Barça-Madrid veterans game in Qatar

[Flavia]

The game will be played as part of the Aspire4Sport 2012 forum dedicated to sport and business which is being held in the Qatari capital next week. The match is seen as one of the event’s main attractions

The game will be played as part of the Aspire4Sport 2012 forum dedicated to sport and business which is being held in the Qatari capital next week. The match is seen as one of the event’s main attractions.

The Agrupació Barça Jugadors team will play in Doha, Qatar this Tuesday 14th November in the Classic Legends Match against a side of ex-Real Madrid stars. The game will see the debut for the Barça veterans of such big names as Ronald de Boer, Bolo Zenden, Jari Litmanen, Vitor Baía or Fernando Couto, alongside players such as Goikoetxea, Nadal, Milla and Reiziger. The President of the Agrupació Ramon Alfonseda will also travel with the players for the game.


The Barça team

Vítor Baía; Ronald de Boer; Thomas Christiansen; Fernando Couto; Jon Andoni Goikoetxea; Jari Litmanen; Gaizka Mendieta; Lluís Milla; Miquel Àngel Nadal; Felip Ortiz; Michael Reiziger; Xavier Sánchez Jara; Boudewijn “Bolo” Zenden

 

[PearLBLacK]

Any idea who the RM team will consist of?

 

[Trickykid]

"Interesting" choice of players to represent Barca, to say the least. With the exception of course of Nadal and Goikoetxea and possibly Milla every single of those players were either complete failures or just rather insignificant players in terms of legacy and the history of the club.
As I see it, at least a couple of Zenden, Baia, Ronald de Boer, Litmanen and even Reiziger could be candidates for a disappointing-transfers hall of shame.

 

[Messi+Eto]

"Interesting" choice of players to represent Barca, to say the least. With the exception of course of Nadal and Goikoetxea and possibly Milla every single of those players were either complete failures or just rather insignificant players in terms of legacy and the history of the club.
As I see it, at least a couple of Zenden, Baia, Ronald de Boer, Litmanen and even Reiziger could be candidates for a disappointing-transfers hall of shame.

I didn't want to say it. . .

 

[Plip]

To be fair to Litmanen, his time at Camp Nou was heavily poised with injuries and it's a shame really. He was an amazing powerhouse during his time at Ajax and was incredibly unlucky. He could've been an amazing hit at Camp Nou for years to come.

de Boer wasn't that bad either, given the shape of our team back then. He was made look worse than he is playing in such a dysfunctional unit.

 

[raskolnikov]

Litmanen is easily the most talented player out of that team.

 

[Trickykid]

I don't disagree that Litmanen was a fantastic player back then, and sure, injuries were definately largely to blame, but ultimately, given the huge expectations, he was a disaster transfer.
Ronald de Boer however, he was plain bad, expecially considering his price and reputation.

 

[Plip]

I don't disagree that Litmanen was a fantastic player back then, and sure, injuries were definately largely to blame, but ultimately, given the huge expectations, he was a disaster transfer.
Ronald de Boer however, he was plain bad, expecially considering his price and reputation.

In terms of expectations, yes he could be called a "disaster." But that's pretty much it, because if that's a disaster in your books what would Christanval, Rochembak and Geovanni be?

Besides, I think de Boer's failure was more down to our central defense being in absolute fucking tatters during that time. He barely had a proper CB partnering him during his time at Barça.

 

[adil_909]

the team need kluivert to be complete!

 

[Trickykid]

In terms of expectations, yes he could be called a "disaster." But that's pretty much it, because if that's a disaster in your books what would Christanval, Rochembak and Geovanni be?

Besides, I think de Boer's failure was more down to our central defense being in absolute fucking tatters during that time. He barely had a proper CB partnering him during his time at Barça.

Plip, you're thinking of Frank, his brother. Ronald was a midfielder and winger. Frank wasn't half bad, so I understand why you don't see him as a failure.

About Litmanen, It's all about semantics here. As an overall package I do believe he was a disaster. He wasn't plain bad like the three you mention, but coming as one of the very best 10's in the game, you would have hoped for more than 20-30 games.

 

[Trickykid]

the team need kluivert to be complete!

I think it's a misconception that Kluivert was a flop with Barça. Sure, the team didn't do too well in that period, and I think he only managed to win one La Liga and perhaps a Copa(not sure about that one) but he still managed to score a goal every two matches. He didn't exactly set the world alight, but he was a decent striker no doubt.

 

[Theconomist]

I think it's a misconception that Kluivert was a flop with Barça. Sure, the team didn't do too well in that period, and I think he only managed to win one La Liga and perhaps a Copa(not sure about that one) but he still managed to score a goal every two matches. He didn't exactly set the world alight, but he was a decent striker no doubt.

This. A goalscorer with Kluivert's consistency would solve our Eto'o problem.

 

[Plip]

Plip, you're thinking of Frank, his brother. Ronald was a midfielder and winger. Frank wasn't half bad, so I understand why you don't see him as a failure.

About Litmanen, It's all about semantics here. As an overall package I do believe he was a disaster. He wasn't plain bad like the three you mention, but coming as one of the very best 10's in the game, you would have hoped for more than 20-30 games.

Oh, you're actually right. My brain took a nap there.

Ronald was awful yes, and the kind of bundle deal we received with van Gaal's moving in was absurd. de Boers, Bogarde, Dani, Litmanen and a few others making their transition from Ajax to Barça...

Luckily Nuñez in his last few years tried just about anything to appease the fans, and throwing cash around mindlessly was one of them.

However, back to Litmanen - maybe as a Fin I'm giving him a certain amount of leeway, as he still is an icon over in Finland. I sort of blame van Gaal for his failure, as he should've stayed in Ajax for a few more years.

 

[cule19]

Doesn't sound very good, no Oleguer...

 

[impeh]

Mendieta