t selling me” stuff. This doesn’t make me all that giddy. He’s a great in the box striker, but with our offense, you want your striker to, at times, be able to take a pass outside the box and make something happen.
It’s been quiet on the Huntelaar front and Berbatov, last we heard, is still for Man U.
And then there’s that Drogba speculation. He wants out of Chelsea, but they don’t have to sell him as he has three years left on his contract. Their desperation time will be next year.
There were rumors of an Eto’o for Drogba swap, which were laughed at by the London side. Can’t blame them, really. Drogba is almost 6′3″ tall, and nabbed 6 goals in 11 Champions League appearances last season. But he’s 30 years old, has been showing signs of fragility of late, and is quite the hothead.
So that’s where things stand. We will know more after the weekend, but it’s safe to say that at present, this is the most important thing on the agenda. Eto’o has to go, or be signed to an extension. If he stays, I’m not all that geeked about our Champions League chances, absent an on-form Ronaldinho and Deco. But stranger things have happened.
And now, we wait.
