I know we heard these rumors a while back but they have popped back up. http://www.football365.com/All_News/Premiership_News/story_69333.shtml
Sounds like Medina is trying to get elected President and will not succeed. It would not be a surprise that Ajax players get a close look at Barca due to the many transfers over the years.
What a fantasy those Barca guys are having - says they have agreements with John O'Brien and Jaap Stam. The biggest fantasy is that they will be making an offer for Ruud Van Nistelrooy. roflmao
What kind of a system is that where the "members" (which I assume are simply fans) elect the team president?
Oh. That makes more sense. Silly me. Still would love to see JOB at Barca. Can we get some influence peddling going to get the guy elected who claims to have JOB signed?
No, it are the members of the club. These are fans who have the membership. Even the pope is one of them, but I assume he won`t be there to give his vote.
Mmmh, now I would call it democracy. Its the same here in Germany. The clubs in Europe belong to the people!
Members means members as in club members. FC Barcelona is, as most european clubs, not a privately owned corporation. FC Barcelona has more than 100k members, all eligible to vote and to be elected. If I'm not mistaken the last presidential election in Real Madrid was decided on one candidates promise to bring Figo to the team, so to draw the picture for you americans - try imagine any political election back home.
This is akin to Perez promising, if he was elected as Real's president two years ago, to bring Figo from Barca to Madrid if he was elected. This guy, from what I've read, is an outsider in the race that's making promises if he's elected. However, Barca doesn't have seemingly the unending checkbook that Madrid does.
That why I laugh so hard at the "RVN to Barca" line. JOB, sure. Stam, could be - he's not happy with Lazio. BUt having the cash for those two and RVN? Come on... Man Utd may want Patrick Kluivert but there's no way they'll switch RVN for PK.
Why would an American fan want JOB at Barca next year? Maybe the year after that, but next year, Ajax has a real shot at making a great run in the CL, maybe the last for a while for any club not in one of the big 4 leagues. And Barca won't be in any European competition next year, right?
I think playing in La Liga would have its compensations. Barca could still qualify for the UEFA Cup too I believe.
For me, other than looking good on the ol' Yanks Abroad resume, I don't see any advantage. Since we don't get any Barcelona games here in the States unless its UEFA whenever ESPN teases us, I'd not be able to see JOB play. At least with Ajax, FSW shows a game every few months or so.
Who's Next On The Wishlist? First it was Beckham, a few days later it's Van Nistlerooy, now JOB. JOB would seem to be more credible than the other two, but I would not see him going to Barca until Ronald Koeman takes over in the 2004/05 season.
The previous president brought home the European trophy after 40 years. He was very popular among the voters. No one expected him to lose. Perez stole it by promising Figo. Now, back to barcelona, Josep Martinez-Rovira promised RVN.... Joan Laporta promised David Beckham.... and then this guy Jorge Medina promised Stam and O'Brien. If I am a voter, I will vote for Martinez-Rovira or laporta. Who cares about Stam or O'Brien??
As it stands now, yes. Check back in two months when they've sold Chivu, Ibrahimovic, and Van Der Meyde to Real, Juve and Inter, respectively.
I think you have this backwards - FSW was showing La Liga and dropped Eredivisie. Who knows what they will do next season.
Here is the article from yesterday's Catalan sports daily El Mundo Deportivo: Medina los ficha a pares
Ajax's shot at a great run in the CL has much to do with whether they can hang onto key players over the summer. Ibrahimovic, Van Der Meyde and Chivu have been on the wish lists of many big Italian teams for quite some time now. I'll be shocked if all three are around for the start of next season.
? Fox Sports World showed a Spanish league game each week. But it seems to have cut out the Dutch league. I loooove the Dutch league.
Not exactly. The only Ajax player I can remember Cruyff bringing in during his reign was Richard Witchge. It was Van Gaal who really went crazy with the Ajax transfers. But O'Brien began getting looked at during last summer's World Cup. And now that Koeman is being speculated on as the next Barça manager it keeps Ajax players in focus.
"I have held a meeting with Didilica and we have spoken to Ajax left-back (John) O'Brien, with Lazio defender (Jaap) Stam and (Harry) Kewell from Leeds and we already have agreements with the first two." What did Medina mean when he said he had an agreement with the first two?