Tuesday 18 August 2009

[2008] Guardiola convinced Gudjohnsen to stay

this post was published one year ago:


Asked about his position at the club, Barcelona attacker and Iceland international Eidur Gudjohnsen (29) has said at a press conference today that he decided to stay after Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola told him the he can be useful for the team:

"I had doubts about my future but after the holidays I talked with Guardiola and he told me that he really believes in me and my qualities. He thought I could contribute a lot to the team this season. And that's all I needed to hear, this is enough for me to make the decision to stay.

There are a lot of midfielders in the squad but all of them have different qualities. Guardiola asked me to come into the box from the midfield and to score out of the second line. With 60 or 70 matches, it will be a long season and the team needs all of us to be on top of our game when the coach needs us.

If the manager would have said he didn't count on me, I would have left. I didn't want to stay just to be here. I want to be involved and add something. Besides that, I came here to win trophies and this season and this season we have everything to achieve that. This also has been an important reason for me to stay.

Now that I have decided to stay, I won't consider leaving in January. If I'm staying, I'm staying for the whole season. I wouldn't like to stay having to think about what will happen in three or four months, if I would have to leave in the winter transfer period or not."

Read more:
Gudjohnsen will probably stay
PSV interested in Gudjohnsen
Paris Saint-Germain not interested in Gudjohnsen

1 comment:

one year ago, readers said...

Anonymous said...

guddy is useless! He is stayin' bcuz he cant find any club!! Great benchwarmer for the next season!

bojan - macedonia


Anonymous said...

Barca has always had a tendency to pay horrible transfer fee for role players that won't get playing time.

Guddy was one of many...

Keita has potential to end up there as well....just like Caceres..

we will see.

I think Guddy can be usefull, he is just not a good fit for Barca and spanish soccer in general. He is perfect in the Premier League.


Dan R said...

its kinda harsh statement but...
he totaly sucks, even as midfield.
he makes no contribution, except loosing balls!
now that keita is aboard, and the fact that henry, bojan and etoo are still here, i really dont see him as a substitute to any midfielder


cojonudo said...

Guddy's a good player, his style just doesn't suit La Liga. Pep has a point in the need for enough quality players to round out the roster because the prospect of playing 60+ matches can be quite daunting.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least bit if one of the reason's Pep decided to hold onto Guddy was because, generally speaking he's been a good servant at the club and doesn't create many waves inside or outside of the locker room. He may be dissapointed in not getting enough playing time but he won't pout and throw a fit about it.

Maybe Pep thought that keeping a level headed veteran who knows his role and place on the club might be best for overall team harmony rather than facing the prospect of A.) Bringing in someone else who eventually is going to b*tch and whine over not enough quality playing time or B.) Having a youth player like Dos Santos who is going to turn an arrogant streak and demand playing time or else...

Personally I wouldn't have kept Guddy, but I think Pep's looking at this from a broader perspective than just the player's individual skill level. Mainting team harmony throughout seems to be one of Pep's main focal points for this upcoming campaign.


Hilal said...

Great assessment Cojonudo.....I think that is exactly what Pep is doing and I think it is a very good idea. Plus Guddy really aint that bad....fine he is not our best player but he is a good versatile player to have sitting on the bench. Used in the right way he has his advantages and I think Pep knows how to use him.


Ramzi said...

Actually I think there were no interesting offers for Gudi, specialy that his salary is too high for midle to low teams to pay.
Regarding his role in the team last season, he started badly but when the team had injury crises, he played more often and started to improve his form (if u remember)till "THAT" game against real madrid when Rikchard suddenly sidelines him to play deco and roni(both were out of form)!
I would still make an attempt to switch him for Man city young goal keeper Kasper Schmeichel, that would be more usefull for the team, but having him arround if will not be rosey, at least it will have no thorns(except that he will take time out of young players).


Andres said...

Gudjohnsen has never been good and with every passing day he is getting older and even worse. Why Guardiola wants to keep him is beyond me and it really makes me question his judgment, especially after he opted to get rid of Deco, Ronaldinho, and until recently Eto'o. He doesn't seem like the right person for the job for me, I just hope he can prove me wrong.


Anonymous said...

Guardiola wants to keep Guddy, but according to reports (on this site)he is still trying to sell Eto'o? What is the matter with this fool? If we sell Eto'o and don't end up getting anybody else we are going to be in a lot of trouble, unless he thinks Guddy is going to score and be the replacement for Eto'o. KEEP ETO'O AND GET RID OF GUDJOHNSEN FOR FUCKS SAKE!!

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