I have been watching the soccer transfer market closely ever since Euro 2008 is over and it gets more and more interesting everyday. The transfer market is also part of the reason why I love soccer so much as a sport. Of course the game itself is fun (most of the time) but watching how the transfer market goes also reminds me a lot of the reality and business world we live in. The sport itself is becoming a huge business and the game is no longer the same anymore.
So far, many many deals have happened but only a couple of deals I think are significantly important and get me thinking.
1. Ronaldinho (Barcelona --> AC Milan) - Ronaldinho was the best player in the world 3 years back, no doubt about it. But people have been having doubts on his motivation to play as a player, after winning almost everything a soccer player can possibly win. I honestly don't expect him to be able to get back to the same level he was a few years ago when he scored that super crazy goal against Chelsea that had the world stunned. I also don't expect him to be as amazing as his display on the Bernabeu playing against Real Madrid when the opposing fans gave him a standing ovation (for those of you who are not familiar, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the most fierced rival you can ever imagine. I believe in soccer history, only 2 other Barcelona players had ever received standing ovation from the Real Madrid fans) To me, what more important is to see his ambition, his passion and his drive to get back to the same level he was, and to even get better. I don't think moving to AC Milan is a good move for him and I honestly doubt that it is the place where he can reignite his career. But we shall see if that happens.
He makes me think of those people who seems to have lost their motivation in church. They come to service but doesn't really have true ambition and passion. Can they find the little sparkle that will reignite their passion for God?
2. Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal --> AC Milan) - He had a breakthrough season last year at Arsenal (my favorite team) and earned a name for himself and callup to the national team. From a soccer perspective, it's sad that we lost him to AC Milan on a free transfer but what stands out to me is the mentality of soccer player nowadays and how much money can people demand. He was earning at about £20000 per week and the only reason why he's jumping ship is because he will be earning £85000 per week at AC Milan. I can't blame him for making that decisions but it's sad to see how the world has changed. Forget about loyalty, it's all about money. I remember Ahtimsir wrote an article on the topic of job changing mentality and it's frustrating to see this happening in the "beautiful game".
I love Arsenal as a team not just because of their wonderful style of play but also manager Arsene Wenger as a person and as a coach. He has a degree in Economics and he's such a wonderful tactician. That's why he's nicknamed "the Professor". He's a man with character, courage, integrity, stubborness and vision. He's the top manager in buying and selling players (usually buying good young players that has potential on a low price and sell them as superstar that past their best in good price). He's also one of the top manager that nurtured so many great names: Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljundberg, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Lauren, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Nicholas Anelka, Giovanni Van Bronkhorst, Patrick Viera, etc... these are all top class players that turned into diamond under the nurture of Arsene Wenger during their spell with Arsenal.
Tomorrow I'll write about the possible/pending transfers and my opinions on them.
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