CatalinR10
Senior Member
HOPE
Marco Verratti
- Thread starter Ode to Django
- Start date
HOPE
Raketa10
Senior Member
That is his own fault. He even extended contract last year and he will do that this year again. He is using us only to get salary increase, you'll see.
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Trickykid
Active member
That's such a ridiculously easy claim to make. When P$G won't let him go, the outcome will probably be a new bumper contract for him, and then you'll gloat and say I told you so.
In reality, though, I could easily imagine him badly wanting to come, but obviously won't be allowed by his employer.
putogusiluz8
The Pale One
Someone argued that Italians don't make it playing for Barcelona/Spain. I remember Zambrotta, but I thought he left because he missed his home country... was he that much of a failure?
Raketa10
Senior Member
If he wanted to leave he shouldn't have extended his contract last year, with that contract he signed for life with them.
Trickykid
Active member
People can be impressionable - especially so when big money is involved. Besides, players extend contracts all over the place only to regret is later on - which I bet is the case with Verratti. Not that I condone is, but that's just how it is.
Lelouch vi Britannia
Banned
Serie A transfers don't tend to work out for us.
Ligue 1 transfers on the other hand...
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Zambrotta was probably the best fullback we got during Rijkaard's days IMHO.
That said,he came as the best fullback in the world,just winning the world cup and 2 Calcio titles and still had few years in his prime. Being solid was considered failure for a player of his abilities
BBZ8800
Senior Member
Yes, as Khaled says.
Barca played awesome in first 3 Rijkaard's years.
In the first year, we started bad (we had only Ronaldinho) and then we clicked in the 2nd part of a season and almost won a title in the end (we were around 10th place around New year). We finished 2nd behind Valencia in the end.
In the summer of 2004, we bought Deco, Etoo, Larsson, Guily, Edmilson, Belletti and a few other guys and we continued our momentum from the 1st season with improved team.
We won La Liga in the 2nd season and started to play the best football in Europe (we lost to Mou's Chelsea in a CL).
In the 3rd season, we continued our momentum and won La liga again. This time, we won a CL also (our 2nd in a history, after 1992').
So, in the first 3 seasons, it was all awesome and we were filled with motivation and good chemistry.
Also, in the defense, we played with Gio (LB), Puyol, Marquez, Oleguer (Cb/RB) and Belletti (RB).
Those five less flashy guys played awesome (even Oleguer who was ridiculed all of the time. But we were winning with those guys as starters).
Then Juve was involved in a match fixing scandal and they had to sell players. We bought Zamrotta and Thuram, and on paper it seemed: "We have just won a CL with average defenders and now we bought 2 Juve's defenders. We will be 20-30% stronger in the next season".
But in reality, not only that we weren't at 120% in the next season, but we actually dropped to let's say 80-90% of the previous seasons.
A whole team lost motivation after 3 good seasons and after winning 2 La ligas and 1 Cl.
Ronaldinho, a key man, started to party all the time. Deco (our Iniesta of that era) who was a born Brasilian turned into a Portuguese also lost motivation plus he had problems with his wife (divorce).
So, our team in general lost motivation. 2 key playmakers declined heavily extremely fast.
Plus, new guys like Gudjohnssen, Zambrotta and Thuram never clicked as expected.
To some extent, I would dare to say that weaker players, Oleguer and Belletti, performed better in previous seasons as starters than Zambrotta and Thuram.
New guys weren't bad. But they were just different.
Remember how Zlatan or Paco needed a lot of time to learn our movements and how to be "a part of a team" and understand all actions.
To some extent, Zambrotta especially looked somewhat lost and not too good in link up play in attacks.
He had a potential, he had the experience, he didn't lack bravery, but something was just wrong.
I remember while watching Barca in those days that I thought: wtf is this? Coach, take him off (Zambrotta) and put Belletti in, this is just not working. Chemistry is wrong. Movement is wrong. Something is just wrong.
In short, Belletti was limited in a lot of areas and he had quite a low IQ (he made lots of stupid mistakes and decisions), but still, even that way, he was like 8/10 good in those 2 years when we won 2 La ligas.
Zambrotta was (imo) weaker fit than Belletti and I would give him 6/10 for his 2 years here.
So, a weaker and dumber player who clicked well with a team (Belletti) was in the end a better fit than the best RB in the world, who just didn't click at all with a team and who never really clicked into "a Barca's DNA" style of play.
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Neymessi
Active member
Just a thought. Maybe if we didn't humiliate them 6-1 in the second leg, Veratti would already be signed
Maybe its the opposite. Maybe verratti saw how superior we are to them after 6-1 and decided to join us.
TornAndFrayed
Banned
Just a thought, maybe Verratti extended last summer after hearing we were closing in on Gomes.
That would be so fucking depressing
That would be so fucking depressing
Sorin
Well-known member
Yeah I also believe that after that match he realized that even in a not so great form, Barcelona can beat PSG coming back from a four goal deficit. He probably said "fuck it i'm leaving these chokers". Losing the league to Monaco made this even easier. Also Emery isn't quite the right manager for someone like Verratti. His tactics are for the most part conservative.
Just a thought, maybe Verratti extended last summer after hearing we were closing in on Gomes.
That would be so fucking depressing
Doubt it. Gomes came out of nowhere. It was all RM, then next thing MD or Sport(can't remember exactly) announced Barcelona signing Gomes. personally I was like WTF since when were we after this dude?
behindbrowneyes
Well-known member
+ that some see him (including Don Andres) as the natural successor of Iniesta. I don't buy it because I see Verratti more like the successor of Xavi and Coutinho as the successor of Iniesta. However, this kind of stories can turn around the head of a player who is basically happy at his club. This makes you think. I mean Don Andres is easily one of the best of his time, when it comes to titles he is the best. If Verratti's salary really is 6M after renewing his contract this won't be a problem either.
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