Wednesday 15 July 2009

Barça turns again to Forlan...

by Alfredo Relaño
for As




I have been told that Barça is again turning to the option of Forlán, and this doesn't surprise me. Valencia has decided to ask an impossible fee for Villa, 55 millions, something Barça is not willing to pay, as Madrid wasn't either. Forlán, on the other hand, has a clause of 36 millions, which is also a lot of money, but less. That's a sum Barça could pay. By squeezing a bit, but the can get there.

Villa has two advantages over Forlán: he's Spanish and he's younger. Forlán is 30 years old, an age which makes one think twice about the 36 millions, but he has always has taken care of himself and it's not very risky to predict that he'll have a long career. And he's at his peak.

The underlying problem is that you can't really count anymore on Eto'o. He has one year left, he doesn't allow a sale, he doesn’t want to renew, he doesn't pick up the phone when the president calls and the last thing we knew about him was a press conference full of insults by his agent. At the beginning of next year, Eto'o will take part in the African Cup of Nations, which will give him the chance to show himself to the world. At the end of the season, he'll look for a new contract, being free.

Behind him, there's only Bojan, whom we have still doubts on. For Guardiola, it’s a difficult situation having to start the season without a centre forward he really believes in. And this can now only be solved, at least in my opinion, by Forlán.

25 comments:

skanjos said...

bad article,full of insults for eto and full of praise for forlan....

peter said...

Whats the avdantage of Vilal being Spanish? Forlan can by no means count as a non-EU player after so many years in europe.

umessi10 said...

Its Villa or nothing.
Forlan will do no good for barca :(

Anonymous said...

Agree. Fotlan isn't better than Eto'o and hes 30 years old!?

Villa is the only option.

harsha said...

ppl say etoo doesnt pickup laporta's phone ... who knows laporta might be irritating him too much ?? we know he's a lawyer by profession, he's so good at this politics which should have pissed off etoo (and guardiola maybe ?)

Marc4barca said...

ALL HAIL ZLATAN!!!

NouBarca said...

yeah hail Zlatan for how much? 70Mil Euros?
I see you doin a MADrid, remem when Becks was sidelined? When the chips went down, they called him. When we need Sammu, we would call him to do his job (score goals).. thats if we put him on the bench like many are predicting!!

Je me'apelle Samuel said...

was forlan in that movie 300? Anyone else find it weird no one has asked Eto'o How much he wants to renew? Every 1 is assuming the worst, but after all these reports I haven't seen one that says how much Eto'o wants....

Anurag said...

I agree with Samuel

Also, I'm beginning to think Forlan wouldnt be that bad a move, I mean, he scored more goals than Eto'o and he was in Atl. Barca will do well even if they do get him.

Tej said...

Noooooooooo mahn.......
we shuldnt sign Forlan...
he will last for max 2-3 seasons n if eto'o dsnt renews he will be free den again Barca wil invest 20-30 mill euro nxt yr 2 buy a CF... makes no sense..
i wud be really glad if Barca sign Guiza or Bilbao's Lorente for de same amount of Forlan...

SpenBarca said...

Y'all are insane!!Eto'o is way bettter than Forlan..How do u reward players who contributed tremendously for the treble? Valdez signs with pay rise, Toure signs with pay rise..eto'o can't get a pay rise, worst of all he's not welcome..

Anonymous said...

SpenBarca Valdez and Toure were both earning together what Eto'o is already getting. judging by last season performance I would take Forlan over both Villa and Eto'o, because he is stronger than both and his long range shots are killer.
but Eto'o and Villa are younger.
both Villa and Forlan are technically superior to Eto'o too although you can always count on Eto'o in big occasions onfield he showed that he is not very mature off.

Sachincule said...

i would be glad if forlan would come to barca, in current form he is undoubtedly the best striker in the world(did anyone watch atletico's last 10-15 games)

i know i am gonna get a lot of thumbs down but believe me forlan is magnificent, i know his age(29 and will soon be 30) is a problem but he is a late bloomer and he would play atleast have another 3 years at the top level and that is exactly wat we need imo as we have some amazing talents coming through the youth ranks in the form of gael etock and mauro icardi who would make the grade in a couple of years and don't forget bojan and rochina who are also excellent talents and not to forget keirrison who would be more than ready to take over from forlan by the time forlan would decline, so considering all these i would love it if forlan comes to barca....

everybody here really underrates forlan mostly because many of them haven't seen him a lot but if a player can win 2 pichichis and 2 golden balls playing for villareal and atletico then imagine how many he would score at barca...

Sachincule said...

BTW to the new editors i suggest this goal from barcas youth player gael etock for the video of the day:)

Je me'apelle Samuel said...

Haha if we get forlan, I'm going to be screaming "THIS IS BARCA" 300 style

Sachincule said...

oops sry i forgot to post the video itself lol, here it is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kINCH8suT0g

Anonymous said...

Get Villa forget Forlan. Get Villa at 45 million. Its a lot but its worth it. Imagine Barcelona with Eto'o (thats if he stays) Messi, Henry, Bojan, Xavi, Iniesta, and now Villa. This will certainly make Barcelona even stronger next year, and still be claimed as the best soccer team in the world!

Marc4barca said...

Barcelona2010 the reason why we are looking at forlan is because villa is priced at 55 million by valencia and barca aren't going to pay that.

Noubarca i would pay 70mil for zlatan...... on fifa10 when it comes out lol. being serious now though, maybe we can still get him if we offer 30mil and eto cause i think it's to late to patch things between eto and barca.

Hilal said...

Not sure why everybody is so against Forlan. He managed to score more goals playing for a team nowhere near as good as Barca. If you compare his goals to Eto's goals they are much more individual goals. By that I mean he depends a lot less on service from the players around him. Eto'o is a great striker, but under two conditions; 1, he is getting service and 2, he doesnt have to play with his back towards the goal. Forlan might not be as athletic or as hard working, but he is technically better, has a better shot and is better in the air. If we cannot get Villa then I would def take Forlan. The situation with Eto'o is beyond repair now, whoever you want to blame for that it doesnt matter....the best thing for the club is to replace Eto'o and after Villa, Forlan is the most viable option. Yes he is older than we would like, but we can always get another striker next year, or even in January maybe if the transfer market normalizes a bit.

wala said...

No, we can not Hilal. We can not splash out 30m+ for a striker every 6 months. Madrid bought Benzema for 35m and could have him for 10 years, while you are advocating getting a player for a similar amount for 1 year or even 6 months? Pure madness.

skanjos said...

so ok if we cant get villa splash 30mill or 20 + keirrison on a 30year old striker.......

many here are delusional thinking forlan is better than eto..... and no he is not the best offer after villa,heck keep keirrison i think we will be better and keep 20-30 mil.

why should we not be able to sign villa ,even thought he has a price?we cant afford it?yes we can ,we are gonna replace the striker area with a world class striker (and after madrids spending spree),did they think they would take villa cheap?just give the 55mil and sell eto 20(i bet at 20mil alot of clubs will want him,milan?) and its like we got villa 35 cause otherwise eto will leave next year for free.

why spend this summer for forlan if we are to spend again in january or even next year,also do you people forget bojan/keirrison? in 1 ,2 years they will play probably.we need a world class striker now to stay at top lvl(i bet eto lost motivation and this year is unpredictable for him)and i dont want us to spend this season with forlan.

we went from ibrahimovic(the best striker in the world),to villa (world class striker)to forlan.....

give 30+for forlan ..... we gave 24mil for henry who was world class at 31 .

also check forlans man utd career(big team,big pressure,also bigger if you are the starting striker)63 games 10 goals .come on......dont tell me english league and crap.on villareal 103 ganes 54 goals and atletico 69games 48 goals ...now eto 145 games 108 goals..... do the math.

so buy forlan now for 30+ with a gamble of having paid for nothing(guddy he was doing fine for chelsea as a striker didnt he?)or give the %@^%@^%#$@$& money and get the trustworthy player villa that you know the partnership he has with xavi and iniesta is superb

i wasnt wrong last year with adebayor ,i am not wrong now with forlan.many last year said adebayor would bring this club to glory and just sell eto,now adebayor sucks and eto had an amazing year,i bet the same people want forlan now just to have a new striker..... just keep eto and keirrison for a sub if the villa deal doesnt go through ,we dont have to spend just to spend

Anonymous said...

i keep hearing sami wants half of any negotiated transfer fee which no one wants to agree to, thats why we cant find a buyer for him. dont know how true though.


xaviniesta

Anonymous said...

Why so much hatred for Forlan. he's one of the best strikers in the world. In fact the best in the La Liga (hands down). Ok let me just state facts.

Yes he was a flop at ManU but that was the beginning of his European career; give the guy a break.

In Spain(going by Skanjos facts) Forlan has scored 102 goals from 172 games. Keep in mind this was when Villareal was IMPROVING and with A.Madrid also and admidst injuries. Be honest serivce there is no where as nice as in Barca(Remember under Rijkaard when Guddy was our starting striker{that's right Eto'o was injured} and the oppotunities he had and scored) and even Saviola's bright spark in that period) Forlan is better.

Facts:
1. Forlan can play with both feet(shoot and score with both, dribble with both) Name another striker or infact player who does this naturally.
2. Forlan does work, probably not like Eto'o, but more than Villa. It is not uncommon to see Forlan in the midfield or on the flanks playing the ball. I even saw him with A.Madrid in the right back position during the game.
3. Forlan can use his head alot better than Villa or Eto'o can.
4. He can hold up the ball (this guy can dribble folks)
5. Forlan can create goals for himself.
6. He's a long range shooter with both legs with accuracy and consistency.
7. He can play the passing game.
8. He's a fit lad.
9. Contrary to what Skanjos belives Forlan can handle pressure. Imagine being your country's next best after Recoba. That's pressure. Trust me in South America that's pressure. People die and are forced to exile(run for they're lives) for things like this.
10. Forlan can lead a front line - proven hence fact (and is definitely Barca material)-opinion.
Oh yeah...
11. 2 Pichichi's, 2 Golden Boots.
I given fact not just opinion.

skanjos said...

ok you say forlan is better i will play with your facts:

1.eto can shoot with both legs too
2.eto is working harder than eto you admit this yourself
3.its not a fact,heading accurancy ,goals scored by headers,if you dont show me stats i dont believe this(i just watched forlans whole goals this year and there isnt a single header if i remember right.....)
4.eto is better dribbler
5.so is eto,cl final anyone?
6.so is eto,powerfull legs
7.so can eto and better
8.so is eto
9.eto has proven that already
10.eto has provena that already
11.dont remember how much pichichi eto has but the 2cl goals in finals mean more to me.

also some mine
1. eto is 3 years younger
2. eto is faster
3. eto can play LF and RF
4. eto has already great communication with squad
5. he is for the best scorer in the squad since he came .... every year despite injuries

Unknown said...

I am sick and tired of people talking about how great Etoo is!!!! This is a Barca blog not an Etoo blog. If you support Etoo and not Barca then you don't belong here!!

Yes he did a wonderful job and he certainly was mistreated by the board but guess what? There was a reason for our board to behave that way. Ever since Etoo arrived he always said he doesn't consider Barca his home but his loyalty was always with Mallorca. He caused many dressing room problems with Ronaldinho and Deco way before Guardiola. Yes the guy maybe brilliant on the field but he has a big mouth and an a** for an agent. Whenever Etoo makes his stupid statements mid-season about Barca we end up in a slump and a losing streak.

Yes Etoo was great but he's no longer an option let's move on. Villa is Spanish and he's pure class. Yes it matters that he's spanish because Barcelona is a Spanish team. I am not Spanish myself but I love for our club to keep it's national identity (hell...even catalan ... this isnt racism) and I don't want it to be another Arsenal or Chelsea.

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