Although it was lost in the hacker attack, a while back I posted a "rumor" that Sven Goran Erickson was being talked to about the coaching job at Barca...now today in Soccernet's "what is on the cover of the British papers today"...I see this.. SUNDAY EXPRESS: Arsene Wenger is being targeted by Barcelona to replace under-fire manager Louis van Gaal. Now, I have no idea as to the status of this paper, but just find these rumors interesting. Who else is out there that you would like to see Van Gaal? Koeman? Erickson? Wenger? Cruyff
My preferences: 1. Koeman 2. Wenger 3. Cruyff 4. Eriksson I have nostalgic reasons for Koeman, but he's proved himself effective at Ajax and Vitesse. He's a fan favorite as Cruyff was a fan favorite because Koeman not only played well, but he made efforts to understand the meaning of the club to the people, the city and the entire region of Catalunya. My preference for Wenger is straight-forward. He's a great coach. But I hardly see any chance of Arsenal letting him go. He's virtually God at Highbury. Not even George Graham in his heyday could match what Wenger has achieved... 2 league and cup doubles during the Manchester United legacy years... it's hard to do something like that.
Agreed Almogavar92, Arsene would be fantastic but it isn't going to happen. I don't know if Eriksson has the right temperment. I think he's a great club coach (look at his time at Lazio) but if he's thinking of leaving England because they pry too much into his personal life then God help him in Catalunya. Cruyff would be good, because if Cruyff was installed we would know Gaspart would be gone! I would add Bianchi to any list of candidates. Finally, I have to say, there are a LOT of players who are also culpable for this mess. Aside from maybe four or five guys (Puyol, Enrique, Saviola and Riquleme) I don't think anyone should be untouchable and someone needs to start getting in their faces. DeBoer should be strung from Sagrada Familia in his underwear for his part in today's loss. Back in September I thought we were over this phase and headed in the right direction. Its painful to think we have to go through all this junk again.
Great Quote ! I havent been able to see the goals, but I have to think that over the break some heads are going to roll. How much leeway can Barca's CL sucess (which has come against lesser competition or depleted line-ups) carry Louis Van Hell when his team is stinking up the Liga like a huge chunk of 10 year old Roquefort.
Seems interesting to see each of everyone's "wish list" for a successor to van Gaal. It somewhat *reflects* the mentality of the Barca fans, who is problaby used to seeing their teams just *buy* a player or a coach when things don't go right. Don't get me wrong - I'm not cutting up on Barca nor its fans; just saying that in this club, among its fans and the general media alike, there is a very different approach when compared to Ajax. Over here we worry about who's going to leave...;-/ Of course, we're not in the same financial position to just buy ourselves out of troubles. But then again we do have a diff. philosophy towards football management. I sincerely hope Koeman is not leaving Ajax; and hope your "wishes" are just that, and not some sort of rumour circulation surrounding the Catalan media. Certainly no such news or rumour of such in A'dam. I, for one, hope that Barca can miraculously surge their way back to respectable heights in LaLiga. To think that such a club would not qualify for Europe next year would be.....well, unthinkable. Although I'm an Ajax fan, I say......get van Gaal out, before it's too late !! vanGaal must be riding on extremely thin sheet of ice, and only based on its 100% CL record that he is still in charge. But for how long will this be tolerated among fans ?? Will Barca fans tolerate NOT qualifing for Europe next season but keep vanGaal just to ride the wave of its currect CL campaign, with the probablilty that they may not win the CL after all ?
Most people on this board did not want LvG i nthe first place. he made some very questionable moves in the off season These rumors are just because of Barcelona fans general Love of Koeman, he was a consumate professional and together with Cruyff, represented the best of FCB..although, in a couple of years time, you can bet the cules will be asking for him if he continues to have success with Ajax..oh and there is another major reason..EL GOL DE WEMBLEY!!! I hope for a turnaround in the liga, and that this dark stretch of football can end. I feel like there are many people to blame, including the players, but you can't really sack the whole team can you and this team should be performing much much better..with the quality of players we have this is inexcusable.
Yeah...now I remember - he scored the only goal and the winner in the Cup final ! I don't get to watch too much of Barca; when things go badly wrong it is always more than just the coach, of course, but also the players. And it doesn't make things easier that there just happens to be quite a few Dutch players already on the team. And most of them were already past their prime, if not physically, surely mentally. If it can be said, well, Barca has the *wrong* mix of Dutch players ! Just to get an idea, I would not want any of them back at Ajax even if it were a free transfer....! (well, maybe just Kluivert...). BTW, Barca is playing a friendly in Philadelphia next year...you probably already knew that.
Eer....we can give you Nikos Machlas...for free ! Someone will take Chivu....might as well be Barca rather than.....(urgh) Real...
You know what? I agree with you. We are a club that thinks too quickly of how to buy our way out of trouble. At the same time, Barcelona fans have tasted the fallowness of not having won a single major trophy since the last time Louis Van Gaal was in charge. That's three seasons. With the reputation that Barcelona have and the financial backing of the club, that leaves the team in a no-win situation. If you don't win a trophy, people are going to start the "how the f--, does a club with so much money not win a single trophy?" And if we take immediate measures to rectify that problem, we get the equally damning, "those f--kers just try to buy their way out of trouble." As with the position of a club like Ajax, it's a win-win situation. We all know that a club like Ajax can never compete in terms of finance with the hercules of the football world; Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man Utd. etc. So when things are a bit tepid over at Amsterdam, no one says anything to the extent of "what the f--k is wrong with them?" or "why don't they just buy new players." And when things go right, everyone sits and marvels saying "their finances are in the dumps but look at this team that plays the best football." The only things going against Ajax is their tradition and history. But that seems to plague only Ajax supporters who look back to the glory days of Cruyff, Neeskens, Kroll, Haan and coach Michels or even to Van Basten and Gullit. Otherwise, no one else notices when Ajax slump but everyone seems to ring out the "Cruyff years are back baby!" line when Ajax start picking it up. Barcelona do not, and never will have that luxury. Its supporters and members demand success b/c the club, as it's motto says, "is more than just a club." Having said that, I am fully in admiration of what Koeman is doing over there in Amsterdam. Having said that, and much to your chagrin, it gives me some happiness to know that Guus Hiddink is having success at PSV Eindhoven. I actually don't favor PSV. I just remember what Hiddink did in my country six months ago. I hope you understand that it's not slighting Ajax in any way.
Don't know if you already knew....strong rumours has it that Chivu will be sold to Real at the end of this season. His replacement at Ajax will most likely be......Frank deBoer !!! I don't know how to react to this - Chivu is simply awesome. Frank deBoer was never as structured/stylish as Chivu, even during Frank's prime. While deBoer might add stability to our young team, there may be others who are a better fit for Ajax than him. deBoer may still be a steady defender - by Dutch standards. That's not saying much; it's like looking for good an Italian winger ! (lol)
Well, not quite. Although I understand the general point of what you're saying, things aren't always rosy at Ajax even if we win. The vicious cycle that we have in football today means that a successful young Ajax team WILL get dismantled shortly. And it always HURTS to see good players leave.... There's not many fans I know (no one I know, at least) that dream of the glory days being back. Many of us fans boast of past success, nice to talk about it, but also realistic to know that times have changed and the bygone years are...bygone. Look at how many Dutch players actually starts for Ajax nowadays ? Actual Dutch talent is getting smaller and smaller. BTW, Gullit never played for Ajax.
Yeah I had read that he wants to end his career in Amsterdam...and had also heard that Chivu is most likely ot end up in Madrid...man could we use another defender besides Puyol. here is hoping that Barca and Ajax meet in the next round of the CL!
My bad. They played for Holland and Milan together that it just automatically made me assume that the two played together at Ajax. It's a bad habit when I make playing for Oranje and Ajax somewhat synonymous... You're right about one thing I seemed to have side-stepped. The impact of the Bosman ruling on Dutch clubs, particularly Ajax. Even though Ajax aren't producing players out in the quantity they used to, be thankful that you can look at your youth system and see that a player of Rafael Van der Vaart still comes out of the conveyer belt. You've had these types of players on a consistent basis ... Cruyff, Van Basten, Bergkamp and now Van der Vaart. Be sure that there will be another player just like him in five years. Maybe sooner. At Barcelona, it doesn't seem to happen at the rate it does at Ajax... even though the cantera system has produced players like Rexach, Guardiola, Sergi, Xavi and Puyol, we've had our flashes in the pan such as Ivan de la Pen(y)a. And here's NOT to having Barcelona meet Ajax in the next round. Somehow, I think that Ronnie Koeman will outwit his former boss Van Gaal (Koeman was his assistant when VG first coached Barcelona several years back)
The Bosman ruling tragically affects smaller budget clubs but you know what ? In my opinion it's not so much the Bosman ruling that hurts us but it's the new Netherlands/EU law that doesn't allow Ajax to buy non-EU players before the age of 18. What was once a "reputed" Ajax specialty; i.e. spotting young talent, now we can't take advantage of it. Out goes the door of buying young, fresh talent from all over the world, groom them in deToekomst (our youth program), and then sell them for big profits...just as their reputation preceedes them..! But this is a Barca forum so I'd better stop about Ajax, or this will bore the other fans...;-)
I think the match-up would be fantastic...the connections between the 2 clubs are numerous, and the match would have added tension because of that. Lets just hope that the Barca players start playing a little better so that they can prevent Van Maal from screwing things up.
Some skeptics and cynics would argue that there is no distinction when talking about Barca or Ajax. I remember when Barcelona won the 1998-99 Spanish League title with the help of the De Boer brothers (Ronald and Frank), Patrick Kluivert, Michael Reizeger, and Winston Bogarde, someone wrote,... "a funny thing happened in Europe last night. Ajax became the champions of Spain."
hey sonicdream are you azulgrana from Milwakee (sp?) by any chance? Add my to the voices asking for LvG's head in a plate and Bianchi or Koeman to replace him And although I know about his past and allegiance I'd take Capello within a second.
No, I'm not azulgana nor from Milwaukee. I now live in the Phila area. Just because I'm an Ajax supporter it doesn't mean I cheer for every ex-Ajax player or ex-Ajax coach. LvG time is WAAAAYYYY past him and he should leave; I cannot think he can turn the team around.... Look at what he *wasn't* able to do for Holland - he couldn't motivate the team to play together after the incredible dissapointment of Euro2000. Give LvG a bunch of young, eager players and he'll probably get the job done. But give him a big club - with plenty of superstars - like Oranje or Barca, and you know the results.....so far.......it stinks....! No, you can't have Koeman...yet ! He will definitely stay with Ajax till the end of the 2003-2004 season. That is the general understanding in A'dam. Of course, things can and do change, with a little bit of persuasion ... called money.
Ronald Koeman will finish his contract. The man has 25 years of coaching ahead of him. No hurry. You think he's in dire need of money? I don't see any reason for him not to end his contract. Ofcourse, Ronald Koeman is doing very well. But just like v Gaal from 1992 to 1995... if you get the right players your job will be easier. Koeman's relaxed nature is what makes him a great trainer, easily motivating the squad. Chivu will be going. Too bad because it seems that he wouldn't mind another year in Amsterdam. But just like the board made Gronkjaer leave... they will make sure Chivu leaves.
Yeah, The fact that it has been the board that announces time and again Chivu will leave *really* annoys me. If they really wanted to keep him I believe he can be persuaded. But they *are* worried about that Eur 25.4m loss, even though they claim to look at the long term and not to worry about the loss. Even Didulica said that : he wished to stay, but he may not be here because it may not be up to him. Kinda sums it all up... Crap !
Which law is this? Can you give us more info on it? If I understand you correctly, it would mean a story like John O'Brien wouldn't be able to happen either (unless he carried an EU passport through a relative or something)...obviously that doesn't just effect Ajax, it effects anybody who goes through the Ajax school, yes?
Yup... it should get fun at the end of the year when the ************ing board (mr v praag and friends) anounce to stay another year, and another, and another. They think they ************ing own the club. But it's time for them to go. Right after this season.