Robben and Heinze in, Cicinho out

I have been late to write on any happenings in the football world or so. I have been travelling and heard most of the news in my transit in Singapore, when i was trying to spent 7 hours in the sports travel lounge. Anyway it was on Friday last week that i heard that Real have finally completed the signing of Dutch winger Arjen Robben. The most anticipated transfer for Real this season has happened. They have been chasing the flying Dutchman from the time the transfer window opened and it was no secret that the deal would be completed the minute Chelsea accepted an offer from Real. I myself have posted a few blogs on Robben's move. Well now Chelsea have finally agreed for a 36M Euros deal almost twice the transfer fee that Real initially offered Chelsea. Robben has signed a 5 year deal with the Spanish Champions, he was expected to play against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish La Liga but was not even in the squad list as he is yet to be fully match fit.

As i have written in my previous blogs, being a big follower of Real Madrid, Robben could definitely be a find for Real. He is a proven winger who has come off a bad spell of injuries at Chelsea. As Robben said in his initial interview with the media that he would like to spend more time on the filed and less time in the dreaded treatment team. Well the Presidential election promise is fulfilled, but would it be a signing the Madrid board will regret and that too considering the amount of money that they have spent.

When i wrote a blog about Man U, i had written that Gaby Heinze could very well end up at Real Madrid as Real are looking for a LB since the departure of Roberto Carlos. The news changed and Heinze's transfer to Liverppol was blocked by Man Utd. 24hrs after an appeals court rejected Heinze's move to Liverpool, the Argentine signed a deal with Real for 4 years. He has cost Real 8M and is a good signing. Though Heinze also comes off almost an entire season off because of a Knee injury he is a LB who can also play as a Center. Drenthe not a regular LB and Marcelo who is the other option the experience on the 29 year old is very valuable for Real.

Real spend a lot of money and expected a lot out of the new Cafu in Brazilian football when they brought in Cicinho from Sao Paulo. After some disappointing outings and last season entirely out due to Injury, the Spanish champions decided it is time to offload him. There are a few reasons evidently that has acted as a catalyst in this 12M transfer to Roma. When Cicinho was out injured last season everyone thought it would be the veteran Salgado the natural RB who would have an extended stint in the team. But to every one's surprise the Real B team player Miguel Torres stepped up to the plate and played almost the entire season. Now this season as a management plan they have brought in re enforcements in the center of defense which in turn frees up Sergio Ramos to play in his more natural RB position. With Ramos, Torres and Salgado in the RB position it hardly makes any sense to retain Cicinho and take up one of the non-European slots. The difference between a Cafu and a current Brazilian RB as Cicinho or Dani Alves is that they are purely attack oriented and the defensive skills are always questionable. The better amongst the two would be Dani Alves.

As Real coach mentioned, it looks highly unlikely that Real would make any more signings in the next couple of days before the transfer window closes for the summer. If i am Schuster i would be happy with Metzelder, Pepe, Saviola, Dudek, Drenthe, Sneijder, Heinze, and Robben as signings before defending the title.

Becks starts with a Bang

Galaxy new boy David Beckham played his first start with his new employers, and it was scripted Hollywood style. He scored a cracker of a free kick and also provided the assist for striker team mate Donavan and Galaxy finished the game 2-0 against DC United. This was the first real appearance for Beckham in a Galaxy jersey after he had some training and some time with his new team mates.

The position of the free kick was definitely favoring a left footer and DC keeper arranged the 6 man wall so that a right footer like Beckham would not be able to bend it around the wall to the right top most corner. The keeper himself positioned himself on the Left. To every one's surprise Beckham thundered in a free kick to the left post past a bewildered DC keeper. From all the amazing free kicks that Beckham has taken this may definitely not rank among even the top 10 but his vision, him out thinking the keeper was phenomenal.

One of my co-workers Doug and I were talking a couple of days after he read my previous post on Beckham on how much of good it would do to MLS and Galaxy if Beckham can have people talking after his first game. He asked me today "you feel like seeing the next Galaxy match right?" and of course this is what Alexi, the Galaxy and the MLS are hoping that all soccer followers in the US would think. The Home Depot center was jam packed and the crowd went wild when the Beckham free kick went in.

It gives satisfaction to me that i wrote precisely on what Beckham can bring in terms of footballing terms a few days back and the England international has responded. As Doug told me even if Galaxy does not win anything, games like the last one would definitely popularize MLS to the maximum. This is exactly what everyone wants from Beckham and what better than a trade mark free kick.

Beckham is not new to such starts with new teams, in his first game in front of Real Madrid home supporters in 2003 he scored a goal to win the Spanish Super cup for Real Madrid, the only major trophy they won till the last season Beckham was with them.

With the England friendly coming up against Germany, Beckham will have to fly to Europe to play in the same and fly back to play against NY. He would be reaching US the afternoon and the game is in the evening. This is definitely going to be the point that Soccer Pundits around the world would be watching closely.

Here is a video of Beckham opening his account for Galaxy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr_qwkmWukI

Also Beckham can bend it here is a collection of some of his other amazing free kicks so MLS there is more to come:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYgHunQEl0

Cassano finally out of the door

Real have finally agreed a loan deal with Italian Serie A side Sampdoria, with an option to complete a permanent deal at the end of the year. One of the most notorious players who is talented on the pitch as well has been a headache at Real and finally they would be happy and relieved to see the back of him.

As i mentioned in one of my previous blogs, Real has this habit of making some signings when there are some evident red flags. Real signed Cassano from Roma when the player was having a big fight with the board and the coach and even had decided against playing for them anymore after he was unhappy with a contract extension. When Real bought him he was totally out of shape and it took months to get him back on track. He did not have a good run in the goal scoring department also though he known to be a 20+ scorer. With Real bringing more and more strikers every season Cassano fell even further down in the pecking order. Finally in a match that he did play last season he was unhappy at being substituted and abused and insulted Capello the then coach. Real had to publicly reprimand Cassano by suspending him from the team. Cassano has not seen any minutes on the team since then though it was claimed to be because of Arthritis on his left foot. C'mon no one has Arthritis for 6 months....

It was expected that this departure would happen as Real did not include Cassano in the pre-season training and matches. The earlier the better for Real as a player like Cassano would never fit the heritage and class of Real.

First weekend in Premiership-How did everyone fair?

Premiership weekend kicked off last weekend and Sunday had the top 3 playing on Sunday and Liverpool playing at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Saturday:

Rafa Benitez started with Torres and Kyut in attack. Liverpool went into the lead with a Martin Laursen own goal, but to Aston Villa's joy they were awarded a penalty for a hand ball in the box from Liverpool old boy Carragher. Gareth Barry obliged with a sweet Penalty. As in the past so many years Liverpool needs some real inspiration from their Captain fantastic and this season does not look any different. A superlative free kick from the Captain to send Liverpool ahead. The cam shot from behind Gerrard when he takes the kick is amazing. The ball starts off wide of the post on the right side, sverves and dips precicely into the top corner. Well not a bad start for Rafa and Liverpool but debut of their big signing was not so impressive but their new # 10 Andrei Voronin was impressive for the 11 mins he played. The first signs of the Ukranian were pretty good.

The other big game on Saturday was Newcastle new boss Big Sam taking his new team to the Reebok stadium that of his old team. Sam came up with a really attacking line up considering it was an away fixture, including the likes of new boys Viduka and Smith along with Martins and Milner. Happy return for Big Sam as his team defeated other Sams' Bolton 3-1 with two goals from Martins. He had an amazing season last year and looks like he is continuing where he left off.

Yet another new manager Sven Goran Ericksson led Man City to West Ham. He again started with two goals from two new boys. One from Rolando Bianchi and the other from the Brazilian Geovanni who scored late after coming in as a late sub.

Newly promoted Sunderland under the ex-Man U player Keane as their boss had to sweat for their victory on their return to the Premiership. Michael Chopra scored a 94th minute to make it a happy return for Keane and for Sunderland.

The match between Derby on their return to the premiership and Portsmouth was a 4 goal cracker. Derby new boy Steve Howard made Campbell and Distin struggle all through the game. His neat lay off header from a Goal kick to captain Mat Oakley resulted in a stunning half volley at full pace. Portsmouth also had new boy England striker David Nugent playing alongside Benjani. Nugent had an impressive begininng with the Pompeys but though he got into some terrific positions, his finishing was woeful. It required some good passing from Nugent to Benjani, which resulted in a normal shot on Goal and and some poor goal keeping let it in. Derby thought they will have to start with a loss in Premiership when Portsmouth new boy Utaka stunned the home fans with a goal on 83 minutes. Derby rallied back and immediately after kick off, Andy Todd. The defensive midfielder got into the penalty box at the right time and finished off to earn a point for the premiership return.

Sunday:

Arsenal again started off the season un-impressive and struggled at home against Fulham. To start off there was a howler of a mistake from Jens Lehmann the Arsenal keeper after a minute from kick off when he kicked a back pass from Clichy right back to David Healy as though he was on roller blades. Lehmann would not be pleased when he sees the replay. Arsenal with the new team of youngsters, playing with just Van Persie as a striker. Rosicky and Hleb to support him as the feeding players, well it looked as though Fabregas was missing a lot of space because of Hleb. His screaming break through into the Fulham box was thwarted by the keeper. It required an 84th minute penalty from Van Persie and an injury time winner from Hleb for Arsenal. The different thing to see was Eboue playing in right midfield, which could be useful in the defensive factor when Arsenal play away games. Wenger have been missing that kind of a player since Parlour left.

Credit to Reading, i was impressed with this team last term and they looked good against the attacking flair of Man U. Sir Alex started with just Rooney upfront and Giggs and Ronaldo supporting him. The real problem for him came up when Rooney was injured and had to be replace at half time. He did not have a striker option. He brought in new signing Nani, and he did reasonably well. Except for the sending off of Dave Kitson with a straight red for a horrendous tackle on Evra, Reading would be happy from their first outing against the champions. New confirmed signings Tevez and Andersson should see some playing time as early as next week.

I missed Chelsea match but saw the scoreline which had both new boys Malouda and Pizzaro on the score sheet in the 3-2 win over Birmingham City. With Terry out injure new signing Tal Ben Haim partnered Carvalho in center of defense.

Wesley Sneijder joins Real Madrid

It is the second dutch player that the Spanish Champions have signed in as many days. First it was Royston Drenthe from Feyenoord and now Real have raided Ajax for this home grown talent. The 23 year old is expected to have cost Real 27M and has signed a 5 year deal today after clearing the medical. He is the 6 th signing and new face at Real following Metzelder, Pepe, Saviola, Dudek and Drenthe.

Real are looking to solve their problems in midfield and definitely the highly rated and talented Sneijder is a good option. Well people who have seen him play for Ajax would know how good this young play maker is. He is sweet with either foot and can play either side and is a genuine goal scoring attacking midfielder.

One of my friends always used to be so impressed with Ajax in the number of talents they nurture. Ajax is hurt in Sneijder leaving but it was Wesley's dream move. Especially at a time when Ajax are about to play Champions League qualifiers.

Sneijder will definitely be one piece of the puzzle in midfield for Real, and if he can showcase his abilities he should be an instant hit with the Bernabeu faithfuls. If Real indeed end up buying Robben as well it will be a team with 4 Dutch men including Van Nistelrooy, similar to an Arsenal team a few years back with all the french players. Here is a video showcasing his skills and some amazing rocket shots....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8nZDQJQRdY

What is bigger money or football? Answer is Beckham

There has been several anticipated transfers this summer and rumor mills have been churning stories endlessly of who could end up where. But undoubtedly the biggest has been David Beckham's arrival in the US. He penned the deal in January itself and Galaxy and MLS have been waiting for over 6 months for him. They even adjusted their playing schedules to have more games in the latter part of the season to accommodate Beckham. Well it all looked like a dream but what does Alexis Lalas get? He has the worst nightmare come true. An injured Beckham who has been out for 8 weeks and who has been not training after the last day of the Spanish League.

Sports critics has been really tough on the golden boy in football. Well Beckham has not had it easy in fact no one in football has. He came through the ranks of Manchester United and almost played there for a decade and finally the principle of Club is bigger than the player came up. He was forced out of Man U. I like Beckham for the sporting value though people only know him more for his commercial value. The world's best free kick specialist was found to have the highest average in distance (yards) covered in a single match. The professionalism and commitment on field is really top draw.

In 2003 when Man U decided to sell the then 29 year old because of a fall out with Manager Alex Ferguson, Barcelona won the deal but the Englishman refused. All time rival club Real Madrid came in and snapped up Beckham, and Barca snapped up Real target Ronaldinho from PSG. Well how did the two transfers equate on the field? In the four years following that Barca were crowned Spanish champions twice and also some excellent performances in the Champions League. On the other hand Real went through 4 years trophy less, though they boasted the likes of Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham on their rolls.

So why did Real buy Beckham? Forbes magazine recently claimed that the benefits Real reaped of buying Beckham was not small. The first pre-season Real toured South-East Asia because of same reason. The following seasons they toured Asia and USA. Real Madrid store sold 5000 jerseys in the first hour of Beckham signing for them. Real had to spend 20 odd M for Beckham but Forbes has claimed that Beckham merchandise brought in 500M for Real Madrid over the course of 4 years.

Well Beckham has joined MLS side and has not played a full match yet. He is expected to earn 50M$ of which 10M$ is his salary and the remaining is merchandise revenue. Galaxy at Dallas was a full house, but the fans could not even see any playing time of Beckham. They had to be contend with the Englishman in a tuxedo on the Bench. Last night Beckham played 28 mins of the Galaxy's match against DC united and there were 46,000 fans in the stadium. People say the first season Pele played in the MLS this was the case. But i doubt it. Each time he touched the ball there were camera flashes going off. Well the Beckham charsima did not work for Galaxy as they lost the match 1-0 and had 10 men on the field most of the time.

Galaxy Beckham authentic jersey's are going at close to a 100 bucks in the market. NBC already aired a reality show on Victoria the former spice girl wife of David Beckham titled "Beckham comes to US" which was shown in prime time.

Honestly i have had enough with the press writing all ga ga about each step Beckham makes on the field. Well yes he is one of the most popular sportsman on the planet but he is a good player too. Lets focus on what Beckham can do to better Galaxy as a team who has the second worst record in MLS. I have not read a single article any where on what value addition Beckham can bring to LA Galaxy or for the popularity of MLS in the US. Honestly i dont think anyone cares. I saw this cracker of a game between FC Dallas and Columbus Crew on Saturday. Columbus Crew has Barros Schellotto in their ranks, the former Argentine superstar who already has 4 goals and 8 assits in the competition. He seemed to be a step above everyone on the field in terms of his leadership and play making skills. Dallas pulled off a miracle in stoppage time, playing with 10 men when their tall center back scored the winning header.

Chicago fire has Blanco, i saw a game of theirs and Blanco showed the class of his passing game and how he controlled the forwards to play some good one-two plays....

The person who has taken MLS by storm is Columbian star Juan Pablo Angel, the former Aston

Villa striker is proving his class. Considering these players and the hype these players are not getting, the press is still talking about Beckham who is still struggling to make an impact here. If it is the hair styles and the number of tattoos, Beckham hits the front page.

I had read 5 years back on a sky sports reporter in US, who was at a party of journalists. He met a woman who asked him "So you are from Beckham's country". Seemingly pleased that an American knew about football the reporter asked her "So do you watch a lot of soccer"? and she responded "oh... does he play soccer? so cute......"

Real seal Drenthe move

Real Madrid have been chasing Royston Drenthe from Feyenoord for a couple of weeks. Real's original offer of 12M was turned down by Feyenoord as they were rating the Dutch U-21 star somewhere close to 17M. With frustrations boiling over and Real also looking to confirm Chelsea's Robben Drenthe sought legal aid and his attorney was going to represent him in an arbitration court.

20 Year old Drenthe will make the dream move after a medical and an official presentation but is expected to sign a 5 year deal. Real also did not agree to Feyenoord's clause of bringing Drenthe back on a loan deal. Real's offer is expected to be close to 13M.

Drenthe is definitely one of the options for the attacking flare in the left side of midfield. He is young and highly rated and Real beat off some tough competition including that of Chelsea to win the signature. He is young and highly rated and as long as he keeps his head and does not have a repeat edition of his tantrums with the coaches then he should be a success with the Spanish Champions. Now Spanish media claim that Real are a whisker away from closing the deal on Robben and that they are waiting for Chelsea to accept.

Transfer rumor mills also churning out stories that Real are in a triple dutch swoop as they are also chasing Wesley Sneijder from Ajax.

It is really impressive to see Real going for some young talent and keeping the average age of the squad low. The current average age in the squad is 24 and its great to see a board and President who are bringing in some young and talented players rather than going for the big names. The nucleus should always be the likes of Raul and Guti and they should always rely on the youngsters to play and learn off them... Good strategy....

Alves and Robben edging closer to dream moves

Real Madrid have not been shy of their interest in the flying dutch man. Its heard that Real had officially tabled an offer with Chelsea at least 3 weeks back. The negotiations battled on and last week it was rumored that Real are ready to offer 40M for a double swoop on Robben and Ballack. The German later denied any fact in these rumors and signalled his desire to stay with the West Londoners...

Robben senior Hans who is also the player's agent claims that an accord between both the clubs would be struck in less than 24 hours. Chelsea is probably holding out for a few million just to make sure that they get the best deal and that the Spanish champions should not push them for a deal. Real for the first time would be struggling here to do business with a club for whom money would be the last option. The only notable advantage in this case would be that Robben himself wants a move to the Bernabeu. With a possible offer tabled by Chelsea for Dani Alves, i decided to club these two possible transfer news in the same blog, as Chelsea would not hurt with some cash from the Robben deal, if they are to price out Dani from Sevilla.

One of my friend's did mention that Robben is injury prone and him being a Chelsea fan was happy to see Robben off the squad list especially since the arrival of Malouda. Robben is a class act no doubt and i don't think he has been effectively used at Chelsea. Robben has the same problem any winger has, rather it is how wingers like to play. He needs to keep the ball a lot and dribble his way through. Well Premiership is not a good place for such players, but Spain is. His pace and attacking flair is what Madrid lacks in midfield. Real have some effective strikers and some strikers like Raul and Higuain who are forced to connect more with the midfield by tracking back. A player like Robben will help the strikers to stay up.

Media across the world especially the Spanish media had been hounding Robben for a comment and earlier today he was quoted saying " I would love to send a message out to the Real Madrid fans but till the time the deal is done, i have been prohibited from having any media contact".

On the other hand it has been Alves who has been speaking endlessly on a move to Chelsea, amidst all the rumors neither clubs have confirmed an offer. Dani claimed today that " Chelsea have made an official bid and it is up to Sevilla to act professional" He went on to say that " I have been a professional at Sevilla all through the years and it is now time for me to play at a bigger stage and i hope Sevilla will also be professional"

Even though there are such a lot of new clauses that protect smaller clubs in the new transfer rules, if the player wants to leave and if a club is willing to pay a reasonable amount of money, there is no way a team like Sevilla or any other team can retain the player. Well for a club like Chelsea what is a "reasonable offer"? We need to check with their Billionaire owner Roman.

Real Madrid President promises 3 more....

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon told today that coach Schuster is going to be very happy, as he is definitely going to have a team to compete for all the titles. He also said that in the next week or so Madrid would be revealing at least 3 more signings.

Kaka: For some reason the President still fuels the speculation even when Milan and Kaka have clearly mentioned that there is no more to discuss about Real. Madrid President is letting Kaka know that the Spanish champions have been interested in him for at least couple of years and that if the player tells the Italians giants they may re think their stance on him. Calderon must be so desperate with the snub on the reportedly huge 80M advances that he is playing some mind games. He said "Milan does not want to sell and we cannot talk further".

Robben: The President claimed that since Robben has a clear desire to play for Madrid it would not be a problem to complete the transfer and that Madrid would see Robben's dream fulfilled.

Inesta: Inesta has a 60M buy out clause in his contract and there was a rumour a couple of weeks back that Real are ready to pay Barca the 60M to sign Inesta after their bid for Fabregas failed. Well asked about this he said that the coach and the board like Inesta but nothing further.

Well repeatedly questioned on the names of the possible signings Calderon claimed that he is not going to name anyone and that the press would know only few hours before the signing. He said that the rumors spread by the press is blowing up the cost of players. Concluding that Real want the best player but at the minimum cost.

One of the reporters asked him jokingly "So why pay 30M for Pepe, we did not hike up his price". Calderon responded by saying " Have you seen him play?" Well Madrid lost 0-3 to Hannover 96 in Germany and is now in Russia participating in a tournament as a part of the 170 years of Russian railways. The other teams are PSV, AC Milan and hosts Lokhomotiv Moscow. It needs to be seen how Madrid fares here. It should never be the name but it should be the game that matters....

Tevez finally a Man U player

The row between Man U, West Ham and the so called player's agents who hold the financial rights of the player is finally over. FIFA was also brought in to resolve this. Finally the player's agent threatened to take the matter to the courts to get a resolution.

With Tevez all bent upon joining United there was nothing West Ham could have done to keep him at the club. The illegal transactions involved in the signing of Tevez and his national team mate Mascherano on the last day of the transfer window last season resulted in a fine of 5.5M for West Ham. Finally the resolution has been made because West Ham is to be compensated 2M for this deal.

Tevez has started training at Man U and is expected to make a debut soon. Well in my previous blog on who Man U should buy i had made a striker a priority and even mentioned the likes of Tevez. Now here he is, the natural goal scorer will flourish if he can play well alongside Rooney and Ronaldo. Man U have really made their squad stronger to defend their title.

Alan Smith joins New Newcastle

Newcastle coach Big Sam has an idea that he can win with attacking options. He already had the fit and ready Owen, Ameobi and Martins who was impressive last season. He also signed Mark Viduka when the transfer window opened and now he has brought in Alan Smith from Manchester United.

Smith was not getting first team football, and i did mention about him in one of my previous blogs that he needs to move on. He is a decent attacking player who has very few chances to play in that position. It is true that representing Man U is a big honor but not necessarily at the cost of your career. Smith was also played as the holding player in midfield by Ferguson after Keane left. Now with Man U completing the transfer of Tevez, it leaves Smith with less chances.

Newcastle has fought off competition from a host of other clubs to acquire his signature. With the attacking options at Newcastle it needs to be seen if Smith is jumping from the pan to the fire....

Alex almost a Chelsea player

Chelsea has been following the Brazilian Centre back for a year now and Jose Mourinho had claimed that Alex would be the primary player targeted by Chelsea this season.

The burly Brazilian has been given a work permit and pending finalizing personal terms and a medical we would see Alex in a Chelsea jersey next term.

I am a big fan of this stocky defender, as he has that flair that most of his national team mates have, strong in the air and good with standing tackles, the only probable weakness he has is against fast drifting strikers.

Mourinho has identified a strong back up for his back line who struggled with injuries to including their captain Terry. Well Essien filled in as a centre back and did an outstanding job, but obviously Jose wants more choices.

For a player from outside the European Union to play in England, it is required to obtain a Work permit, which has a specific clause that the player in question should have played in at least 70% of the international games that his home country has featured in the past one year. Well Alex's cause was helped with the Copa America in which he almost played in all the games and did a decent job as well.

Strikers in England look out you might actually end up having to go around Terry and Alex. Chelsea fans would definitely be excited with the prospect of a Brazilian in their ranks and Chelsea can use the arrival of Alex to lure another long term interest Dani Alves to Stamford Bridge.

Drenthe Saga rolls on

Royston Drenthe was unheard of outside Holland till Real Madrid's desperation to land a left sided midfielder came upon. The highly rated Dutch U21 international was in the interest of a host of clubs in Europe including Barcelona, Chelsea and Real.

I have been reading about this whole interest and the claims from Drenthe's agent of the player rejecting Real's approaches as the Coach was planning to play Drenthe as a left back. Well the latest in the whole story is that Real has tabled an offer of 12.5M to Feyenoord and that the Dutch champions are holding out for somewhere close to 17M. Now Drenthe's agent is complaining that Feyenoord is putting a block on his client's dream move and the amount his current employers are asking Real is ridiculous. He is surprised at the inability of Feyenoord to strike a deal with Real when most clubs around the world find it easy.

Schuster has claimed publicly that Real desperately need a left sided midfielder. With the Robben offer not materialized yet, Drenthe now claims that he is desperate to join the Spanish Champions.

Well i pulled up some info on the so called next Dutch superstar and looks like in his short professional career he has already had two altercations with two of his former coaches. Well red flag and a flaming red flag. Real have had their hands burnt in the past when they signed Cassano who was famous or rather notorious all across the world with his on going feud with Roma. A player with that kind of a short fuse is going to blow up any time, and he did when he abused Capello on being substituted. After a poor season of almost no games and Arthritis Real would want to offload Cassano but will there be any takers?

Well Real want a Left sided midfielder but is Roston Drenthe worth all this effort & is he the player that Real would call the next Zidane?

Dani Alves wants out of Sevilla

The Brazilian full back has joined Sevilla team back after his Copa America tournament. The versatality of Dani was in full show in the final against Argentina when he was introduced as a right midfielder and scored a smashing goal, the finisher 3rd goal.

His club life has also been off to a great start, after Sevilla successfully defended their UEFA cup and also competing for the leaugue honors for the major part and finally finshed 3rd. Though Sevilla have been silent in the transfer market, they still have an amazing squad to compete for the league and the Champions League.

The highly rated Alves has mentioned today that though he is back training with his club, he is waiting for a deal to be finalized for a move. He said " life of a football player is short and so i need to make the best of mine too". The reported suiters are Chelsea who have openly admitted that they are keen admirers of the Brazilian.

Alves like most of his national counterparts like Cafu and Cicinho is very attack minded. To add to that Dani is also a set piece specialist and is good defensively as well. It was interesting to see his defensive skills put to test against Real's home match against Sevilla when he had to defend the flank against Robinho. For most part of the match Dani got the better of his national team mate.

Chelsea would do really well with an addition like Dani Alves. With the possibility of having Alex at Stamford Bridge, Dani would be excited to accept the multi millions from Roman.

Baptista going nowhere!

AC Milan offered a Loan deal with a buy out option after a year for "the beast", but the Brazilian international Copa America winner has decided to turn down the loan deal. As expected he joined the rest of the team who are in training in Germany.

Baptista claimed that he talked to Schuster and got an assurance that he will be there in his plans for the season. Real would not have been interested for yet another loan deal for the Brazilian as the first loan deal with Arsenal did not go well. The exchange deal fell through and Reyes joined rivals Athletico.

Real have a habit of signing players who may not even fit the squad or playing style and then loaning them out. In the past few seasons there are numerous names such as Woodgate (loaned to Middlesbrough after recovery from injury), Pablo Garcia, Carlos Diogo, Javier Portillo, Roberto Soldado to name a few.

Woodgate completed a permanent switch, so did Portillo. Real have brought back Soldado and loaned out Garcia again.

Real paid a huge sum of money to price out Baptista from Sevilla couple of seasons back. What sense does it make after that to loan him out season after season, paying his salary which is the usual case in a loan deal. Its time this nonsense is stopped. Keeping the squad tight and happy.