This is one of the positions where we need to clear space before signing any. If we were now in June 2008, I may not dare to say “we are not in a hurry to sign a keeper”, I still have the taste of my blood in my mouth since last time I said Valdes is not THAT bad, but we are now in December, and everything is different, and the word “different” is always great to hear, but specially when it means “Better”.It was a surprise for me when Barcelona extended the contracts of both Pinto and Jorquera. I expected one extension but not two. Maybe the Barcelona board didn’t want to leave an injured soldier behind, so they extended Jorquera contract knowing that he don’t complain anyway if he doesn't play games. But it seems like the guy wants a move, and I think the normal scenario is to give him a chance either now or next summer. But I wouldn’t mind to give a go to Pinto also, that’s if we signed a “Rank B” Keeper, based on the following ranking:
Rank A: Established keeper who will demand a starting position.
Rank B: Young talented keeper who will aim to challenge Valdes but still accepts being the number two keeper, at least for two more years.
Rank C: A young talented keeper who is not ready to play competitive games but whom certainly have the talent and potentials to be a great keeper.
Rank B: Young talented keeper who will aim to challenge Valdes but still accepts being the number two keeper, at least for two more years.
Rank C: A young talented keeper who is not ready to play competitive games but whom certainly have the talent and potentials to be a great keeper.
My Ranks for our current Keepers are: Valdes (A), while both Pinto and Jorquera are (D), not good enough to challenge Valdes and too old to be useful on the long run. My best combination is to always have a structure of three keepers each belong to one of the previous Ranks (A), (B) and (C). This way you guarantee continuity and avoid clash-y competition on a position where rotation is not only not needed, but not even recommended.
Based on Pep effort in hunting the news for this blog, the following options are the most realistic ones for me:
In my opinion, Lopez is definitely a Rank (A) keeper. Meaning: if we buy him we need to sell Valdes. Having them together will cause the clash-y competition mentioned above. Lopez refused to be a back up for Casillas so don’t even imagine him warming the bench for Barcelona. One of the needs for a goalkeeper to perform well is to feel little secured, and having two Rank (A) keepers make each one of them feels that if he make just one mistake he will warm the bench for long, which is not the best environment for a keeper. And we don’t even need it, now. Will you recommend selling Valdes and buying Lopez?
Sergio Asenjo, Guillermo Ochoa and Akinfeyev are more a Rank (B) keepers. They have potential but will have more patience waiting for their chances. I mentioned that feeling little secure is good for the first option keeper, but feeling very secured and certain of having a guaranteed place in the selection no matter what, will back fire badly on the keeper performance. With a Rank (B) keeper - unlike Rank (D) - Valdes will feel calm but will stay alert. Now that’s what we need, and my favorite option here is Sergio Asenjo.
For the third spot, and based on the transfer criteria I posted in the previous part, I will turn my attention toward Barcelona Athletic first. If Miño is good enough to have a shot – or may be I have to say to block a shot – then he is my third keeper. If not, then I suggest scouting keepers like Alex Pena (Roma), Andrea Consigli (Atalanta) or Emiliano Viviano (Brescia). Last option, but also reasonable, is just to keep it void with Mino to fill if needed, may be in a year or two we get through our youth ranks a keeper to take that seat.
Do we buy now or next summer?
I don’t think next summer we will be able to buy Sergio Asenjo for less than his buyout clause (5,5 million euro), so I wouldn’t mind to make an attempt now. But again Valladolid are not that desperate nor in a hurry, so they will wait till summer, unless if we offered them the 5,5 millions plus Jorquera/Pinto, under a condition that either we get Asenjo now or at least we guarantee having him at the end of the season, I think this way we can avoid getting out-bidden by another club in the summer.
For the third option keeper, may be its better to delay that till summer giving Miño more time to show his potentials, and keeping Pinto in case Valdes get injured and the new B ranked keeper (if signed) needed time to settle.
If any of the mentioned scenarios happened in the following weeks, I will be glad, yet I will also sleep at night if not, as long as the change will come next summer because by then, it will become a must.
Based on Pep effort in hunting the news for this blog, the following options are the most realistic ones for me:
In my opinion, Lopez is definitely a Rank (A) keeper. Meaning: if we buy him we need to sell Valdes. Having them together will cause the clash-y competition mentioned above. Lopez refused to be a back up for Casillas so don’t even imagine him warming the bench for Barcelona. One of the needs for a goalkeeper to perform well is to feel little secured, and having two Rank (A) keepers make each one of them feels that if he make just one mistake he will warm the bench for long, which is not the best environment for a keeper. And we don’t even need it, now. Will you recommend selling Valdes and buying Lopez?
Sergio Asenjo, Guillermo Ochoa and Akinfeyev are more a Rank (B) keepers. They have potential but will have more patience waiting for their chances. I mentioned that feeling little secure is good for the first option keeper, but feeling very secured and certain of having a guaranteed place in the selection no matter what, will back fire badly on the keeper performance. With a Rank (B) keeper - unlike Rank (D) - Valdes will feel calm but will stay alert. Now that’s what we need, and my favorite option here is Sergio Asenjo.
For the third spot, and based on the transfer criteria I posted in the previous part, I will turn my attention toward Barcelona Athletic first. If Miño is good enough to have a shot – or may be I have to say to block a shot – then he is my third keeper. If not, then I suggest scouting keepers like Alex Pena (Roma), Andrea Consigli (Atalanta) or Emiliano Viviano (Brescia). Last option, but also reasonable, is just to keep it void with Mino to fill if needed, may be in a year or two we get through our youth ranks a keeper to take that seat.
Do we buy now or next summer?
I don’t think next summer we will be able to buy Sergio Asenjo for less than his buyout clause (5,5 million euro), so I wouldn’t mind to make an attempt now. But again Valladolid are not that desperate nor in a hurry, so they will wait till summer, unless if we offered them the 5,5 millions plus Jorquera/Pinto, under a condition that either we get Asenjo now or at least we guarantee having him at the end of the season, I think this way we can avoid getting out-bidden by another club in the summer.
For the third option keeper, may be its better to delay that till summer giving Miño more time to show his potentials, and keeping Pinto in case Valdes get injured and the new B ranked keeper (if signed) needed time to settle.
If any of the mentioned scenarios happened in the following weeks, I will be glad, yet I will also sleep at night if not, as long as the change will come next summer because by then, it will become a must.
Ramzi Tanani
Posts
18 comments:
we should sign asenjo as soon as possible,at 5,5 mill its a steal....also jorquera and pinto need the boot,keep valdes,asenjo,in case of need oier
yeah skanjo, asenjo is the ideal candidate to compete with valdes he is young and very talented.i thought we should sign him this january and sell joquera and pinto.
Modified it , but not sure if little late pep:)
An Asenjo deal depends more on the player than the transfer fee. With so many teams supposedly interested, it's obvious the release clause has to be activated, but no one has done so thus far. Either clubs are still skeptical or (more likely) the player isn't keen on a transfer yet quite. He's the first choice keeper for Villadolid and probably doesn't want to move to a club with an established keeper who is relatively young. I suspect that's the real reason why nobody has made a move for Asenjo yet.
Good article. I say make a move for him now. We are on top of everything at the moment. Players will be happy to latch on to the bandwagon. Who knows what the situation will be like in summer and why wait for things to change when we can possibly get a good deal now? Akinfeyev, Russian No.1 and standout keeper in the Euro as Grade B ?
I think we should hold out for Miño or Olazabal and not for Asenjo. We should give a chance to our youth products as they usually turn out to be stars of the teams they move to.
I have an off-topic question. We had Olazabal as our starter for Barça B last year. Now, Miño is the starter this year for Barça Atletic. Why is that? Did Olazabal get worse over the summer or is Miño that much better?
I will not be suprised if something soon will happen with RCd Mallorca. The news say that they bought Dudu Aouate from Deportivo. They have then too many gks. Their currently Angel Moya is young ang good to be as second. I beleive that he can stand to be a second gk in Barca instead for 2.nd in Mallorca.
We need to fixe that question latest this summar. Pinto and Jorquera are passé.
I suppose by signing a grad B one, and not a grad A.
I don't like the idea to be off with Valdes.
He is from la Masia and it is important. And he has many qualities
We need Ochoa real bad please get Ochoa he is a great goalkeeper. Valdes is also great but Ochoa has something more. The others arent even good get Ochoa.
James: you are right, but I think a contract guaranteeing 10 games per season at least and enhanced financial contract compared to what he earn now plus the fact he can gather titles with Barcelona, all that may seal a deal.
kamikaze kontiki: Rank B, is not a matter of quality, but patience, and I think unlike lopez, Akinfeyev will not demand to be the first option from the very first moment, bt will accept being behind Valdes in picking order, at least for a season or two, that makes him in the Category B for me.
Ramen: if our youth have potential they are a priority, but u cant leave the second keeper place vacant or with a Rank D keeper for long.I hope this link help u to find answers:
http://fcbtransfers.blogspot.com/2008/09/bara-b-mino-takes-oiers-spot-as.html
FCB but y will a team that is not having the best financial situation buy a keeper if they have a good one? something fishy, right?
B. Beltrocco there is a saying that Ochoa weakness is long shot stopping, do u follow him close, because I don't know about that. What make me not excited about him mostly is that he will take one of the non European positions in the squad, and for a keeper? I don't know how smart that will be.
In the meantime I gotta see a doctor about this trembling I get in the knees every time a backpass is played to Valdes.
Its a good idea to get a type B keeper and then promote him for one more reason. Whenever we buy a big name keeper we end up dissatisfied and also seem to have a poor impact on his career.
I see Richard Dutruel's name on the list of Barca's Worst Ever Buys but this guy was the best keeper in La Liga when we bought him. He was awesome at Celta Vigo but for some reason Van Gaal after buying him kept him on the bench and used Pepe Reina who was abysmal in the time he spent at Barca. After thus destroying his confidence Dutruel was brought on for a few games mid-season and looked a pale shadow of his former self. Rijkaard then repeated the same procedure with Rustu. We always seem to be backing the wrong horse when it comes to keepers. The only reason I can see is that both Reina and Valdes graduated from the youth teams. If this is some sort of an entrenched Barca policy when it comes to keepers then there is no point looking for good keepers outside the youth setup.
At this moment, Barca should stay behind VV until both sides reach/not reach new agreement, because he contributed a lot for the team. But definitely, I'd like to see Asenjo playing for Barca in the near future due to his quality/price ratio, and mostly his age. Although, Ochoa, Lopez, Akinfeev are all good choices. As most realistic scenario I see VV staying with FCB until the end of his career.
I like akinfeyey. i think he could become a very good gk, but also i think he is at the stage where he may not mind spending a few seasons challenging valdes for the number 1 position. Valdes and Akinfeyev would both have to be on their toes to ensure that they can get a starting spot.
Valdes is having a fantastic season and deserves the number 1 spot at the moment. I think we should go for a B and my 3 options are: Akinfeev, Asenjo and Ochoa. Pinto and Jorquera should move on sooner rather than later. I think we should make a move in Jan. My concern is if Valdes gets injured that we don't have the quality to keep the momentum given that we are in 3 competitions and heading for the final stages. Of the 3 listed I think Akinfeev is the best but like has been mentioned here before, would he accept the bench position?? Likewise Asenjo?? If both want a starting position then Ochoa is the best option. Visca el BARCA!!!
I understand why there is cause for concern if VV goes down with an injury, but Ochoa? really? thats an option for some of you? Ive only seen him in international action but the fact is that he is simply not good enough for Barca.
He isnt even wanted by lower level teams in Europe! (Everton manager David Moyes was asked by a mexican reporter if they were interested in Ochoa, and his response was that he'd NEVER heard of him before) It was good for a laugh but its clear that Ochoa is only a buzz in the FMF.
He was "linked" to elite clubs like Man U, AC Milan, but by who? Just his delusional fans in chat forums and places like that. Sorry Ochoa fans but this is as close as he gets to any prestigious clubs in Europe.
Akinfeyev,one of my best players.I will be glad to see him putting on the red-blue shirt.There is no doubt that Igor is a outstanding GK and has strong potential.So I don't want to see his coming as Rank(B).I don't want him spending his time on the bench.
Maybe,when vv is older or his level fell,we sign Igor.By the way vv is perfect this season,I love him more ^0^.And I believe Igor can become another Yashin!
we must go in for buffon...
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