Just realize that Betis striker Recardo Olivera joined from Valencia in 2004. Which made me really curious, given that he had a great season last year - was there any particular reason that Los Ches sold him after one season? Was he not happy? Did he really fail to perform? Too many non-EU players? Really curious...
Someone can probably answer this better than me, but I think it was mostly due to depth chart and lack of performance. He was lower in the pecking order than a couple other guys and it was time for him to move on to a club where he could see the field. He's a nice player. Too bad about his injury, I thought he had an outside (ok, very outside) shot at the Brazil squad next summer.
He did not get that much playing time and never fit into the team, with Betis he was able to get all the playing time he needed and with Edu and Joaquin providing him the passes he could not score enough goals. This season prior to the start, he and Don Manuel had a big rift regarding the money that was owed to him under the table, once that issue was resolved he started cranking out goals until his injury in the Chelsea match. He was called up for the Brasil team earlier this year and more than likely would have made the final cut for WC team. Viva Er Beti Manque Lopera! Er Pichi
He really sucked for us, but I had a feeling him signing for Betis would come back to bite us in the ass, because I saw him when he was on Santos, and he looked like he had promise. The signings that off-season really upset Benitez, and that was one of the biggest reasons that he left. I believe he said something along the lines of "I asked for a table, they bought me a lamp".
It's funny how quickly the years blend together, but he did get some playing time but Mista was on fire so Mista was going to be the man. Am I mixing up the years here? But it's interesting that Mista has an amazing year and is basically replaced by DiVaio, who has a great year and is replaced by Villa. I haven't been up to date on the transfer rumors with Valencia or injuries. What's the word on DiVaio and Mista? Will they be gone come January? Take care.
Di Vaio is going to Monaco as of this morning. Mista's strickly a reserve striker now. And David Villa, 'el guaje', is the man! I absolutely love this guy ... he's the striker we've wanted and needed for a long time.
What happened with Mista? Why doesn't he play that often? He went from very good to very average pretty quickly.
I never thought he was that good. Villa is much, much better IMO. Mista's more a poacher. Right place at the right time.
Very valuable trait for a striker to have, though. That's why I feel he should get more playiing time. Di Vaio left. And he's not coming back.
And I don't think anyone is saying that Villa should sit and Mista should play. Villa is obviously the #1 striker. But I disagree that Mista went from very good to very bad. He went from playing to sitting for no reason other than Reneri wanted to shape the team in his image--which is funny because he couldn't settle on a squad (perhaps his image is akin to an abstract painting). I would hate to see Mista go because I think he's a quality striker but Valencia seem to be going good with the squad they have been fielding and Mista deserves to play. Of course an injury to Villa makes Mista a very good insurance policy. Take care.