Should Mourinho stay or go?

There is no doubt about it, managing a club like Real Madrid, seems to be like no other job in football, where what might look like the team itself has been having, up until now, a successful season, first in La Liga, record number of points for the Champion League group stage and a seven point league advantage over the best team in the World and fiercest rivals, FC Barcelona, there are still doubts over the work that José Mourinho has done at the club since he took over. So, given the history of Real Madrid being a club to take strange decisions, Del Bosque and Capello spring to mind, how long will it be that Mourinho himself either says enough is enough or the President Florentino Perez, starts to listen to the fans who recently were calling for his head, and lets another high profile manager go through the gates of the Santiago Bernabéu.

It seems that the supporters of Real Madrid seem a bunch who are difficult to please, but are they correct in being so? Well, yes, if the history of the club is looked at, with thirty one leagues and nine Champions Leagues won throughout its history, then yes success is something which the fans at Real Madrid are accustomed to, but if you look at the amount of titles they have won in their recent era, then the criticism of Mourinho and the team cannot be seen as just.

Remember this is a team where managers were coming and going left, right and center and Mourinho is the first manager since Del Bosque (1999 – 2002) who has stayed at the club for more than one season, an amazing fact and the constant change of managers at a football team can only mean one thing! They did not win trophies, although with Real Madrid this is not always the case, again Bosque and Capello sit on the tip of the tongue.

Mourinho, in his first season won the Copa del Rey, and looks on course to win the League this season, taking into account the points difference they have, and the lack of competitively in the Spanish league at the moment. Yes, the games against FC Barcelona are a minus, but in the most recent clasico, Mourinho played his strongest attacking team and easily matched FC Barcelona in that one and for most of the match dominated, so maybe the tide will be about to change in that perspective. Mourinho is an accomplished, intelligent and successful manager, and you don’t have the successes he has had throughout Europe by being nobody´s fool or as they say in Spanish ´No tener pelo de tonto´.

The fans in Real Madrid have to be careful, as shown before, when things are not going how Mourinho wants, he will easily leave when he wants, but if they want him to stay then I can see this Real Madrid team forming to become Spanish Champions and Champion’s League winners in what remains of his four year contract with “Los Merengues”.

One thing is for sure, for Madrid to regain the past glories, they need Mourinho, more than He needs them, and well, what is Madrid’s loss, will ultimately be a big club in England’s gain.

Published in Total Football Magazine the 26/2/2012 -  http://www.totalfootballmag.com/features/world-football/should-mourinho-stay-or-go/

How long will this great Barcelona team last?

Great teams come and go, as well, as managers, players, directors, coaches etc, and football, like life is one big evolutional cycle where things are constantly changing and nothing lasts forever. What can be described as probably one of the greatest teams (if not the best) in history, Barcelona, who have been able to mix success with playing a brand of football that has been anything but mesmerizing , and do it so well, that they have dominated Spanish and European football in the process; as well as being the envy of most teams throughout the world of football.
At the moment are showing no signs of letting up, and the question which seems to be circulating in football a lot these days, is for how long can this team continue to play the kind of football they have made famous, and also to keep enjoying the success (which is represented in the trophies they have won recently) that has come so frequently since the appointment of Pep Guardiola as manager with twelve trophies in three years being a statistic that speaks for itself and that doesn’t need further interpretation.

Start of an era

The appointment of Guardiola as manager in 2008, at that time, was seen by many as surprising, with many names being rumored, with one of those being Jose Mourinho, the current Real Madrid manager, something which now, seems impossible that will ever happen, being that he is Real Madrid manager and that he has somewhat of a turbulent relationship with the clubs fans.

At the time, the previous manager, Frank Rijkaard, seemed to be running out of ideas, and the club needed someone new, with a different perspective, to regain the title back from Real Madrid, who indeed won it in what was to be Rijkaards last season at the helm of the club.

Guardiola was given that task after managing the clubs B team, in what proved to be a short but successful stint, managing to help the team get into the second tier of the Spanish league. If anyone epitomizes Barcelona, then it is Guardiola, and that even though as mentioned before it was surprising, he is after all Barcelona through and through, he seems to tick all the boxes, Catalan, Catalan speaker, learnt his football in the famous “Masia”, played through all the ranks at the club, played most of his career with Barcelona and was captain for most of this time, lifting the European cup for the club, in what was the first in their history.

One of the most determining factors that seemed to influence the decision, of the then board, which included ex president Joan Laporta, to appoint him was indeed, most of these things, and also most importantly he understood the values of the club and football ideals that were put in place through Cruyff, based on the famous Dutch method of Total Football.

Dutch influence

Since the days of Cruyff, when he was manager of the club, and successfully won the European cup in 1992 with the dream team, Barcelona have been famous for its constant use of the 4-3-3 system, with it been used on a regular basis throughout the years by various managers, with the basis of playing short, passing football with lots of movement and the possibility for players to interchange positions without it being detrimental to the style of the team.

The simple, effective, and draining effect that this style of play has on teams, with teams having to put all their energies into trying to recuperate the ball, has been a joy to watch for football purists and those who don’t have much of a know how to the game, therefore attracting new fans of the game, and being given the chance to watch football in its most purest form. This style of football, which Guardiola has instilled into his team, has even managed to be awarded its own name, tiky taka, something which, all those years ago, of whom Cruyff, was a linchpin for, achieved the same feat, with Ajax´s and Holland brand of football on this occasion, being given the name of Total football.

Guardiola, has done though, what all aspiring coaches in the game should do, he has used his in-depth knowledge of this brand of football, and created his own style, by making minor tweaks in certain places, which have added a new dimension to the style. First of all, after he took over Barcelona, and before he could impose his view of how he wanted the team to play, he had to bring in those players who he thought were appropriate and could fit in easily and do the job he would ask of them, and get rid of those, who he thought, maybe were past it, in football terms and definitely in relation to their spells at Barcelona, and that would not compliment his style and philosophy of play.

A few big names were shown the door on that first summer in charge for Guardiola, Ronaldinho, Deco among those shown the door, and those brought in, were Danny Alves, Pedro, and Pique.

These new signings along with the addition of players from the B team, that Guardiola had previous experience of, from his tenure there, allowed Barca to build on total football and combine other elements into their play.

Total football and more

Barcelona’s play is all about passing and movement but there is one aspect of their tactics which has become almost as important as this. This is pressurizing the opposing team high up in their own half of the field so as to deny them space to get the ball down and play football. This tactic is based on the aspect of forcing the opposition into making a mistake, therefore upon this error, they will receive the ball and then move it quickly so that the opposing team has no time to make the transition from attack to defense, something that Barcelona are able to do with the upmost effectiveness.

The wide men don’t track back so if possession is lost then there is always an outlet to give the ball to, especially if one of the opposing full backs decides to go forward and join in the attack.

In modern football, and in the last ten or so years, there has been great emphasis on a defensive midfielder to break up the other teams attacks. Sergio Busquets in this aspect, performs this task very well, and with the growing emphasis being that this player has the ability to start attacks off, and give the ball quickly to the ball players, then his undoubted value to the team is second to none, as he has these abilities and more, with also being able to interchange with Xavi and Iniesta, to move the ball quickly with pace and precision, building on those aspects of total football as talked about before.

Xavi and Iniesta in the middle of the park, and also with the flexibility that the formation allows them, to drift and take up positions all over the pitch, meaning that there are always players available to pass the ball to. This of course, makes the possession bar look very favorable on the part of Barcelona in their matches but also adds another aspect, as the opposition can spend long periods of time chasing the ball and therefore wasting lots of energy, which can be taking advantage of later on in games.

So much so, that Barcelona look like they play in sync, in every game, looking like a well-oiled machine, with full backs encouraged to join in in attacks, centre backs able to step out with the ball and integrate as well, wingers taking on fullbacks and getting balls into the box and committing defenders, and this is also without the mention of the world player of the year, Lionel Messi, who scores on average thirty odd goals per season, as well, as countless assists to his teammates. The details are amazing, and it’s no reason that the last few years at Barcelona have been the most successful in their history and many see them as the best team in the world at the moment and probably in the history of the game.

Jose Mourinho era in Real Madrid

One of the ways in which the supremacy of Barcelona could be taken away in Spain and Europe, is Real Madrid. Since the arrival of Mour-inho (who spent time at Barcelona as coach and translator to ex man-ager Bobby Robson), Real Madrid have evolved into a TEAM, some-thing missing through previous managers, and this season have started to impress more because of their results and style of play.

Last season, at times they played spectacular football, but sometimes looked to have lots more in reserve with Mourinho seeming to hold back and play for results, which is good, but in a team as historic as Real Madrid where they have been known throughout their history for attractive football, the fans of the club seemed to be growing a little disgruntled with the style of football that they were playing.

This season is a different story though, as the tentative style that was encouraged last season, seeming to be a thing of the past and the team has played a mix of pretty, effective and stylish football, with an em-phasis of pressing high up the pitch when without the ball, very similar to Barcelona.

It also needs to be taken into consideration that Mourinho’s teams tend to play better their second year than their first, so if they did break their trophy duck last season by winning the Copa del Rey, then maybe this season, could be the season to try to put a stop to Barcelona’s domination In Spain and Europe, going on the point that has been highlighted in relation to teams Mourinho has trained in the past.

The pretenders

So the question is who can stop them? As discussed before Real Madrid seems to be the main takers in this aspect, definitely in Spain as the top two seem to be a forgone conclusion in that area, as no one outside of these two seem to have the team and resources to compete.

In Europe, England provides the biggest hurdle, with the Manchester teams and Chelsea being those who could threaten their grip on the Champions league, although, United seem to be the main contenders, but as has been seen in two finals in the space of three years between the teams, Barcelona have had no real problems with United or any other English teams in the competition in the last few years.

Elsewhere, the big two in Italy this season seem to be having a disaster so taking this into consideration, in this aspect and anywhere on the continent there doesn’t seem to be any big threats so probably these can be discounted from the equation.

The biggest threat seems to be therefore Real Madrid, who will push them hard this season on both fronts, Spain and Europe, and of course, all will depend on the desire of Pep (Guardiola) to keep signing on for more than one year, if the success of the club is to be continued.

There is one thing for sure though, and that’s that at the minute they are the best and the team that all others should aspire to be and who should try to play like.

Move to homeland working out for Ronaldinho

When players reach the latter days of their career, and have been plying their trade on foreign playing fields for the most of it, it seems quite inevitable that they should go on to finish their careers in their home countries or a league where the expectation levels are a little less. This has been quite the case in relation to players from Europe and South America for years now (though it does depend on the standard of the player’s relative league to an extent). Many players may see it as a way to enjoy the later stages of their careers, playing in a league which might not have the same degree of quality as to where they have been over the years or as a chance to play for their childhood team that they supported when they were growing up.

The Brazilian league in the past few years, has been going through somewhat of a renaissance period, with the attraction of players returning to their homeland so as to get noticed more by the national team coach, Mano Menezes, with the lead up to hosting the World Cup in 2014, and giving themselves more of a possibility of taking part in what promises to be a spectacular occasion, with Brazilians known for their fearsome appetite and reputation in football.

One of the players who decided to take this path most recently has been two time world player of the year Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Ever since his last year playing for Barcelona in 2008, those who love football, have been waiting for him to rescale the heights he achieved in his early days with the Catalan club, and return to the figure which was widely reputed as one of the greatest players ever in the history of the game. After moving onto Milan, where he showed glimpses of brilliance but lacked consistency, Flamengo came in for him, and give him the chance to play again in the country of his birth. The move, at the start, seemed to be one of hope, with expectations not being met, and it looked as though that Ronaldinho would not be grasping his last chance with two hands, or to say better in football terms, with two feet, and those that had hoped he could return to the old Gaúcho, would be left disappointed.

However, after one game where the Flamengo hardcore faithful, booed and cheered their star player, and he was subsequently taken of the pitch by the legendry Brazilian manager Luxemburgo, there has been a sharp and productive increase in quality of performances, so much so that he has achieved his goal of being called up again to the national team, and has appeared in the last three squad selections of the Seleção. The statistics in relation to Ronaldinho speak for themselves, and prove that he is starting to be the player of old that he once was.

In twenty six games for Flamengo, since he signed a 5.5 million euro per year contract, he has scored eighteen goals and made five assists, which compared to figures when he was at his most effective in his career look very favorable, and suggest he might have turned his back on his previous troubles, and is trying to achieve his ultimate objective and goal, which is to play for his country at the World Cup in Brazil, in little over two years’ time, an accolade which would be fitting for such a player as Ronaldinho and that would bring the curtain down on a great career.

This goal though depends on many things. Ronaldinho will be thirty four years of age by the time the world cup comes round, he has though altered his game in the last few years, as he has lost that blistering burst of speed that he was known for, and therefore seems to play more as a striker, or in behind the front two or one these days, threading passes, and beating players with skill, two attributes that he has always been known for, and that in two and a bit years he should still have. Consistency will be the key, and staying in shape, but he is in the right place at the moment to get noticed and therefore will need to keep performing well on a regular basis. Age could be the defining factor, but if he is playing then like he is at the moment, then no doubt the Brazilian manager (Manezes or not) should have no hesitation in calling him up for the showpiece.

Article published in 90Soccer the 11th of September, 2011
http://www.90soccer.com/international/move-to-homeland-working-out-for-ronaldinho/

To Sneijder or not to Sneijder.

Ever since the transfer window has been introduced in Football, and the option of signing a player as and when you would need them throughout the length of the season, was scrapped, long running sagas have been played out over the years, Ronaldo, Fabregas to name but a few of the most obvious ones. This summer, there was another epic episode of a tale to add onto the list, with the Holland and Inter Milan player Wesley Sneijder, fulfilling this role this time about.

The continuing saga of will He, wont He sign for Manchester United, being even more dramatic by the retirement of United midfield legend Paul Scholes, which meant that a direct replacement in the Scholes mold needed to be found by Ferguson so as to ease the costly loss of what would be a highly missed player.

In the end the saga ended with Sneijder staying with Inter and Manchester United without a player to step into the Scholes role for the forthcoming season, but, was this the case that they missed out on their man or was Ferguson always the cunning fox that He has always been and knew exactly that his team were always well equipped in this area and that finally maybe it was just gossip from the chatterboxes in the English press?

For me Sneijder was always the perfect replacement for Scholes. As a massive United fan, Scholes was my favorite player and for me one of the most technically gifted players to ever play football, anyone who saw his first touch and his technical ability to hit a ball will be able to testify to this. To receive compliments from players like Henry, Xavi and Zidane, that He was the best player they have ever played against, considering the career these players had in the game, and the amount of high profile professionals they come up against throughout their illustrious careers, means that there is no need to give any more glowing reports and words in relation to Scholes, only in being that he was world class.

It is always going to be a difficult task trying to replace a player of Scholes quality, and if this is to be taken into account, Ferguson himself said that "Only Xavi and Iniesta are comparable to Scholes" and giving that these two were voted among the three best players of the world this year, then it seems even more of a daunting task.

There was though undoubted interest in Sneijder from United, and there is no doubt that He would have been a great acquisition to their squad, as the need for a playmaker in the Premier League seems like the quintessential part of any team, or indeed in any league in the world, so as to vary from the English style of crossing balls into the box and the high intensity game that United plays. He would have given this option, of threading passes through defense’s and creating shooting opportunities, but Ferguson deemed it to be that in the end He was not needed and clarified this by saying " He's a fantastic player but he was not who we were looking for to replace Scholes". Who is to argue with someone who has the track record of Ferguson and who obviously knows the club and football inside out, and therefore knows what United needed this season.

So, the thing that I always thought, and have always said, that Sneijder was the perfect replacement for Scholes, seems now to be extinguished and been laid to rest, with my attention now turned to what United now have. A central midfield of players who can be drawn upon such as Anderson, Carrick, Cleverly, Fletcher with Giggsy able to play in there too, might not have the same ring to it, if Sneijder was there for example, but there is no doubt that from United´s more than impressive start to the season, Ferguson has to be handed it again, as someone who knows more about football than most, and who sticks to his philosophy of bringing young players through and giving them chances and more importantly doing the job they are expected to do at Manchester United. This is to live up to the increasingly high standards that the club demands. You could say then that Mr. Ferguson was the cunning fox that He has always been!

Published in http://www.90soccer.com/international/to-sneijder-or-not-to-sneijder/ the 15th September, 2011

Sevilla appoint new manager

After an eventful season, full of ups and downs over the year, which finally culminated in what some will say, was a somewhat lucky outcome, achieving a Europa league spot for next season, Sevilla, have stated their intentions for next year with the installation of Marcelino García Toral as manager, taking over from Gregorio Manzano. There has been no doubt that the club, as of late has been going through the transitional stage, with ins and outs, as previously explained in some of my previous articles, and that their was an obvious apprehension about, if Manzano was the man to lead Sevilla in the future, with names such as Luis Enrique and Puel being those mentioned to replace him. They have chosen however to name someone who was never mentioned on that list, and what will therefore come to those who speculated on those names of replacements, among myself included, a surprising selection, but who is this new manager and what can we expect him to provide Sevilla next season.

Times have changed at Sevilla, the club, through their recent successful and prosperous recent history, have become more demanding and have started to want the bigger things in football, one of the things that comes hand in hand with being successful. Since Juande Ramos, the team have been trying to get the right mix together, but have so far up until now not achieved that. Something that Toral will be hoping to instill as soon as possible, with clubs in Spain, and the continent not well known for their patience. A good start will be imperative, and the goal for the season has to be a finish in the top four of the league which will bring with it, a place in the champions league. Apart from this, good performances in the cup competitions will be demanded, with Sevilla being famous for being a cup team more than a league team. So does the credetials of Taron match up to those of what Sevilla needs in this moment in time and will he be able to meet those high standards?

Toral carved out a less than spectacular carear as a footballer, playing for teams such as Real sporting de Gijon, Real Racing Club de Santander, Levante UD and Elche from the period of 1985 – 1994. He played in centre midfield and reprecented Spain as a youth international and won the World Youth Cup in 1985 which took place in the Soviet Union.

It had been as a mangager where he has had more success and recognition, but has not been tested before at a club of the size and stature of Sevilla. He has had success in helping teams ascend divisions, for example, taking up, CD Lealtad, RC Recreativo de Huelva and Real Zaragosa in the past from the respective divisions that they were in.

It was with Real Racing Club de Santander where he has had the most significant success, over two spells at the club where in his first he helped the team classify for the UEFA Cup and reach the semi final of the Copa del Rey (both for the first time in their history) and then in his second spell with the club he was granted with the task to keep them in the first division for another year in 2012, something that he achieved.

So is He what Sevilla need? for me, I thought Luis Enrique was the perfect choice, because he has experience in Spanish football and is used to high pressure situations, having played for Barcelona and Madrid, but he has decided that Italy was the perfect place for him to continue his development. If you are looking along the terms of knowledgement of Spanish football then I think they have made a good appointment, but maybe a bigger name would have been better, although, another team, Porto of Portugal took the decision one year ago to appoint an unknown called Andre Villas Boas, and they ended up having their most successful season in their history, winning everything they entered. So with that in my mind, appointing a soemwhat unknown can work well, or have the complete opposite effect, Sevilla will be hoping that they can get back to where they were a few years ago, top four football and winning cups, time will tell!

Whats been happening at Valencia this summer?

Valencia have been stating there intentions this summer, and to move forward from their good performance of last season where Los Ches finished third in La Liga and performed to a high level in the Champions League.  As documented in previous article’s from myself, the previous two seasons the manager, Urai Emery, has been trying to form a new team by letting those players that have been deemed over aged and underperformers go, as well as those that could bring in some much needed revenue to the club, by bringing in a new mix, which will be a team for the future and hopefully with a little bit of luck be able to perform to a high standard as of now.

Last season was a good demonstrative of how the plan which was put into action was beginning to work, with as said before, a good performance throughout the season which culminated in a good result and somewhat better than what those involved with the club were expecting.  This summer, the club have been sticking to their philosophy, with Cesar, Vicente, Joaquin and Del Horno, being some of the old guard who have been let go, to leave space for those who will replace them and bring some new blood to the club with new desires and motivation.  There is no doubt that these group of players have been outstanding performers for Valencia in the past, but the decline in the amount of appearances which they have been making over the last few seasons, and the standard of these, have been few and far between, so the correct decision has been taken which will allow the club to move on, and keep improving as well as to look towards the future.

One of the new players that has come in, all be it on a one season loan from Madrid, is Sergio Canales, a very accomplished young footballer, who after one year in Madrid, in what proved to be somewhat of a disappointment, and underachievement for the player, will be looking to make an impression and show what he is capable off.  Emery should be looking to team him up with Mata for the forthcoming season, but with Arsenal from England pressurizing, it remains to be seen if Valencia will buckle and sell on their prize asset, something which I hope doesn’t happen as I would love to see these two team up next season, along with the other young talent they have at their disposal.

Apart from adding Canales, to an already impressive midfield, they have added other players who have La Liga experience, something very important as the player will need no time to adjust to the style of a different league, and will already know what to expect.  Some of the players they have added have been Parejo (Getafe), an impressive midfielder who will add even more to that area, as already mentioned, also with the loss of Cesar, the club were lacking some cover in the goalkeeping department, and Emery has been shrewd, as always, and added Diego Alves (Almeria) and Pereira (Sporting Braga, Portugal).  The defense has also been shored up, with the addition of the impressive defender Rami from Lille in France.  These players have added a youthful aspect to the squad, and those that have been there for a few years now, such as the old head Albelda, the impressive central midfielder Ever and Pablo Hernandez, a tricky winger in the now departed Joaquin mold will be looked upon, to take over the responsibility of helping these new recruits to settle quickly in, and help the team to click from the off.

This year, things will not be so easy in the Spanish league.  The big two, Barcelona and Real Madrid, have strengthened further, and as has been the case the last few years, it seems the rest will be chasing these two, so with reason all the others will be looking at third spot and the automatic Champions league place which comes along with it.  Apart from the usual suspects who will be looking to grasp this spot, Sevilla, Villareal and Athletico Madrid etc, who have all seen big changes in the summer, there should be a new challenger, in the form of Malaga, who with the help of their super rich owner, have been the most busiest team in the transfer market not only in Spain but the rest of Europe.  If Pelligrini gets this good group of individuals to play like a team, I would expect them to make a more than serious push towards the third spot in the league.  Nonetheless, I think, Valencia look the most exciting team, with a better squad than the others, and I would expect them to achieve this position, as well as a run to the quarter finals of the Champions League,  although, anything more, would be most unexpected.

Published August 11, 2011 in 90Soccer - http://www.90soccer.com/international/whats-been-happening-at-valencia-this-summer/

Saldado, the new Villa!!!!!!!

Trying to replace a striker such as David Villa, sounds like a daunting task, and one that’s not going to be too easy to accomplish, for after five years playing for Valencia from 2005 – 2010, it was deemed necessary for a few reasons to get rid of their prize asset. One determining influence was the fact that the club has a crippling debt problem and needed to solve it, so money had to be found from somewhere. Taking this into account Villa was sold for a nice sum of 40 million Euros, and thus brought to an end, a successful time at the club, where he scored 108 goals in a total of 166 appearances, was top scorer for the club in the five seasons he played for them, and won the Copa del Rey in 2008.

It was now up to the club to replace a striker who was not only an integral player for them but also the Spanish national team, where he has won the European championship, World cup and is also the countries leading scorer, with someone who was up for the task, and who could try to emulate Villa, in all ways, but of course without the hefty price tag that comes with buying a player to match these characteristics. So if the funds don’t allow thirty or forty million euro players to be signed, its up to those involved, to scale down their efforts and look in and around the bargain buys, who normally play for the smaller clubs.

The one they went for, was one called Roberto Saldado, who although was born in Valencia, played his youth and early career football with Real Madrid, where he had an impressive goal every two games ratio for the B side. There he stayed for four seasons, and made the progression to the first team, where things were to prove a little bit more difficult for him, and after just sixteen appearances and two goals over a period of three seasons, he was loaned to Osasuna, and then subsequently sold after one season to Getafe for a price of four million Euros, after impressing highly during the one season in Osasuna where he scored eleven goals in thirty appearances.

His time at Getafe would prove fruitful, and although in what was a Getafe team that would constantly be fighting against relegation during his time there, he still managed to bang in twenty nine goals in sixty appearances. This type of constant scoring, brought about the attention of the so called big boys, and it would be one of those, who was looking to replace a striker who had been hitting the target for them on a constant basis before with one who they thought would do an equally as good job or if not better. This club, being of course Valencia, as already has been mentioned, spent in the region of ten million Euros to take him to the Mestalla.

As it is only the first season, and as is normal in football, its difficult to judge on this, with the usual clichés popping up, new club, transition period etc, but Saldado, has definitely had his moments, with his record in the Champions league being impressive, and some good performances as well in the league, most notably against his old team Getafe, where he scored all Valencia’s goals in a 4 – 2 away win. The problem seems to be consistency, but there is no doubt that he has talent and if this can be nurtured and improved upon, as he is only twenty five years old, then he could turn out to be a great signing. Time will tell, but to give an accolade such as the new David Villa, I think it is a bit too premature for that. If Valencia can keep their manager Urai Emery for a few more seasons, and the team continues to improve, as has been the case under this manager then big things could be on the way for Saldado and Valencia. Let’s see what happens!

Published 13th April, 2011 in 90Soccer http://www.90soccer.com/international/saldado-the-new-villa/