football test

One more week passed, and Barcelona still heading the march of the league. This is one of the games you can include in any category, beside A or Z. Not a game to remember for the brilliant performance we enjoyed (A), nor a game that broke our hearts, where we were outplayed and defeated (Z). Just another game that you don’t appreciate or remember. Not even after winning a title that is based on gathering points. In this game we earned three of them.

Nothing special about it, beside using Puyol on the right back to cover Alves absence and using Pedro instead of Henry.

I am still waiting to see how the combination of Puyol-Maxwell as fullbacks can work and how far it can compete with that’s of Alves-Abidal. Probably we need to wait a bit more, but I think It would have been better trying it in this game. I will come back to that later.

As for Pedro, I think the guy disserved to start. He’s been performing on the highest level this season whenever he was called for duty. This game will not be an exception, the rotation between Henry and Pedro is a must.

Some may argue that Yaya should have started instead of Busquets. That’s a close call. Busquets came back from an injury. Yaya came back from international duty. Pep had to see their performance during the training sessions to decide who was fit for this game. I guess we will need to wait at least one more week to see if Yaya comeback from Africa will deliver a comeback to expected form. Which has to be better than what he showed so far this season. Wish, pray, or toss a blessing spell.

Sporting Gijon were up to the reputation. Organized team that plays smart football. Its not strange that this is one of the most “lovable” small clubs in the liga.

As for Barcelona, It was really one of those games. We’ve seen this scenario many times last season. Getting locked in the cycle of fruitless possession. That’s one of the side effects of having a Xavi-Iniesta playmaking duo, another demonstration. But just before we get into all that, lets serve all the teams we will play against a favor. It’s getting boring that they are not getting it:

That’s a map of a football field. As you see, there is a restricted Area on the left flank. I still wonder why teams even bother attacking Barcelona there. That’s suicidal. That Abidal guy is on his peak at the moment. Will they ever get it?!

Still a remark must be mentioned about his over-dribbling risks. He is getting used to it these days, especially inside the box. So far it is working, we praise him. If once he fails and we concede a goal, we will bash him like never before. That’s the rule in this gambling show, and he knows it. Just saying…

On the opposite flank we had Puyol. And he showed how far we are dependent on Alves to perfect our offense mechanism. Puyol was doing well defensively. Offense wise he created an outlet on the flank. That’s the first loss. Alves on the right is a contributor in the playmaking process and the offense dynamics. He attacks with and without the ball. His diversity destabilizes any defense. He is a threat to be concerned of, while Puyol acts as a supportive alternative rather than a creative initiative.

Puyol reached the box many times. That’s for his credit. But if you watch Sporting Gijon reaction, you will see them keep being tight in the center marking the forwards. They were that certain Puyol is not going to shoot on the goal, but will search for a pass. He had two good opportunities to take his shots, but he crossed to the crowded area. Guaranteed, if it was Alves in his shoes, Sporting players will jump on his legs preventing him from taking the shot which he may still take and score. At least the Gijon defenders response, running toward Alves may free another Barcelona player to get the pass.

For a player who is playing out of position Puyol is the best cover when the Brazilian is not available. But he just can’t cover the impact of Alves offense wise. We’ve seen it notably in this game.

In the center it’s always unsecure to play two almost identical defenders like Marquez and Pique. But I think they did well. No brilliance, but satisfying. Both were able to move the ball forward by initiating offense. Had some naps from time to time, but in general nothing special to say. They did a decent job.

The midfield was as good as always when it come to dominating possession. Playmaking ball flow was extremely good. The midfield trio performed decent one-touch sequences and collaborated to win back the ball through putting pressure on the opponent. Xavi was...Xavi? Nothing more to say as a praise I guess. I think there was a need for Busquets to move forward more often as he can deliver direct passes in the space to break the possession fruitless cycle from time to time. Besides, it’s better to get free kicks on the edge of the opponent box than in our half. Iniesta is getting better and better and he is almost back to his perfect form. It’s not the first time I say it, but having both Iniesta and Xavi in the midfield require some customization to avoid fruitless possession, especially now with Messi playing more and more in the center. Iniesta has to open more to the left leaving Xavi in the center orchestrating the show, with Alves on his right and Messi roaming in front. That will give the Left forward (usually Henry) the chance to cut inside the box without compromising the width. Now with Ibra being added to the list of roaming forwards who move back to the midfield as well, this suggested structure is no more an option, but a must.

It didn’t happen, and that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t score more goals. It didn’t happen because we are still not up to that offense approach. It didn’t happen because we missed Alves. And It didn’t happen because we had Pedro on the left flank, who for his all good, not a striker. This brings us to the offense line.

Pep started Pedro instead of Henry. There are many guesses why. First, Henry is not exactly the best performer this season. Secondly, Pedro is almost the best performer between forwards this season if we take minutes Vs output in consideration. Thirdly, it can be a part of a rotation process that will take place from now on, and I like it. Finally, to cover Alves absence. Alves is the player who stretch the field from the right side. Henry roams on the left, but his impact is usually more notable the more he approaches the box. Without Alves, our game may end up being too centered with Henry playing beside Ibra and Messi. Pedro got the node instead.

Pedro started the game as you can expect. The anxiety of being a starter. He joined the party of losing possession that lead to some counters. Pique, Busquets, Abidal, and Xavi joined that party as well. Then we regained our calmness and Pedro started to operate better. A very balanced performance from the young player helping in defense, build up and offense. He showed enough character, yet, he can do much better.

For once, I am not going to talk about Messi and Ibra. It will be a repetitive text. Ibra was slightly better than the previous games, but the guy needs a goal. I can see Keita starting the following game, which means Ibra getting back to his scoring days (you think there is no relation there, right?).

Messi had his ups and downs. Sometimes he gets himself in troubles, trying to dribble the whole city. But without that mentality, Messi will not be as messy. Which is not cool at all.

The most important concern in this game was the set pieces. We either need to force Xavi, Marquez, Alves, Ibra, Messi, (Valdes if possible)… to take 2756943 free kick attempt in each and every training session till they perfect their quality, or :

There was a slim chance this week to extend the distance between Barcelona and Real Madrid to eight points. But with Deportivo producing a “Beat me please” performance, we have to wait for one more week. The most important thing is that Barcelona keep on doing their job, the same old continuous improvement approach.

Read More:

Who score goals for Barcelona?
From Ronaldinho to Ibra, Txiki in numbers
The Curse of Brilliance
Post-Laporta: Ibra, Marquez, or Chegrnskiy?

The word “judo” shares the same root ideogram as “jujutsu”: The use of jū in each of these words is an explicit reference to the martial arts principle of the “soft method”. The soft method is characterized by the indirect application of force to defeat an opponent. More specifically, it is the principle of using one’s opponent’s strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances. For example, if the attacker was to push against his opponent he would find his opponent stepping to the side and allowing his momentum (often with the aid of a foot to trip him up) to throw him forwards (the inverse being true for pulling).” Wikidia

It’s the way underdogs approach their football matches. They scout you, they analyze your strength and weaknesses and they use that against you. Not only they expose your weaknesses, but even abuse your strength. There is a reason why the favorite at any knock out competition usually fails to win it. There is a reason why no team succeeded to win the champions’ league twice in a row.

It’s all a part of the football development cycle. The dominant teams are always in a quest to create new dimensions to enrich the game (basically offense wise), the recessive teams download the new evolutions to their destructive machines analyze it and invent the right “Antibiotic customizations” to counter the new threats, forcing the dominant teams to regenerate the creative thinking seeking new ideas.

While most of the big clubs are counter attacking clubs that base their style on direct play, a playmaking club like Barcelona has its additional reason to carry the flag of continuous improvement rather than applying the secured approach where you don’t change what’s working. A major team with a direct style layout can face weaker –counter attacking- teams by applying an identical style then defeating them by absolute quality. They don’t need to dominate the game as a must to win it. Through patience and lethal efficiency they can hunt their opponents down. Keep in mind that we are not talking about the approach here, but the method. 

Obviously the underdogs are usually more defense oriented while the favorites are the ones who approach the game in an offense minded manner. Yet, that’s only an output of how deep each team moves the lines to serve its objective while the overall pros and cons of the tactical methodology are relatively the same for both teams.

The playmaking style in return is more fragile by nature. Guarding possession and dominating the match tempo is the hardest task to achieve in football. It’s not the result of individuals’ absolute quality but the exponential added value of collective quality reduced by the destructive resistance generated by the opponent.

While the direct style depends on efficiency, the play making style counts on dominance. Efficiency is an output; dominance is a method of play. So if a team successfully terminated an opponent efficiency while defending against a direct-style club they makes it harder for that club to win, but if they damage a playmaking team dominance they can turn the table upside down. That’s one of the reasons why a playmaking style is more fragile as it’s easier to defy dominance that’s based on collective dynamics than terminating efficiency that counts – relatively- on individuals’ qualities within a team-structured template.

Direct style’s quality can be modeled by Grapes cluster with each node consists of passing, positioning, and movement scheme linking two or three players together. Terminating one node does not necessarily damage the whole system as the rest of the nodes can stay in service. Play making style is like a chain that links all players together in one conformable interrelated system based on functionalities, not on positions. When it clicks it can ruin everything it cruise through, but when one of the chain’s nodes collapse, the failure may turn to be epic.

There is a reason why I have been an extreme supporter for this coach since day one. After Frank Rijkaard whom even though I like, respect, and appreciate for his achievements with this club, I have never been a fan of as a tactician, finally we got a coach who showed the awareness needed to stamp the system in steel. Claiming that everything he did was right is absurd, but he definitely did more than just getting the players dressed for the game. During the best days of Rijkaard’s era we were more an offense oriented team than a playmaking team. We had that talented freak on the left flank supported by an offense oriented fullback –Gio. We had another less influential right flank where an offense oriented Belletti /Zambrotta/Oleguer linked with Giuly, A striker to score and midfielders to serve offense with assists. Defense? Don’t ask.

Pep, since day one, showed the signs to continue from the point Rijkaard reached, transforming the quality players he inherited to execute a systematic engine of brilliance. Doing so, he had to make the changes that –for me as well – were unavoidable. After offloading great talents whom he felt may cause some “Issues”, beside Eto’o who survived, He customized the role of his left fullback –Abidal- who is characterized by defensive qualities and physical presence to help achieving game dominance in a way that serves play making style. He bought Keita whom I labeled then as the best buy of the summer comparing the price to quality (Pique with time made that opinion less accurate though), Pique was a huge addition and Alves was a vital need (I forgot to mention Hleb and Caceres, right?). We all already know the rest.

Our strengths last season were obvious through our performance level, added to the fact that the opponents needed time to start finding some vaccines against Barcelona offense. It’s not a Coincidence that our most attractive period was during the first half of the season. But one specific weakness kept unrevealed: Putting high pressure on our defenders (though some teams made attempts to expose this soft spot). There was a myth that parking the bus is the only way to stop Barcelona, now everyone knows that it’s just ONE of the ways.

While the clubs of the dark side making their plans to hunt Barcelona, Pep was not pampering Bojan. He was sitting with his staff planning for the following season. There were three main threats we needed to tackle:

- Counter attacks: We struggled a lot last season against teams that masters counter attacks. Only pure luck saved us from the damage of this threat that was bad enough to shrink our titles from six to less than three (Liga, CDR, and Super cup).

- What we used to call “Teams that park the bus” playing a passive defensive style.

- Pressure applied by the opponent to disturb the buildup process from the initial spark in our defensive third. Tight marking, mainly applied on our midfielders to dry the game fluidity.

- Counter attacks: I repetitively mentioned the Vacuum tunnel last season and demanded a Keita to support Yaya there if we want to terminate this threat (and it will be an added value for offense as well). Pep listened, and it worked. Besides, we used Iniesta more often on the left flank in the games where we were worried about the opponent counters so we dominated possession and avoided losing the ball more often which is a healthy feed for counters. Checked.

- Passive tactics (Teams parking the bus): We bought Ibra as a target man who can play in the box when needed and he is also a good play maker who can pull the defenders out of position and generating assists for his teammates inside the box. Keita is a great help in that matter as well. Henry qualities as a striker benefit more from having a striker who can open to the left flank when Henry penetrates inside the area. We also bought Maxwell in case we needed to activate the two flanks using our fullbacks. So far, Keita was the only player who fulfilled his role perfectly. Ibra succeeded to generate assists but he still need to work on his headings (he missed a lot of chances) and to create a better understanding with Henry. Henry is not in a good form yet to serve this strategy (Villarreal game was a rare exception that we can hope it continues). Maxwell is yet to contribute as well.

- Press applied on our defenders and Tight marking applied against our midfielders- Especially Xavi: Messi is playing more as a 10 this season. He started this shift last season but now he is getting more and more involved in the buildup. Ibra passing skills is also a great aid when he moves to the midfield, the same as it is when Pique moves forward. The involvement of the holding midfielder becomes crucial when the opponent run over our defenders while marking Xavi. In this situation every player is needed to contribute in an active manner in the buildup stage. Passive approach becomes useless. Pique has to get used to the libero role. He did his job perfectly well in some games, while in some other games –Villarreal as an example- he was disastrous. We are not a team that shies under pressure. We have to move the battle to the opponent half no matter what. When the opponent put pressure on the defenders to prevent them from moving the ball forward, when no outlets in midfield are available then getting panicked and holding on defensive position is catastrophic. The same as Alves- through with stubbornness keep on running forward no matter what- force the opponent fullback and wing to be more concerned about their defensive duties than attacking regardless of their attacking qualities, Pique has to run over the initial press with Abidal and Puyol covering behind him and demand the pass in the midfield. Is it a risky approach? Well isn’t our whole football approach risky? Is it less risky to stay in your area with the ball dancing between the defenders there while the opponents are trying to get it and score? We can’t be “half driven half chicken”, pick an option and go till the end. The same goes for our holding midfielder. And here, a word of fairness has to be said about Busquets, especially for receiving his weekly sticks after each and every game. Yaya suffered a drop in form. Alright, let me rephrase this one first: “Yaya didn’t fulfill the new demands installed in the system properly, and Pep felt that at the moment Busquets can do the job better”. That’s what Pep thinks at least. “Pep didn’t use Yaya because he wants to prepare Busquets for the period when Yaya leaves for the ACN” pick the one that suits you and let’s move forward. Yes, Busquets does some crimes, but here I will say it and I mean it: Finally we are so close to having our own Fernando Rodendo. Remember where you read it first!

It’s true that Busquets can keep playing the ball safe through being loyal to the Thiago Motta back passing style instead of his risky attempts passing forward. Keep receiving the ball from Pique and passing it back to puyol while four horses are running over you as crazy wolves putting enormous pressure on the defenders. Then what? A defender loses the ball and the opponent scores a goal. Here is a scenario I’ve seen often this season: Defense under pressure all the time, Pique doesnt help easing the pressure as I mentioned above, Xavi marked, as well as the third midfielder (Keita/Iniesta). Someone had to move the ball out of the defensive area at all cost. That guy was Busquets who- if you watch the games again- is usually the most available outlet for the defense though out the match. Through all the successful attempts he does to move the ball, he loses the ball every once and while resulting a dangerous situation. Some may count every time he falls in the field as a failure. But maybe, just maybe, hm…he gets kicked? At least, That’s what the referee sees and whistles. From there, the ball starts from midfield (Set piece), no pressure on defense or anything, if you know what I mean. When a team applies pressure, they do not gain the ball from the first attempt, they may or may not gain it from the second one, but they will in the third. We at Barcelona –the masters of pressing- know that well. So if you stop the game for a foul at the peak of the opponent pressing dynamic it’s not a bad thing at all. Prove? Watch the opponents’ frustration. Is it risky? Again: Driven or Chicken? And is it better that a holding midfielder-who is covered by his defenders- loses the ball while trying to break through the pressure or is it better if the Center backs lose it?

Cruyff said once: “Avoiding to play bad is easier than trying to play good.”. Interestingly, Busquets loses fewer balls than some other players on the field who even face less possession battles. Through word of mouth we can keep whipping Busquets whenever we have nothing else to do. I refer that to a marketing terminology called: ”Halo effect”, And after year and a half of blogging I know now that you can’t rush things that need time. I remember last season when Iniesta was trashed as a left wing because he doesn’t score. The Season ended with a mysterious miracle: The team scored the same average number of goals per game with Iniesta as we scored using Henry on the left flank. But still Iniesta sucks on the flank (People still seriously believe so).

The train is moving forward. We are still a bit far from the complete upgrading. With Yaya, Henry, and Iniesta on the wish list to regain their form, with Ibra, Maxwell, and Chigrnskiy adapting, with Busquets, Pedro, and the youth gang maturing after each and every game, we can raise our expectations bar high. But Patience.

Finally…FINALLY!!! A new team to play against! I like Sevilla, I like honey as well, but I don’t eat a Jar on daily basis. No more Sevilla, it’s a Real Valladolid this time.

And they host Barcelona at the worst time. It’s possibly the first week since WWI that the team had no games in the midweek, and has nothing to worry about for the following midweek. It even seems odd not to worry about games pressure, who to play and whom to save for next game, etc…etc…

Not only that, but our Missiles Bomber is back. After firing that free kick against Malawi he was labeled unsafe to keep in the tournament. Algeria and Angola made sure to exile him back to Catalonia.

Valladolid are in the red zone of the table. They are struggling so far to put a balanced performance that guarantees their survival in the first division. Though there is no easy game in football, but I am not Barcelona coach so I am allowed to consider this game as a winnable battle.

No hint about Pep approach in this game. The natural prediction is starting the best eleven available, something like this:

Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, Keita, Iniesta, Xavi, Henry, Ibra, Messi.

But then, we must take in consideration That Puyol is coming back from injury. Though not serious but is there any need to gamble?

Keita left to Africa with an injury. All predictions were insuring that he may not play any game during the group stages. I am not sure if he was rushed to contribute too early after his team struggled in the opening game. It may prove more secure to give him a break. So we end up starting:

Valdes, Alves, Pique, Marquez, Abidal, Chegrnskiy, Iniesta, Xavi, Henry, Ibra, Messi.

Pedro and Bojan insertion in Henry position will not be a surprise. But the lack of understanding between Henry, Ibra, and Messi requires more playing time so they gel. I want the trio to start and I want Henry to cut inside getting advantage of the space Ibra creates when he pulls his marker out of the box, and then pick Ibra assist inside the box and score. The same as I want Messi to run forward off the ball and get it in the space rather than getting the ball in the midfield and running over the whole defense of the opponents. Waiting…

It has to be Iniesta and Xavi show in this game. If we played Chigrnskiy or Marquez as holding midfielder then we may enjoy more Abidaling invading Valladolid flank.

Now that we are doing fantasy assumptions, it may worth trying to have Pique as a holding Midfielder in this game as he is more than capable of doing the Busquets job. He may not have the same agility, but he has the quality passes, quality runs, and don’t forget: He is a goal scorer. At least it will be good to see him switching roles with the holding midfielder every once and while.

Finally, even though I prefer introducing the youth after sealing the deal, but if Pep had a different opinion, I will not complain at all. I desperately want them to get more playing time as soon as possible. That’s a strategic need –especially for the midfielders- so they can change the way we approach the following transfer period. Hopefully.

Soon, the radical change at Barcelona will take place. If not all the fans, at least the Majority will give Laporta a standing Ovation for being the most successful president in the clubs history. He may not even need it, as the records tell the whole story. No doubt that Pep and Frank, the two coaches of Laporta era will be hailed as the geniuses of the decade. They might not need it though, as the records tell the whole story. The board of Directors members can always say:”we were there”. But the only person who may end up under the unfairness guillotine will be: Txiki Begiristain.

There are many reasons for that. First there is his unromantic experience with the Popular Sandro Rosell. There is also the idea that perfection is possible in building a squad. All the players we get must be Ronaldinhos. Then there are the fantasy expectations of the fans who want each and every big name in the game to join the team free of charge without destabilizing the club policy to count on youth. Analyze that!

In my opinion, if there is a person to get the credit for rebuilding Barcelona squad, it has to be the sport director. He is the common factor in all the changing environments. He was there with and after Rosell, he was there before and after Frank/Pep and he was there before and after all the changes that took place on the managerial level with board members quitting and new ones taking place. Between 2003 and 2010 the club achieved enough titles to fill Oprah Winfrey closets. So there is no roam to doubt the quality of the team Txiki contributed in reforming. The most illusional belief is that we overspent on amateurs. Numbers talk like no philosopher, let’s see the spendings per year and how it turned to be:

When Laporta and Rosell started their first election campaign (Txiki was not an executive back then), The big name they promised to bring was David Beckham. Rosell –who was on the driving seat in that transfer process- claimed that he is 80% certain that Beckham will play for Barcelona.It ended up that 20%>80%. Not only that, but the football model ended up playing for Madrid. There has to be a plan B, and sadly they had no other choice but to sign Ronaldinho after winning the elections and hiring Txiki as a sports director. Make no mistake, signing Ronaldinho was a board achievement more than having anything to do with Txiki. But it had to do with Perez more than anything else. If Perez would have failed to get the English guy, Barcelona wouldn’t have been the club it turned to be.

The first two years, 2003-2005 Rosell (vice-president of sports) and Txiki (The sports director) shared the responsibility of the buying decisions. There were big achievements on that level, but there were also a Ricardo Quaresma € 6.350.000 (2003-2004), and Maxi López € 6.500.000 (2004-2005).

Santiago Ezquerro for free from Athletic Bilbao €0 he was a very decent player at Bilbao. Ended up being a squad player with his contribution being limited in some rare appearances. He failed to compete with Ronaldinho for a starting role!

Mark van Bommel PSV Eindhoven € 0 . We sold him one year later for 6000.000 to Bayern. He made a decent contribution during his one year spell at Barcelona. Especially when we had injury crises in the holding midfielder position.

All in all two squad players earning us 6 Millions transfer return in 12 months. Again, we are dealing with the ecconomic factor here. The quality of the squad with its starters and depth is proved by the number of titles won.

Lilian Thuram Juventus € 5.000.000

Gianluca Zambrotta Juventus € 14.000.000

Eidur Gudjohnsen bought from Chelsea for € 12.000.000

Lilian Thuram: we bought him as one of the best Center backs at that time. He made some decent contribution without being a starting option. For the price paid he served every Euro creating sufficient quality and experienced depth.

Gianluca Zambrotta was labeled then as the best Right/left fullback in the world. He didn’t meet the expectations basically because we had two offense oriented fullbacks on the two flanks, which exposed his major weakness: Defensive cover. We sold him to Milan when he got a bit older for € 8.500.000. All in all, for 5.500.000 (the difference between buying and selling) he was a notable upgrade offense wise for the right fullback position.

Eidur Gudjohnsen bought to cover Larsson departure. We didn’t really have better options to seek back then, and he was a surprising signing. He was an assists machine at Chelsea. People can say whatever they want about his less-sexy football style, but he was an extremely professional player who was there whenever the coaches needed him (Pep convinced him to stay when he started his coaching adventure at Barcelona). An example of dedicated squad player that we still feel the space he left after his departure (lack of depth), and it will keep being the case till the new youth midfielders step up their game a bit more.

May not be the most impressive transfer period, as the players bought didn’t meet the expectations. But no one can argue that all the buyings were based on reasonable logic.

Thierry Henry € 24.000.000

Gabriel Milito € 20.000.000

Éric Abidal € 15.000.000

Yaya Touré € 12.000.000

José Manuel Pinto € 500.000

I don’t think there will be any doubt on Henry, Yaya, and Abidal contribution on the club success. Pinto performance in CDR last season made the price we paid worth. Gabriel Milito was the second option after Chivu salary demands blew his transfer to Barcelona and later Madrid. He had a commanding presence in defense till he got injured. Now he is doing his comeback. The highest transfer was Henry, but compare it to that’s of Daren Bent move to Totenhamm for around 19 M that season, who ended up scoring 8 goals in 35 appearances. If you evaluate the current market value of all the players, it will be more than just an even bargain. I believe 2007-2008 was a very successful year for Txiki, regarding transfer operations.

Henrique € 8.000.000 .

Gerard Piqué € 5.000.000

Dani Alves € 34.250.000

Martín Cáceres € 16.500.000

Aliaksandr Hleb € 15.000.000

Seydou Keita € 14.000.000

One of the most contreversial transfer periods during Txiki era. But strangely it was a good period as well. First lets sort out the numbers right. Did we waste lot of money in this period?

We bought Henrique for 8000.000 and earned back 400000 from Bayern Leverkusen after one year loan. The most pessimistic prediction is that we can sell him now for at least 4000.000. Let’s be more pessimists and say that we will lose 4000000 in this one. Noting that I believe Henrique would have been a great squad defender. He can play almost anywhere in defense creating the depth we need. But we will admit defeat and say: 4000000 loss.

We bought Caceres for 16.500.000. And Caceres is not “No body”. He was one of the best discoveries of 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and he is an automatic starter for Uruguay's senior team, one of the best teams in South America. He can also play everywhere in defense. May be, that’s the reason why Juventus buying option in his loan contract includes 11000,000 Euros plus 1 million euro variables. That’s a loss of around 5000.000 Euros if Juventus activated this condition. If not, then we need to wait and see.

Aliaksandr Hleb we bought for a very reasonable price. I believe he could have done better, but shits happen. Basically he was Pep signing. And more or less, we can get back the money we paid for him. We already secured 2000000 from Stuttgart for the loan deal and at least we can expect 10 millions more. I want to be very harsh on Txiki and say, we lost 5 millions in this deal.

Alves: Worth every Euro. Period.

Pique: We bought for 5 million facing no competition for his signature, even though Manchester tried to make a late attempt to renew his contract. How much does he worth now? Is it safe to say 25 millions? More? Let’s not be greedy.

Keita: we bought for 14 millions (we paid his buying out clause as Sevilla were not willing to let him go for anything less). How much does he worth now? Will anyone at Barcelona switch him for the 30 millions Xabi Alonso? I wouldn’t.

Put the losses –harshly-predicted in one hand, and the earnings in the other and do your calculations. We brought quality and generated profit (assits value). Noting that it was the year where we won everything. So no one can complain that Txiki damaged the quality of the squad.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic € 48.000.000 Plus Samuel Eto'o

Maxwell € 4.500.000

Keirrison  € 14.000.000

Chegrnskiy € 25.000.000

It’s too early to evaluate this year as we need to wait and see how things will turn to be. Maxwell in my opinion was a steal for that amount of money. Ask any Inter Milan fan about it. Keirrison can bring you back the amount you paid (between initial price and variables) if the club decided to sell him now. I don’t understand how people already label him as a failure. When Puyol was kicking his way in football the board took a decision to loan him out to Malaga. If he wouldn’t have refused, we wouldn’t have had this great captain in our disposal. Alves was not exactly the best fullback in the world the first year he signed for Sevilla. I can keep pointing out names forever. There was obviously no room for both Bojan and Keirrison in the squad this season. Too early to tell how things will end up, but this guy does not lack quality.

Chegrnskiy was simply Pep project. Txiki was clearly against this transfer especially after the wealthy owner of Shakhtar made it clear that he is not inneed for money nor he is interested in offloading his player. Only 25 M was the answer, Txiki refused, Pep insisted, Laporta took his coach side and the sale went through. Regardless how far the player will prove his price, no one can accuse Txiki for not being reasonable in his opinion.

Ibrahimovic Case

We move to the most notable transfer: Ibra. First, let’s not start the same endless debate: Ibra Vs Eto’o. Especially that it has nothing to do with this topic. Pep wanted a new striker. You can agree with him or say he was wrong. That’s a Pep thing. Txiki in return had to meet his coach demands. He didn’t commit a foul doing so. Did we overpay to get Ibra?

There were two options: Ibra, and Villa. Based on Pep demands since the first day he was hired as a coach, it’s easy to tell who his first option was. But let’s put this aside and discuss the financial side of the process. The negotiations started with Inter almost before the end of last season, then there was that meeting between Moratti and Laporta. Nothing certain popped out.

Then the negotiations to get Villa took the lead. There were numerous attempts that ended up to one conclusion: Nothing less than 55 M. Take it or leave it! That was Valencia final words.

That was the exact moment when Laporta and Txiki took their plane to Milan, finishing a deal of 46 M plus Eto’o for Ibra. But wasn’t that deal more expensive than the 55M demanded by Valencia? Not really!

Here we evaluate the two options:

Option One: Villa:

Buying Villa for 55 Millions solve one side of the problem. We got our new striker. But there is another more complicated side: Offloading Eto’o. I know…I know…Why not keeping them both? In short, Pep didn’t want to, and I agree on that. So it’s not a Txiki thing. People can blow Eto’o market value as far as they want. But there is one clear fact: We didn’t get ANY offer. Manchester City was rumored as a buying option, but Eto’o refused even to discuss the Idea. All the big teams had their own key strikers already. Milan were the only big team with no big name leading their offense, but they made it clear that they got their man (Ronaldinho) and that they can’t afford getting Eto’o. Our negotiation situation would have been even weaker if we do not offload Eto’o before signing a new striker. We will be more in need to sell him, and the potential buyers will know that. The most likely situation: Eto’o staying while the other clubs waiting few months before negotiating with him to get him for free. This means that we will have a striker we do not need and whom we will have to pay 10 M for him in the following year. In the year of world cup, I can imagine Eto’o impact on the dressing room if he doesn’t play on regular basis. We can’t even play him less than his contract dictates as well (there is a minimum number of games condition in the last contract he signed for the club). In brief: Chaos!

Option Two: Ibra:

The moment Villa price popped over 55 M, Ibra (Even for 55 + Eto’o) became a more appreciated option. Regardless of all the chaos mentioned above, Buying Villa for 55 M means that we may end up paying 10 additional millions for Eto’o as an annual salary or even more to terminate his contract (even after moving to Inter, he is demanding 3 M, so Imagine the worst scenario). While Buying Ibra saves the millions we had to pay for Eto'o and it solve the two faces of the problem coin in the same glance: Buying a new striker and offloading the unneeded one (according to Pep).

Was it a great deal for Inter? Yes. But who said that there is nothing called a win-win deal in business. This one was a perfect demonstration.

To evaluate Txiki performance as a Sport director, we need to balance Spending Vs results. Or maybe it’s a better idea to have a look how Barcelona transfers were before Tikxi:

One year earlier 2002-2003, the transfer activities were a bit slow (the financial and managerial crises might have something to do with it), we signed:
Robert Enke € 0
Sergi Atlético Madrid€ 0
Juan Román Riquelme Boca Juniors€ 10.000.000
Loaned Mendieta for 1500.000.

But make no mistake, in 2001-2002 we were wild enough to sign (92.100.000):

Fábio Rochemback € 9.000.000

Patrik Andersson € 8.000.000

Javier Saviola River Plate € 35.900.000

Geovanni Cruzeiro € 21.000.000

Philipe Christanval Monaco € 17.000.000

Roberto BonanoRiver Plate€ 1.200.000

One year earlier 2000-2001 we were not less forward and this is the list of our great hunts (99.500.000):

Marc OvermarsArsenal€ 40.000.000

Richard DutruelCelta de Vigo€ 4.000.000

GérardValencia€ 24.000.000

AlfonsoReal Betis€ 16.500.000

Emmanuel Petit Arsenal € 15.000.000

The further you go, the more you can understand why the club dived deep in debt, and performance.We needed a new generation of administrators and a shrewd sports director to put the train back on track. Barcelona now is the best team in the world. you won't achieve that having just an ordinary executive engineering your squad.

N.B. For more info about transfer history of the club I recommend this link.