Yesterday the Klose-deal to Bremen was inked. Werder pays 5 M Euro to Kaiserslautern and Klose allegedly earns 3 M per season. While Werder expected celebrations to have completed this deal, they now face criticism. Many fans called and doubted Klose's qualities, and now also Ailton is criticising. "There was no money to keep me, but they got it for Klose. Great. But that's Werder's option", quoted a newspaper and the journalist added that Ailton had tears of disappointment in his eyes. "When I hear and read that a guy like Klose almost earns 3 M, then I can just shake my head. I would have stayed in Bremen for less. I can't understand it. I had never left to Schalke if they had offered me that much." Werder defends themselves by stating that when Ailton's negotiations were held, it was not foreseeable that a transfer of that kind would be possible. Only in the last weeks they have changed their mind, but also internally there are some doubting Klose's qualities. Next to the very high transfer sum and his salary, "only" nine goals (Ailton 20) and his entirely different way of playing are stated as reasons against Klose. Klose is a typical heading player, who doesn't fit into Werder's current system.
Mr. Ailton is a lazy b*st*rd who is known to show up to practice late and at times doesn’t give his all to his team. For my money, I want players who will fight for their team every second that they are on the grass. No matter what the get paid. A team needs talented players like Ailton, but it also needs winners that have the heart of a lion and players that give their all every minute they are with the club. I am biased towards “Miro” because I am a Rote Teufel fan, that being said; Klose is a player that always gave his all for Kaiserslautern. He will be missed here. I am also sure that the new power of the North will be satisfied with him, and at the very least Bremen will avoid the mercenary tactics and disloyalty that Dortmund’s Brazilian players demonstrated. Shame on Ailton and his sour grapes.
Olafgb- What is your opinion? I agree with Ailton...he's done very well for Bremen...he deserves that kindof money over Klose. Also, if Klose is worth $5m Euro transfer, $3m salary, what is Mathis now worth?
On the one hand Ailton is at least letting the people know what his drive to join Schlacke was. Everybody else would try to talk about "building something great", "good chance for progress" etc.. He says money was the reason. I really respect such a decision when the player is honest. Hey, it's professional football at all! But he is even dumb enough to let every thought make his way from his brain to his mouth. It is not necessary to critize the Klose-deal as it i none of his business. Btw, in the next days Sheik Tony Ben Ailton will sign for Qatar. "Salary" of 400.000 and signing fee of 1 Mio Euro doesn't sound bad, does it? Ismael of Werder was another arget but he refused. Dede is still undecided but I guess he will also sign for the sand people.
I'm not quite sure if Werder did the right thing. 5 Mio Euro are very much in these days, in which most transactions are free transfers. Werder thinks that it'll pay off as they can sell Klose for a higher sum in a couple of years, but I doubt that although I think that the economical situation will improve. After the WC many top clubs were interested in Klose and there was no doubt that he is worth 5 Mio Euro, but he had at least two long crisis in between and is rather stagnating in his development. And the criticism about the way of playing is right. Werder plays for Ailton's speed and they got the midfielders to deliver the passes he needs (Micoud, Ernst, Lisztes, Borowski) and it's definitely necessary to change the way of playing for Klose. But Ailton will have a hard life at Schalke as well as they got no midfielder for those passes - the best one is Altintop, but he rather shoots from everywhere than passing a ball to someone else. And as for Ailton's character: I like him as he is very predictable and very easy to handle for a coach. If he isn't motivated, put him to the bench and he'll be mad at the coach and next time he wants to show the world that the coach did a mistake - he's a bit like a little child. And as jonam said, almost all players are working for their club as it was the best offer they had. I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting that. But to defend Werder: now they could slowly plan with Champions League money to finance the Klose deal. When the Ailton matter came up, it was way too early to spend more money. No doubt for me though, that Ailton is better than Klose.
It is true that Ailton is known to be a lazy a$$. But this season I think he really worked harder then ever. Supposedly he even came back from Brazil two weeks early and missed the carnival during the winter break so that he could get back to training. Even his own coach said that this year he's 'all business'. Personally I think it would be wiser for Werder to keep Ailton as Klose is a totally different kind of player. In reality Klose is not even that good. He is an excellent player with his head, but a very average player with his feet. For the money Bremen is paying for him they would be better off buying and signing Mathis after Hannover is relegated, and spending the rest on improving other positions. And lets face it, 96 is going down.
Ailton will be 31 when the 2004-05 season starts. Klose will be 26 when the 2004-05 seasons starts. Given the reputations of the two players, I know who I would sign (especially if I had CL money to burn). As for the comments about how well and how hard Ailton has played this year, beware of the phenomenon known in the US as the "contract year." A player in the last year of his contract and soon to be a free agent suddenly shows newfound passion and dedication to his craft and displays on-field performances a step or two ahead of performances in previous years. He then wins a big contract and, with that financial security in his hand, quickly reverts to his former brand of lackluster play. And I think H96 will stay up (although for entirely selfish reasons, I hope I am wrong).
I think Klose is better than everyone here is giving him credit for. He's not as good Ailton, but he has 9 goals for a terrible team. That is really a postive indication to his quality. He has also been a team leader for KL. Klose is very good in the air (one of the best in the Bundesliga), and has pretty good skills with his feet and has very good speed. And with Bremen, Klose will be getting much better service than at KL (where they play kick and chase). I think Ailton looks much better due to the excellent passes from Micoud, Ernst, etc. I would not be a bit surprised if Klose's scoring increases by at least 40-50%. I'm sure Bremen would rather still have Ailton, but Klose is no slouch. Klose is not world class, but he has quality.
Two things: First, 5 of Ailton's goals have been off of PKs; 1 of Klose's goals was a PK. Second, ask yourself this question: if Ailton was on FCK this season, what kind of year would he be having (both on and off and the field)?
I don't rate Klose too high, but he is more versatile than Ailton. I think he will face less problems to adjust himself to the Werder game than Ailton at Schalke. Ailton is a deadly striker when he is is running at the net with the ball at his foot. But he is absolutely useless when the game is carried over the wings and and the balls are crossed high into the box area from the wingers - but this is what Schalke did in the past when guys like Kobiasvili, Seitz or Vermant were trying to find the heads of Sand and Hanke - and Schalke ´doesn't have midfielders like Micoud or Ernst who can play these deadly low and deep passes which Ailton needs ... My prediction : Ailton will not score more than 12-15 goals next season for Schalke if this Assauer dude does not buy 1 or 2 decent central and attacking mids..
Klose signing is a great move. Klose is no Ailton, but contrary to some of the posts here I'd take him over Mathis any day. (Let's not get over excited here. I am not a Mathis hater-- I'd love to see Bremen pick up Clint as well... but given a choice I'd definitely take Klose) I've loved watching Ailton play this year, and will enjoy watching him at Schalke-- I think his numbers will dry up there. He'll score more than Ebbe Sand though. The player I love to watch is Micoud... is he leaving as well? If so, then sure, fans will be disappointed no matter who Bremen have up front.
Not to hijack this thread, but Mathis would have a hard time getting regular playing time at Wolfsburg. If H96 goes down, and Mathis is transferred within the BL, some softer landing places would be: 1860; Freiburg; Rostock; Kaiserslautern; and maybe even the aforementioned Schalke.
Being a Bayern fan, I was sad to hear that Klose was moving to Bremen. However for Klose this is a good move. It will get him away from Kaiserslautern and he will have the chance to play with a nice group of players at Bremen. My opinion, Klose moving to Bremen is a better move for him then if he would have transferred to Bayern or Dortmund. As for the people who are knocking Klose and how he is not scoring on the pace that Ailton is scoring. Well, the talent that Klose has with him at Kasierslautern is not the same talent that Ailton has with him at Bremen. Plus as one of the earlier posters posted, Ailton has 5pk's and Klose only 1. thanks Tony for the best soccer video page, try www.raresoccervideos.com
"Mathis would have a hard time getting regular playing time at Wolfsburg" LOL...that's the funniest thing I've read in a while...Wolfsburg has become Real Madrid!
It makes more sense now (waiting on later in year- Champions League) why they did not extend an earlier lucrative offer to Ailton. Somehow, though, it seems there could be a better way to handle it. That is an awful lot of money to splash on Klose, IMO.
Of course.... are you saying Mathis is like Ronaldo? Both are obese, I'll give you that. But one can play whilst the other can't.
Holy shnikes. For the last time enough with the Fat Jokes. Mathis at his fattest didn't hold a candle to R9jabbanaldo. As far as mathis playing for wolfsburg I don't know if they would want to buy another A-mid to replace the very quality one they just bought (D'Allesandro). I don't know about the striker situation there though. And back to the topic at hand, I have only just started following the Bundasliga this season but Ailton has become my favorite player. It is so much fun to watch the big bastard school everybody around him. One second he looks like he's about to pass out from exhaustion and then the next he is flying past defenders and chipping the goal keeper. Schalke have bought a good striker. It's really too bad for Bremen, they probably could have had Klose AND Ailton.
Well, that's quite an achievement considering some of the drivel you propound. I didn't say Wolfsburg was Real Madrid . . . but there is more competition for spots at Wolfsburg then there is at Hannover, to be sure. Do you know anything at all about Wolfsburg and its players? Anything. Well, let me give you a primer. Wolfsburgh has been playing a 4-4-2 lately. The attacking midfield position played by Mathis now for Hannover is filled by D'Allesandro, who is a class or two above Mathis now (and much younger). They play one MF wide, sort of as a winger, a position Mathis would not do well in. In any event, Petrov or Menseguez are much better fits for that position, and perhaps even Maric (on loan right now). I'm going to assume you don't think Mathis can play a defensive MF. So that leaves the two strikers. I could see Mathis being part of a rotation among Klimowicz, Baiano, and Topic, but I don't see Mathis rising to the top of that list and, quite honestly, I would forecast Mathis as #3 on the list, behind Klimowicz (a more traditional center forward type) and Baiano (younger and on his game, very explosive). In other words, it would be a daily struggle for playing time. Plus, Wolfsburg have the cash to bring in better players, so the aforementioned list of competition for spots is likely to grow bigger.
Its a little hard to take you seriously when (basically) you basically claim Hannover's best starter can't hold a candle to Wolfsburg worst midfielder/forward. Your claim implied "class", and a good trainer would shift his formation based on the players in his pool, and I have a difficult time believing Mathis is worse than 6 or 7 guys on Wolfsburg. For all your bluster, Wolfsburg is only 4 points higher in the table than Hannover. If you were right in your claim, the descrepancy would be much greater. Hence my Real Madrid comment (even there, I could see Clint starting- hell, a lot of players would play well alongside their overall talent, so what Beckham is currently doing is not that impressive to me). I like D'Allesandro as a player...I really do- but for you to claim he is one or two classes above Mathis is a joke. Mathis has already scored more goals (almost all created on his own- terrific goals) then D'Allesandro has all year. I doubt Allesandro will win any statistical matchup with Mathis this year (goals + assists)- and Mathis has less support (worse supporting cast). D'Allesandro is younger, and if I had them both, I'd play them both. Baiano is a class player. If Wolfsburg would acquire a Mathis, they would re-tool their system (which may or may not make sense) but he would definently start. Your "class" claim has no merit- and that was your original point (not that Mathis would get squeezed out due to a "system")
The classic BS debating style: read words into posts that aren't there if they suit your purpose. Wolfsburg has become "Real Madrid." Where did I say that. "It's a little hard to to take you seriously when (BASICALLY) you claim Hannover's best starter can't hold a candle to Wolfsburg's worst midfielder/forward. . ." Basically? I either did or I didn't (and I didn't). "Your claim implies 'class'." No it didn't--you did. What I said initially was this--Mathis would have a harder time finding regular playing time at Wolfsburg than at other BL clubs. Period. What I said later was that D'Allesandro was better than Mathis in the offensive midfield role. You can disagree if you like, but I doubt many neutral observers would side with you. Some specific observations: "You basically claim Hannover's best starter can't hold a candle to Wolfsburg [sic] worst midfielder/forward." I did not say that. I said that I would prefer Klimowicz and Baiano to Mathis at striker, and D'Allesandro at offensive MF. I also said that Mathis was not really a winger type, so I would prefer Menseguez and Petrov to him at that position, who play better wide. I assume you don't make the argument that Mathis can play defender or defensive midfield. Others to follow (I keep on getting bumped off).
"I have a difficult time believing Mathis is worse than 6 or 7 guys on Wolfsburg." I didn't say that. What I did say was that Mathis was either an offensive MF or a striker. Four players fill those roles for Wolfsburg. I think Mathis is behind Klimowicz and Baiano at striker, and behind D'Allesandro, Petrov and maybe Menseguez at the offensive MF position. I also prefer Karhan and Thiam to him as well. But it's hard to compare a guy like Mathis to a guy like Klimowicz--totally different players, even though they might play the same position. And it's hard to compare Mathis to, say, Thiam, because they don't even play the same position. "For all your bluster, Wolfsburg is only 4 points higher in the table." The bluster is not coming from this direction--and I blame it on the coach "I doubt D'Allesandro will win any statistical matchup with Mathis year (goals + assists)." First of all, D and M are different players, D being a playmaker and Mathis being, well, I guess a "finisher." Plus, D plays deeper than does Mathis. So to compare goal output is not particularly fair. In any event, D'Allesandro has 3 goals and 8 assists; Mathis 4 and 1. During the second half of the season only, D'Allesandro has 1/1 and a player rating of 2,75; Mathis 4/1 and a player rating of 3,0 in one more game played. I would be willing to bet that D and M have very similar offensive stats for the second half of the season, Mathis maybe a few more goals, D'Allesandro many more assists. You are ready to saint Mathis over five games--let's see how it works out before jumping to any rash conclusions (see Wynalda, Moore, etc.) "If Wolfsburg would acquire a Mathis, they would re-tool their system." This was never about system, contrary to your post. But playing that game, keep in mind that Wolfsburg went out of its way and paid a ton of money for D and to some extent re-tooled its "system" around him. They could have had M for nothing and didn't even make a play for him. Look, I like M, but at this level, he's not the type of player yo "re-tool" your system around. There aren't many players, actually, who you would "re-tool" your system around.
Yes, I like a player who score 20 goals. I like a winning teams even better. There is no doubt in my mind that Ailton is a very talented player, but he is not "World Class". Which to me means on the list for world starting XI. Klose is also a good player, and can score as many goals on a good team. Klose also has a better work ethic and understands team unity. Klose is not world class either. I believe Bremen made a sound choice, and should do well in CL next year. Good luck to them!