La Liga Transfer Rumours and General Chat

gimmick

Any have any idea when La Liga fixtures are due out?

An Citeog

gimmick wrote: »

Any have any idea when La Liga fixtures are due out?

They're already out. Strangely enough, I can't link directly to the page but follow this link and click on "Liga BBVA".

Here's the first round of fixtures, to be played on August 31st:

Athletic-Almería

At. Madrid-Málaga

Espanyol-Valladolid

Betis-Recreativo

Sporting-Getafe

Racing-Sevilla

Numancia-Barcelona

Deportivo-R. Madrid

Osasuna-Villarreal

Valencia-Mallorca

delija_sever029

http://www.lfp.es/competiciones/2008-09/primera/nuevocalendario.asp

delija_sever029

Sebastien Squillaci from Lyon to Sevilla 6,5mil value of transfer

gimmick

Barca Vs Real the weekend of my 30th. I had better start dropping some mega hints!!!

delija_sever029

Hleb definitly in Barca for 15mil

eZe^

Anybody watching Barca's first pre season game against Hibs... Basically a young youth team with a couple of star names... Gudjohnsen scored a peach of a goal on the 5 minute...


Line up for first half,

VV

Corcoles
Marquez
Pique
Alves

Pedrito
Busquets
V Vazquez

Messi
Henry
Eidur


Im absolutely loving Messi in the number '10' shirt.. He now has on of the most historic shirt in our history... He looks like a superhero..


Edit- Messi scored beautifully, jinks on the outside of the box away from the defender and just curls it around the keeper.


Edit of the edit- Gudjohnsen scored again... Scrappy strike, but beautiful build up play in the box, flair of the highest quality...

Im so glad the football season is getting back to matches... YAY!

~Marky~

3-0 what a goal by Gudjohnsen cracker

eZe^

Messi and Alves seem to have a great understanding of each other... Jesus Navas who?????? =P


Alves may be the key signing of this summer, lets hope he is!


Edit- Pedrito cuts inside and scores a goal similar to Henry's against Celtic, lovely stuff... 4-0

~Marky~

This is getting embarrassing for Hibs but lovely goal by Bojan

eZe^

Should be 6-0 too, no way was Messi offside in the first half...

eZe^

After beating Hibs 6-0, it's time to finish the Scottish portion of the preseason against Dundee...


Hope Guardiola give more of B-teamers another start, Pedrito looked quality in the last game...


Team to play Dundee Utd:

VV

Alves
Caceres
Marquez
V. Sanchez

Keita
Eidur
Crosas

Henry
Pedrito
Bojan

eZe^

1-0 Dundee... Hahahahahahaha.

eZe^

1-1... Henry scores.

~Marky~

That lead didnt last very long

Eire-Dearg

I'd say the Dundee fans went nuts!

eZe^

Messi is actually MAGICAL... His link up play with Alves will make one of the most potent right sides ever to play football...

2-1..

PHB

Alves and Messi (if he can stay fit) is gona be something.

Absolutely. Im really excited about this prospect. I think it;ll make Barca defensively weaker down the right flank but no left back in their right mind is gonna push up too high with those 2 guys to contend with so itll be attack as the best form of defence!!

eZe^

Im glad Pique went to Man Utd, he seems to have learned alot in his time there and I doubt he'd be as solid defensively if he just stayed at Barca the whole time...


Also, I don't buy into Alves being terrible defensively, sure its his weak-point, but thats because he is one of the best attacking wingbacks in the past 8 years...


Messi scores another absolutely beaut... 4-1 Barca... I know Messi will never score 42 goals in a season, but there's just that air about him, I just know he's a special special player, I guess I can't really explain it..


Edit- Messi hat-trick... 5-1. 24 minute hat-trick... Impressive enough.

PHB

How was Pique? I really think he's ready even next year to step up and be a top class central defender.

~Marky~

Messi is amazing the lad is in a league of his own

eZe^

PHB wrote: »

How was Pique? I really think he's ready even next year to step up and be a top class central defender.

Barca looked shaky in the first half at the back because of young defenders... (Bar Marquez), but now that Pique has come on, I dunno, they look more assured. He is definitely future captain material, he marshalls the line well. As well as the whole catalan thing, an apt replacement for Puyol in my eyes.

I think Messi has more overall talent than Ronaldo but that ronaldo has developed more (mainly because he hasnt had any major injury problems)

Alves gets so far forward that he can be caught out defensively. in terms of his ability to tackle he;s fine. Its just his enthusiasm going forward that can hinder him.


Ill put it this way about Pique. Im a United fan first, Barca second. I was gutted he left tbh, I think he;s gonna be a great defender. I am however delighted that hes gone back to Barca because i think he'll be given his chance.

eZe^

Deleted User wrote: »

I think Messi has more overall talent than Ronaldo but that ronaldo has developed more (mainly because he hasnt had any major injury problems)

People still forget that Messi is 21... He is 2 years younger than Ronaldo right? Lets see how he progresses in the next year.

eZe^

eZe^ wrote: »

People still forget that Messi is 21... He is 2 years younger than Ronaldo right? Lets see how he progresses in the next year.

Dude I wasnt saying that Messi was wasted talent or anything like that. Basically what i meant was that RIGHT NOW Ronaldos talents have been better developed. I think injuries have slowed Messis rise. I'm hoping he stays fit this season. He's a joy to watch.


To add to that, i think the only thing that stops Messi being an overall better player than Ronaldo is that Ronaldo is huge and possesses and aerial threat.

An Citeog

Deleted User wrote: »

To add to that, i think the only thing that stops Messi being an overall better player than Ronaldo is that Ronaldo is huge and possesses and aerial threat.

I think that's what separates them, rather than anything else. With the ball at their feet, there's nobody in the world better than Messi at the moment. His control is just amazing, like the ball is stuck to his foot and that's why he finds it so easy to beat players. Ronaldo, on the other hand, relies more on his physical attributes for this, although his control is also world class.

eZe^

barca's policy has been top-notch.

we don't need a team full of superstars or world-beaters, we are not real madrid and that rarely ever works out anyway.

pique = new marquez with added physicality, catalan, barca-boy
caceres = young feisty defender, can play LB
keita = adds pace, power, height and a left-foot to the midfield. gives us the african death squad double-pivot option.
henrique = hopefully a very promising young defender
hleb = creative, hard-working, selfless. will add depth and be good for other players I feel.
dani alves = best right back in the world

and then promoting some of the cantera lads from atletic to fill out the squad, which is great because they'll fight harder for the club than any imported squaddie ever would. the likes of fali/ pedrito/ iago/ vasquez can all slowly be added to the squad.

short of a number 9, that's pretty ****ing good I'd say.

and even then, while I do believe we still need a number 9, keeping eto'o NOW after we've fired him up by telling him to f**k off could work out nicely because he'll be motivated as hell to perform (he seemed to lose that motivation last season at times).

dani alves is a world beater - added to messi, henry, eto'o, xavi and iniesta and maybe bojan (although that's still a year away IMO) and we're not looking too ****ing shabby. the three CB's are all very highly-rated prospects (and pique has proven himself at the highest club-level already), keita isn't that big of a name but adds power and aggression which we sorely needed. hleb is perhaps the most underwhelming signing when we were in for hernanes and such, but he's a good team player and will help us.

If we sign Silva for around 25 million, I think us Cules can start being quite optimistic about challenging Madrid good and proper for the Primera Liga title!!!

PHB

The squad is again becoming about balance and teamwork rather than just star names etc. I think Iniesta is going to need to step up up, already nearly there, and become the new creative talent which everything flows about.

eZe^

I don't know if Iniesta will be the sole creative outlet, he has always shared that role with Xavi. I can see Iniesta playing on the wings (normally disappointed here for Barca, but stepped up in the Euros there) in tough away games, as Keita and Toure will be put into the midfield.


I would love if we signed David Silva because another natural winger is exactly what we need to complete the squad. Hleb/ Henry/ Messi/ Bojan/ Iniesta aren't really natural wingers, but its ok on the right side with Dani Alves as he can take the winger role and give Messi that free role.

I expect to see this formation at home if we don't sign Silva;

---

VV

---

Alves

---

Puyol

---

Pique

---

Cacares-

---

Toure

---

---

Xavi

---

Iniesta

---

---

Messi (free)

---

---

Etoo

---

Henry

---

The defensive options are actually lovely, with the likes of Sylvinho, Marquez, Milito, Abidal all competing with the 4 above. Its that we have the likes of Hleb, Bojan, Pedrito, Keita, Gudjohsen that can come off the bench to change the game....


Then away from home;

---

VV

---

Alves

---

Puyol

---

Pique

---

Cacares-

---

Toure

---

Keita

---

---

Xavi

---

---

Messi

---

Hleb/Iniesta--

---

Etoo

---

The difference here is that its more of a 4-3-3, except that instead of playing Toure as a DMF, we can play both him and Keita as CMF's. That will give the defensive grit, as well as a very nice attacking array of box-to-box strong midfielders for tough away games. Mainly used against the physical sides away from home. Again, alot of quality on the bench to help if a new game plan needs to be implemented.

Im overhyping Barca with my biased blinkers, but I am getting very very excited about the coming season.... Pique is already winning me over, he seems like such a likable guy. When Barca beat Fiorentina a couple of days ago 3-1, both him and Puyol linked up for a goal. Hopefully a sign of things to come... Pique + Puyol = Goals????? Hahaha.

eZe^

I think madrid could struggle at the back this year with Heinze and Cannazivaro another year older and another year slower. San Iker will be needed more than ever.

The Ronaldo transfer request rumour is just bull**** from As which has been spread by undiscerning sources like goal.com, I'll believe it when I see it. To me it appears that the Ronaldo saga has dominated madrid's whole summer and he won't arrive and the squad will have stagnated which is a dangerous situation for any club. Up front madrid are relying on two players in their 30's, one of whom has now lost the motivation which pushed him to have as good a season as he had last time round and another who has a history of injuries and is becoming more injury prone as time goes on. The jury is still out on Higuain.

I don't doubt that there is a lot of quality in the madrid squad but it's not as strong as some point out and with one or two injuries the side could struggle at both ends of the pitch. In my opinion Sneijder is the key man for madrid, he will become the focal point of the side this season if he is mature and hungry enough to take on the responsibility.

However with signings like Van Der Vaart and potentially David Villa, if they had kept Garay from going back to Racing, they would be even stronger. So it'll be a very interesting campaign. Lets see how they cope with basically every important attacking player for the Dutch national team, Nistelrooy, Robben, Van Der Vaart and Sneijder.

eZe^

Now with Wesley Sneijder possibly injured for 6 months, it means that Madrid will seriously step up their bids for VDV and Ronaldo... Itll be interesting to see how this changes their transfer dynamics... De La Red must be smiling at the moment in his hotel in London right now.

PHB

Going to be a big push for Ronaldo now if they are stupid. If they are smart, the deal for VDV will be tied up in the next week. Without Sniejder they'll struggle for creativity.

DubDani

Deal with Hamburg for VDV is perfect now. Seems they had to act quickly after Sneijder got injured. They increased their offer to Hamburgs demands, and agreed last night.

VDV will sign a 5 year contract at Real. Hamburg will get 14 mil plus 2 mil. depending on success. It also appears that Real will pay the 2.5 mil. that Hamburg has to pay to Ajax. So all in all not a bad deal for Hamburg. 18.5 mil for a player that could have gone for 1.5 in 12 months.

eZe^

Barcelona beat Chivas 5-2 last night... Goals from Hleb, Xavi, Etoo twice and Cacares sealed the victory. Pedro (formally known as Pedrito) had a beautifully struck goal disallowed even though it bounced off the bar and hit inside the goal. The defense started out as Marquez----Cacares, and it functioned beautifully. Once Puyol came on it all went tits up, Im really hoping thats down to his lack of match practice with the Euro break. Puyol was at fault for both of the goals unfortunately. Etoo once again proved why he is in the top 3 strikers in the world. How can Pep contemplate selling him, Henry looked woeful. And the team functioned very well without Messi, I was worried that he would be the sole outlet for creativity this season, but the team was hungry and efficient. The signing of Silva/ Arshavin for the left wing would make me a very very happy man though.


New squad numbers announced also;

1. Valdés
2. Martín Cáceres
3. Piqué
4. Márquez
5. Puyol
6. Xavi
7. Gudjohnsen
8. Iniesta
9. Eto'o
10. Messi
11. Bojan
13. Pinto
14 Henry
15. Keita
16. Sylvinho
18. Milito
20. Alves
21. Hleb
22. Abidal
24. Touré
25. Jorquera
26. Marc Crosas
27. Pedro
28. Sergio Busquets
29. V. Sánchez
30. V. Vázquez
31. Jeffren

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxIBl0_vbyU

Im_No_Superman

Eto'o getting the number 9 jersey again. Could it be that Guardiola is going to keep him now? Personally I wish Fergie would make a bid for him, I think he would be perfect in the Utd team.

el rabitos

Im_No_Superman wrote: »

Eto'o getting the number 9 jersey again. Could it be that Guardiola is going to keep him now? Personally I wish Fergie would make a bid for him, I think he would be perfect in the Utd team.

i think alot of the big clubs would like to see eto go a full season un-injured and perform at a good level before forking out on him. i think he could go for around 15 mill but the money he wants on wages seems to be a small fortune and is turning off any suiters tbh

eZe^

el rabitos wrote: »

i think he could go for around 15 mill

Thats actually laughable... 15 million, nearly 5 million less than Robbie Keane... Etoo is worth at least 25-30 million. 16 goals in 18 appearances last season and he's still worth less than Darren Bent... hahahahahah

PHB

That's the problem with Eto. People talk like he's availible. He'll still cost an absolute ****load of money! That imo is the reason he hasn't moved yet, Barca haven't found a bidder who is willing to pay that price.

eZe^

Agreed, and holding onto Eto'o could be the most important 'signing' we make this summer. He has looked so hungry... If he stays fit, Im predicting him to score exactly 24 goals in the league...

el rabitos

eZe^ wrote: »

Thats actually laughable... 15 million, nearly 5 million less than Robbie Keane... Etoo is worth at least 25-30 million. 16 goals in 18 appearances last season and he's still worth less than Darren Bent... hahahahahah

its hardly laughable.

comparing transfers nowadays is like comparing apples with bannanas. ronaldinho went to milan for £16.7m, its not out of the realm of possibility that eto'o who is worth less commercially will be sold for approximatily the same price or there abouts.

guardiola coming out and naming both players as not being part of this project dipped both players value, i dont think there can be any doubt about that.

i'm not saying they wont get good money for eto, but if you think they'll get 25 - 30 million for eto your crazy, i just dont see it man. not with the knee injury and the various knocks over the past 18 months, he needs an injury free season bad.

i reckon if barca get an offer of 15 million with another 5 or so in staggered payments based on eto's appearances/goals they'd snap it up.

as a fan i'd like him to stay, i think he has a better qualitys than drogba or adeboyour and has done alot of good things for barca, but i think he's seen in the same group as ronaldinho and deco and as part of the old cycle that ran its course.

i still think its his wages thats putting clubs off more than his value. a year keeping his head down and without injurys and another good goal to minutes ratio will definitely do wonders for his value though

eZe^

There is actually a massive difference between the Milan signing of Ronaldinho and the potential signing of Eto'o. Watch Ronaldinho's presentation and any fool can see that it wasn't for his ability. Eto'o may not be marketable, but he is one of the hungriest players, and clinical strikers to play in world football over the past 5 years... Just watch the Milan fans turn on Ronnie once he shows he can't change, his marketability is fading, he is being taken over by the likes of Ronaldo and Messi. If Berbatov is worth around 30 million euro, there is no doubt in my mind that Etoo is worth at least the same. 70 goals in 100 games speaks for itself.

And you are right, his wages are what are keeping him at Barca, not his transfer fee, there have been a number of offers around the 30 million mark, its just that nobody can come close to matching his wages.

gustavo

I think Altidore could be a big success at Villarreal , hopefully anyway

eZe^

If there's any manager currently in the Liga who can get the best out of his players, its Pellegrini.


Anybody see this live? It was before my time, but it's definitely the most impressive football fight I've ever seen, the amount of flying kicks in it is ridiculous. Maradonna is fu*king vicious!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg8Z6AOH6Sg

I actually can't stop laughing at the flying kicks, they all look like Kung Fu masters. It's actually comedy at its finest... =P

Mr Alan

that video is ****ing insane, thanks for posting

eZe^

Mr Alan wrote: »

that video is ****ing insane, thanks for posting

Hahaha no problem. Who do you think won? I reckon the Catalans wiped the floor with those pesky Basques... =P Although I am slightly biased...

Peyton Manning

Is that the match where that insane Basque guy nearly ended Maradona's career?

Wouldnt want to get in a fight with that guy, wasnt his nickname 'The Basque Butcher' or something along those lines!

eZe^

Archimedes wrote: »

Is that the match where that insane Basque guy nearly ended Maradona's career?

Wouldnt want to get in a fight with that guy, wasnt his nickname 'The Basque Butcher' or something along those lines!

You're talking about Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga, he injured Maradonna in a different game, and actually severely fu*ked up Schuster. I'm not sure if thats him in the video, but it's a different tackle you're on about. He was way before my time so maybe a more sagely member of the board could answer that for you. :P

gimmick

Am I pissing in he wind looking for Barca Vs Real tickets? Its on my 30th, so I cannot think of a better present.

PHB

Is it in Barca? Hotels normally have an allocation, and some tickets go on sale the day of the game for tourists. It's quite doable normally.