Barcelona thoughts, who will be the new knight in shining armor - Edgar Davids Style?

There is no doubt in my mind that Ronaldinho was the magician who rescued FC Barcelona from the failure syndrome they suffered for many years. He was the spark needed to light the universe of Catalonia after an eternal night. 

Still, there was another less flashy, less catchy bull who was the black powder needed in the midfield for Barcelona’s rocket to launch from the catastrophic start of the Season 2004 till January- where the club struggled in the middle of the table- to a historical comeback afterward. Placing the club in the second place right there behind Valencia, the League winners. “A man that Real Madrid's intellectual sporting director Jorge Valdano - who obviously has unresolved spectacle jealousy issues - dismissed as "not a galáctico". A man who Marca columnist and ex-Madrid winger Míchel, sneered was a has-been who'd bring "nothing" to Barça.” ¹

That match against Deportivo was a demonstration of how important Davids was for the team. After receiving a yellow card, Davids was subbed to avoid a suspension. The result was 2-0 for Barcelona. From there on, the doors of hell opened, with Depor creating waves of dangerous attacks. The final result was a lucky 3-2 win for Barcelona, thanks for Ronaldinho who scored Barcelona’s third.

Davids joined Barcelona on loan in January 2004 from Juventus to fill an obvious gap in the midfield. Mind you, Barcelona had a player like Cocu back then, but still there was a need for a player with specific profile and Davids was the right glove.

This season, Barcelona is not exactly in that catastrophic situation they were in when they brought Davids. After some unpleasant results there were talks about crisis and chronic problems. I still think the club is far from being in crisis and the squad available can make it. There are some “issues and threats” though; Pep can tactically solve it, now that there are no options to solve it by counting on individuals skills. We will come back to that as I promised before vanishing away from football orbits for a whole week or so.

Putting tactical treats aside, the squad lack height and depth offense wise. That is obvious since the beginning of the season. Regardless if the players available are perfectly fit to the needs of the system or not, there is no argument against the need to add an additional forward who can add something different. If not as a starter, at least as a game changer pending on the bench.

The following transfer period may witness the arrival of that player. Will he make a Davids-like impact as a winter signing or a Maxi Lopez impact? Across the web, names are flying like flies all over the place. But if Barcelona need a striker, who fits them best as a realistic target for X-mass shopping? Here are some of the names that were mentioned or will be mentioned in the following two months after posting a relevant article from the UEFA Europa League rules, which plays a role in deciding the possibilities for a mentioned player to sign for Barcelona:

Amauri (Juventus - out of Europa league): He was linked before to sign for Barcelona –even before he signed for Juventus. He is eligible for the champions league but regardless of how fitting he is for Barcelona, it is highly unlikely that Juventus loan him out to Barcelona. Even on permanent bases, that will leave Juventus with only two forwards for two positions after offloading Trezeguet. It is not even the best option for Barcelona on Permanent bases.

Andrés Nicolás D’Alessandro (Internacional): He and Javier Pastore (Palermo) are just rumors. At least for the following transfer period. I had to mention them because the news was there all over the net. Though, it is highly unlikely the club will ever consider them. That’s not the urgent need that may force the club to spend during the winter transfer period. Even if they fit, it’s not the right time till summer.

David Trezeguet (Hércules) it was shocking that Barcelona missed this transfer, though you can imagine it is one of the disadvantages of offloading one of your forwards at the last moment of the transfer period instead of doing so in day one. Three goals in three matches in the Liga shows he had no problem to adapt. He was linked many times to Barcelona and thankfully it didn’t happen as he is not reliable enough as a first option –at least for being injury prone. Yet as a bench player, he is quality without any doubt. The tricky part is that he made his transfer to the Liga couple of months ago. I am not sure if he can do another permanent jump to Barcelona, and I can’t see his team loaning him out unless if they receive a payment that equals a transfer value.

Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao): Great quality player. Barcelona’s Sport director is experienced with the Basque club. But in brief: Forget it. It won’t happen before the summer, and how I wish being wrong.

Fernando Torres (Liverpool): There is a big mess at Liverpool at the moment, and he is eligible for Champions league even with his team qualifying to round 32 in Europa League. Still, it will take a miracle for the new board at Liverpool –any board- to start their reign by offloading their key player. Besides, he is not a player to loan out, and before buying him Barcelona need to think twice about his injury record, as it is extremely worrisome.

Filippo Inzaghi (Milan): I am not sure why the Media mentioned him. For all his qualities, he can’t play in the Champions league for Barcelona and he is not the type of players needed.

Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria): qualified to round 32 played Play-off round of the Champions league where the club was defeated against Pertizan and moved to play the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. His profile may sound fitting but his transfer doesn’t make sense as he can’t play in the champion’s league.

Luca Toni (Genoa): he can play for Barcelona in all competitions. He has an ok quality that serves the needs of Barcelona to some extent. But he used to complain when he doesn’t play enough matches as a key starter. I don’t think Genoa will be tempted to loan him out as a new striker they brought last summer. I don’t think it will be smart for Barcelona to buy him permanently. So…highly unlikely.

Lucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund) La Pantera is no doubt a player with lethal finishing skills and decent work rate. If Barcelona will end up buying a forward –instead of loaning one- this option may head the list. He is a quality squad player but can he improve to become a key member? That’s a tricky question. How much will his team demand as a transfer fee? That is another question.

Mauro Zárate (Lazio): Check D’Alessandro and Pastore above.

Nikola Žigić (Birmingham): I just can’t see why his team will loan him out after spending 6 M to buy him from Valencia. Buying him must not be an option for Barcelona. Case closed.

Peter James Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur): 1) Barcelona will not be able to use him in the Champions league. 2) Extremely expensive as his team will have no reason to sell their key striker. No need to argue if he has the quality to serve Barcelona anyway, because he is not an option.

Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht): a 1.91 m 17 years old played Play-off round of the Champions league where the club was defeated against Pertizan and moved to play the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. So he will not be able to select him for Champions league. Yet, if Barcelona had any chance to sign him today, they will not wait till tomorrow. That chance will not show up. He already pointed out that he wants to finish his studies in Belgium. There are lots of clubs following him as well. His team will not waste the chance of creating a bidding war in the summer just to do Barcelona a favor.

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor played twice in the League and once in Europa League Manchester City qualifying to round 32. He is no more the key player for Manchester City where Tevez is leaving no space for any other forward to compete for. If things didn’t change till January, Barcelona may have a chance to get him for loan till the end of the season. He will not complain demanding more playing time at Barcelona because he will get more than his current club can offer. He is the closest option to Barcelona’s temporary needs and based on the impression he leaves during his loan spell he may earn himself a permanent deal. The only complication will be his salary. Something that may require lot of negotiation with Manchester city owners to compromise.

That’s a fast round on some names. But make no mistake, everyday a new name will feed the flame. It is not even certain that Barcelona will sign anyone after all. 

Posted by Ramzi on 13:41. Filed under Articles, Barcelona, Football, Ramzi, transfers . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0