http://www.goal.com/NewsDetail.aspx?idNews=15944&progr=1 looks like he's getting closer. but still anything could happen. i just hope this doesn't mean saviola has to leave. i think we could use all three players (larsson, saviola, and etoo). saviola could also drop back into midfield and act as cover not just for the striker but for dinho and giuly. i think his versatility might just be saviola's saving grace. with the eto'o signing, the squad looks pretty much complete now. now the weakest spot would probably be DM, but with edmilson, marquez, motta, and gerrard competing for that position, i don't think they have to worry until next year. so next year, if all the recent signings do well, they willl only need to make to signings, a DM, and a striker (since larsson may only be good for one year)
Inter will do better than last year. Two Reasons: Davids and Adriano. Adriano will take over as the Best Striker in Italian Football.
I would hardly say that Barcelona is a bigger draw for players than Inter if your criticism is put towards Barca. Quite hypocritical considering that Inter has more big Euro silverware. I can bust out the numbers if you want. Barca have more domestic championships by like 3 or 4. But you have to consider that the Spanish league is more top heavy in therms of quality. Only Valencia, Barca and Real Madrid have a legitimate title shot this year. Likewise in Italy you have Roma, Inter, Milan, Juve, and Parma with a legitimate shot. Domestic cup wise Barca have more but it is not taken very seriously in Italy. Therefore you have more Cup Winners cups b/c you have entered more. In the CL they both have 4 final appearances w/ Inter winning 2 to Barca's 1. In the Uefa Cup Inter have 3 or 4 to Barca's zero. Real Madrid allegiance aside Barca and Inter are very similar clubs in size and potential. They both are considered a top club in their country, in Europe and attract some of the best foreigners in the world.
Something tells me that Perez can be organizing the last try to keep Eto'o away from us ... http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbl_eur_c1_eng_pr_owen&prov=afp&type=lgns Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez refused to be drawn on the growing speculation that Reds favourite Michael Owen is on his way out of Anfield following their 2-0 win against AK Graz. Benitez kept Owen on the substitutes bench throughout the match, the first leg of the third qualifying round which gives entry to the lucrative group phase of the Champions League. Owen's absence from the field meant that in the event of being transferred to another club playing in the competition, such as Real Madrid - who are being touted to sign him - he would still be eligible to play. Can this SOB do all this to avoid us getting Eto'o??? If Owen gets to Real ... good-bye season for Raul ... LOL .
Well, when is this deal going down? On a scale of 1-10 (1 being bad, 10 being GOD), how would you rate Eto'o???? The whole thing with Davids is that he probably wanted TONS of money for his final big contract and Massimo Moratti is RIDICULOUSLY, rich and a mad scientist lookin mofo....lol.
I actually disagree with this. While Inter and Barca are both large clubs, however they couldn't be more different. Inter are essentially the second fiddle club in their own city, similar to Atletico Madrid. Barca serves as the collective voice for a region of spain. Within Milan, Inters beginnings and namesake "Internazionale" refering to its international appeal make it the local alternative to AC Milan. Historically, Inter peaked in europe in the early 60's and have really done little since, despite their ability to sign many high profile foreigners. Barca also rely on foreigners; however, their base of catalonian players should certainly be notable.
I would rate Eto'o an 8. He would be an upgrade over Saviola, Kluivert and anyone else we tried to play as a striker last year.
would anyone be able to find some video hisghlights somewhere of eto'o in action? that might help convince some of us who are a little bit sceptical about him. i don't doubt that he's a good player and is perfectly capable of scoring 15+ goals next season, but i'm wondering if he's going to be a long term fixture in the team or if he's just plugging a few gaps until barca can sign a real 30goal superstar. i know larsson has hit that mark, but even the most optimistic larsson fan can't honestly expect him to get anywhere near that mark. so will eto'o be in the same category as henry, adriano, shevchencko, van nistelrooy, etc.?
Playing for Barça ... for sure. Remember he scored that many goals playing for Mallorca ... without real talent to play with him or feed him. He is young ... and was African Footballer of the year for a reason. As to a video ... I believe someone posted a link a while back ... not sure. Hopefully someone knows where. (Note: Here is a great thread with a Ronaldinho/Zidane video link https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128851 ) .
Personally, I've been getting REALLY excited about Larsson lately. So much so that I'm kind of wishing Barca would wait til next year to go after their big #9. We might be in a better situation to bring in a big player. I'm becoming more and more convinced that Larsson still has it every day. I wouldn't rule out a huge season for him this year, espescially since he seems to have Rijkaard's faith. If he comes out starting from the beginning of the season, a 20+ goal season wouldn't surpise me at all.
Completely agree with you. Larsson has at least 2 years of top scoring. With the amount of talent surrounding him it will be easier to match his prior years campaigns at Celtic. He is a killer upfront. Still ... I see Larsson as the 9 and Eto'o next to him ... feeded by Ronnie, Deco and Giuly ... What is the most gratifing is to know Eto'o is only 23 ... his peak is yet to come. Wouldn't this been nice to be over? .
Laporta: crunch time for Eto'o deal http://www.fcbarcelona.com/eng/noticias/noticias/n04080908.shtml I am not so sure about this deal is good or bad. 21 million € isnt small money. I wonder if Real would sell us Morientes for 21 million €?! We will see what will happen, but one thing is for sure. If Etoo comes, Saviola goes!
It is not for sure. I'd say it would be 50-50 for Saviola if Etoo comes. All of us hope he stays. I think all of Camp Nou would be quite angry if their beloved Rabbit was sent away. If Rijkaard is smart, he'll DEMAND (for once at least, in this transfer season) that he be given all the potential available. He should be smart enough to know it's a long season and going for the treble (we should start making up for last season) will require every help he can get.
Saviola won't be going anywhere. We'll only have 3 true strikers on the club. Not including any B-teamers moving up. I'm more upset that Butrugeno has somehow claimed that they have till this FRIDAY! When I thought the original time was Seven Days. That gives them plenty of time to fail in going for Owen, and then, somehow steal a player WHO DOES NOT WISH TO PLAY FOR THEM!!
Etoo will not dress in white. By Saturday, he'll be presented as Blaugrana player. They can't even think about shiping him to Liverpool, since the 5 mil/year he'll be making at Camp Nou is a sum liverpool can't even dream to match. Plus, he'll go where he wants. That's what recent football history taught us.
I am not sure what Owen is on now, but when news of a new contract came out in the last week or so they were saying it was $150,000 USD a week. That would have broken the Liverpool wage structure, but they would have to to keep him.