Big name transfers accross Europe, how did they do?

Big name players make or break clubs and how clubs perform in a season. As in every season the summer time is a time to look out for sports journalist around the world. Who a club buys during the transfer window is so important that in Spain when there is a Club President election, the candidate promises some of the best players. Maybe it is too early to come to a conclusion on whether the player is going to be successful or not. Some of the most successful players definitely needed a few seasons before they promoted themselves into the world class league. Examples of Kaka for Milan and C.Ronaldo for Man U are recent examples.

Since i started officially blogging before the summer transfer in 2007 and that i have written a lot on possible transfers and also on the possibility of success of these players, i thought it would be apt to analyze how some of the big name and big money transfers did half way through the season with their new employers.

I will start with the league that i follow very closely, ie the Spanish La liga no points for guessing

Wesley Sneijder:

The dutch midfielder was signed from Ajax without any fuss. There was no press news at all till the date the Attacking Midfielder signed the contract and was presented. Really unlike any signing that Real Madrid make. The 18.3M signing made one of the best impacts by a new player in Real Madrid in a few years. 4 goals in his first 3 games including two spectacular free kicks. Wearing the #23 jersey he was immediately taking over the Beckham mantle. But the press writing about him on a daily basis probably put immense pressure on him and his form deteriorated to an extend that the same press claimed that Sneijder has problem settling in the Spanish capital and is taking counselling sessions. Sneijder has responded back with some good performances and goals and assists and is the number one choice for coach Schuster in the link man role in midfield. Real Madrid have not played with an attacking midfielder in their team since Zidane left and Sneijder though is very different from the french great has created new flair in the Madrid midfield.

Here are 4 goals with which Sneijder started his Madrid career:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtTZ2BLmW8w

Pepe:

Press across Spain and Europe said Real Madrid are blowing up the transfer market by paying 20M for a lesser known player. As i mentioned in one of the previous blogs Madrid Sporting Director Mijatovic said "You need to see him play and you wont ask me this question again". He said it right, as everyone had to wait for a few games as Pepe was injured from the beginning of the season. Once he stepped on the pitch, there was a defender who showed some terrific ball control similar to a forward, excellent in the air and attacks the ball well. He was the Center Back that Madrid was searching for a few seasons, precisely 4 years since their great Fernando Hierro left. Since then Madrid was a defenders jinx, as they had the likes of Woodgate, Walter Samuel all not lasting more than a season. Pepe's performance against Barcelona so phenomenal that when he reached Portugal the next day for the winter break there were people crowding in the airport. The Brazilian born defender is a naturalized citizen with Portugal and was called into the national team earlier in the year. Though Madrid brought in the likes of Metzelder and Heinze also to bolster the defence it has been Pepe who has brought new life and confidence into the Madrid defense. Cannavaro who had a miserable first year seem to have formed a spectacular partnership with the portugese and has helped Sergio Ramos move into his natural RB position. Unfortunately the defender has got injured yesterday and is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks.

One of my favorite videos on the net. This is a compilation of his spectacular performance against Barcelona:

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

Arjen Robben:

The 23 year old flying Dutchman made the most anticipated move of the summer for Real Madrid fans with Chelsea holding up for a huge amount of money. Though they have not disclosed the amount it is expected to be over 30M. I had a blog on this when the transfer happened and had mixed reactions as comments from tow regular readers Spartan and Nik. Nik though is a Chelsea fan said while he agrees that Robben is a spectacular player, he is injured all the time and does not get through 20 games. Spartan meanwhile said Robben is the most under rated winger in the world. I am forced to agree with Nik now. 1 start in the Champions League, 2 in the League and 2 in the Spanish Cup half way through the season is the reason why. I agree with Spartan because the time Robben has played he has looked phenomenal. 15 mins of magic is not going to make a good player. Since he is young, Madrid would not loan him out so Robben still needs to prove his worth or might find his way out at the end of the campaign.

Thierry Henry:

As a fan i was fed up with this particular news coming up year after year and finally this year Barcelona convinced Arsenal to sell and Henry to join the Spanish giants for 16.1M. When i saw Ronaldinho and Henry on the ground i thought there was something wrong here. Henry is not a target man striker and not a pure #9. He is more of a drifter, who drifts wide left. Henry having enjoyed all the responsibilities in Arsenal was bound to miss being the creative man, the scoring machine, the set piece kick taker and the penalty taker. Henry is just average in the air. It took him too many games to thrill the Barcelona faithful. Henry has scored 10 goals so far in all competitions including 6 from 13 games in the League. The games recently played without Ronaldinho, Henry has looked more confident and has been his normal self. With Ronaldinho's future hanging in the balance it looks as though Henry has stardom waiting him for at Barcelona.

It took a while but his first goal in the La Liga was not exactly just one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y1BHp5htIQ

Gabriel Milito:

There was probably no doubt in Milito's class. He had proven that in Zaragoza. Bought for 13.8M the Argentine has been a regular in the Barca squad and has given some speed to an aging back line and has put Thuram on the bench. Has already made 24 appearances in all competitions. Whenever i write about Milito, i cannot stay away from mentioning the fact that he was brought to Spain by Real Madrid in 2003 and later not signed after the medical showing some injury concerns. Ya of course Madrid is very careful about it. Woodgate, Metzelder, Robben, Ronaldo, Cassano to name a few who all were signed by Real with evident injury concerns.

Eric Abidal:

Barcelona spent 10M to obtain the services of the french LB from Lyon. He has been a regular for Rijkaard. Having already played in 16 of the 20 league games and 5 of the 6 Champions League that Barcelona have played so far. Abidal enjoys running up and down the left wing. Does not seem to be super fast, but is a solid LB. With the importance of total football, Barcelona have made a good signing, but Barca may get only a maximum of 3 years from him as he is already 28 years old.

Yaya Toure:

Signed from Monaco for an Undisclosed amount Toure has cemented his place immediately in the star studded midfield of the Spanish giants. The reason is simple, Barcelona do not have a good defensive midfielder. They have the likes of Edmilson who is always on the injured list and Xavi who is more of a CM and is not exactly a pure defensive midfielder. The impact that Toure has made in 19 appearances in total for Barcelona have been more important to Barcelona because of the necessity. He is a good tackler and is a decent distributor of the ball.

Diego Forlan:

Signed by Atletico Madrid from Villareal almost on the same day Fernando Torres left for Liverpool for 14M has made a decent impact and has filled into the big shoes left by Torres. If you look at his stats he has done better than what Torres used to have midway through the season to show for in goals. In 25 appearances the Uruguay international has scored 12 goals in all competitions. Football journalists around the world appreciated Atletico for making a good choice when Forlan was signed. Football analysts predicted him to be a big success, the fact that Atletico are in the top 4 of the league is mostly due to Forlan and Sergio Aguero. If playing well they have an excellent attacking team, Forlan, Sergio Aguero, Raul Garcia and Jose Antonio Reyes. Forlan is a player who has never been able to show his class even at teams like Man U. This is his chance.

Enough of the Spanish League, i know this will have very limited interest, if i dont bring the EPL into picture. I will start with the biggest transfer in the EPL and no points for guessing.

Fernando Torres:

The most expensive transfer in the Premiership 26.5M is what Liverpool parted with to bring in the highly rated Striker. The true target man and a target with the best attributes. When he signed for Liverpool and in my blog, Spartan one of the regular readers and big time Liverpool fan was not sure if they had spent all this money on the right player. I had replied saying that watching La liga i pretty much knew that Torres could make a big impact in EPL. No offense to the EPL but at his time at Atletico Torres used to struggle past 15 goals a season. Ok now an EPL fan would argue that Torres did not have enough service in Atletico but has some good midfield support here in Liverpool. 11 goals from 17 Premiership games, 3 (spectacular hat trick) in one Carling cup, 3 Goals in 4 Champions League appearances. A total of 18 goals in 24 appearances should create a fan base for the Spaniard. The 23 year old has signed a 6 year contract and for me is the transfer that has made the maximum impact. Some of the goals he score were purely extraordinary and Torres has just been terrorising the defenders in EPL. Benitez on the other hand has just been a little difficult to understand with his rotation policy. The lack of squad depth is again going to affect Liverpool and they might again end up in the top 4 but a lot of points away from the eventual winners.

superlative is all i can say:

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

Andriy Voronin:

If you get a 28 year old striker #10 on a free transfer, any impact is good impact. The Ukrainian joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen. He has not been exciting in the goal scoring department, has definitely added a bit more to Liverpool apart from his Hollywood movie star looks. From the Liverpool games i have seen, Voronin is the best second striker combination to Fernando Torres. He digs deep, puts the defenders always on their toes by tracking them down and always is happy to have a high work rate by joining the midfield to start moves. Voronin has scored only 4 goals from 16 starts for Liverpool, but you want to partner Torres with Crouch?

Ryan Babel:

One more addition by Benitez to an a record breaking transfer period. 11.5 M is what Liverpool paid for the high flying attacking midfielder from Ajax. Considering the fact that he has made only 5 starts from the 19 games played in the EPL, Benitez probably things that the 21 year old is not there yet. The 7 goals Babel has tallied in all competitions is not bad considering the fact that he is more of a super sub. Looks like an Arjen Robben in the making, but lets just hope he is better with the time spent in the sick bed.

Carlos Tevez:

I have the bragging rights for this one. Last summer i had identified Tevez as the one for Man U, the second striker to play along with Rooney. The Argentine who saved West Ham from relegation was chased by almost all of the big clubs in Europe. Finally i am still not sure what kind of a deal Man U worked out with his agents, which is to be initially a loan deal and then be converted to a permanent deal. He has started in 21 of the 23 EPL games and has scored 10 goals, 2 more from 2 Champions League appearances, but its been the partnership with Rooney that has been spectacular. With a Attacking midfielder like C.Ronaldo who has scored an unbelievable 23 goals in 24 game to compliment the two strikers it is a treat to watch Man U in full flow. Full credit to Ferguson for playing Tevez on a regular basis ahead of the fit and ready Saha.

Owen Hargreaves:

Man U had to get into a bidding battle for almost a year for the highly rated defensive midfielder. Midway through the season Hargreaves has just made 11 starts for Man U. With tough competition from Darren Fletcher its not time yet to guarantee a starting spot for Hargreaves.

Luis Nani:

The 21 year old Portugese attacking midfielder was signed from Sporting Lisbon for an undisclosed amount. Many consider him to be a prototype of C.Ronaldo. It seems the Manager has a plan for him and that is to play him in all Champions League matched, he has started in 5 of the 6 such matches. Having started in 9 EPL games and having seen him play he looks very similar to Ronaldo's first season at Man U. He seems to be superb in wing play but lacks quality in his final ball. A couple of seasons under the Scottish Maestro would definitely turn Nani into a good player.

Oliveira Anderson:

The 19 year old Brazilian was signed from FC Porto for an Undisclosed amount, and for some reason has got into the good books of the Manager. With an aging midfield that Man U have with the likes of Scholes and Giggs past their prime Fergusson must be looking to groom a fresh set of midfield stars. Anderson has surprisingly made 15 starts for Man U, each time i have seen him play there has not been anything so far that has made me say "wow".

Alex:

Surprising Chelsea was silent in the transfer window and did not splash their millions. They signed a few on free transfers before they reinforced their defense by bringing in this Brazilian center back for an undisclosed amount from PSV Eindhoven. When his transfer was confirmed i had written about his abilities. In a team with minimum focus on defense like Brazil, Alex has been able to hold fort. The huge center back is superb in the air and has a decent standing tackle. 22 starts for his new employer shows that new Manager Avram Grant is trusting the new defender. Also the fact that captain fantastic John Terry is injured has given the right platform for Alex. He is a threat in the air and almost if Terry was not enough of a threat in attacking set pieces, Alex has already score 3 goals.

Tal Ben Haim:

A free transfer from Bolton the Israel International has also got the opportunities with injury concerns in the Chelsea back line. Ben Haim has made 13 starts for Chelsea this season and from what i have seen, he is a fair player....

Claudio Pizarro :

Another of the free transfers for Chelsea this time from Bayern Munich as proven by the signing of Anelka has not been a good enough back up for their strike force of Sheva, Drogba and Kalou. The 29 year old in my opinion does not have a place in a squad like Chelsea...

Eduardo Da Silva:

One of the most talked about transfers and i am not sure many knew the talent and was always thinking of the 24 year old Brazilian born naturalized Croatian as a replacement for Henry. Well he is no Henry for sure, but he is flair and a striker with the natural eye for goal. I was always skeptical about what he would achieve moving in from Dinamo Zagreb. There was immense expectations from the Gunners hopefuls especially knowing the fact that Eduardo scored a stunning 34 goals the last season. In 15 starts for Arsenal Eduardo has scored 8 goals, by no means anything less than impressive. My colleague Marina was quick to correct me and say that Eudardo is for sure going to be a star. I am bound to agree with her now as since Henry left the young players at Arsenal are getting a chance to take responsibility and boy are they not shining. Fabregas has even openly admitted that Henry leaving Arsenal has let some steam off. The problem for Wenger is to give Eduardo playing time, when Emmanuel Adebayor has scored 15 goals from 20 EPL appearances.

Here are his first 10 goals for Arsenal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUkZCU5P-f4

Elano:

Man City under new boss Sven was indeed building a team to dislodge the usual top 4 in the EPL. I noticed Elano first in the Copa America last year in the shock final between a Brazil team without the big guns taking on a fully loaded Argentina. His stupendous cross pitch pass to Baptista who scored from it, had class written all over it. Unfortunately he was injured minutes and later and could not complete the final. Man City spent 8M "Thai money" to obtain the Brazilians services from Shaktar Donetsk. He along with Bulgarian Petrov has taken over the Man City midfield. Elano has so far featured in 22 games and scored 7 goals including some spectacular free kicks.

Here is a video of his first goal for Man City and man its a cracker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VOYMtyoduQ

David Beckham:

The shock transfer of last summer though finalized in the winter of the previous year, was that of English midfielder David Beckham. Arguably one of the most recognizable faces in all sports, LA Galaxy in the MLS obtained Beckham's signature on a free transfer. Beckham's 5 year contract is estimated at a whooping 50M a year. Well i wrote about this so called transfer coup of the century, and failed to understand most articles written on this. There was minimum focus on Beckham's sports value it was more of his marketing value and an icon. That is exactly what happened. MLS and Soccer (as Americans call it) got a kick in the rear end that was lacking in the US. Becks arrived in the Hollywood city injured and took a while to be match fit. When he did make a start he did it in Hollywood style indeed. 50,000 screaming fans saw Beckham smash in a free kick and give a taste of his quality. But that was it, Galaxy is still languishing at the bottom of the MLS and Beckham is struggling to stay match fit during the long winter break in the US. He is now training with the Arsenal first team and reserves in a hope of being called up for England's first game in february since Fabio Capello took charge. Having played 99 matched for England and having played for two of the best clubs in the World, i dont think Beckham has made the right choice so early in his career.

There are players like Juan Pablo Angel at NY the Colombian striker signed from Aston Villa, Denilson at Dallas, Fred at DC United, Blanco at Chicago have done wonders in MLS compared to Beckham.

I have definitely overlooked players at smaller teams who have made an impact, my idea was specifically to analyze whether big spenders are indeed getting the value for the money spent.