The contract

I know, I know... three weeks without a post and one could easily think that this blog is over before it even began! Had I signed a contract though, the frequency of the updates would have definitely been inserted as a clause and I would have to respect it... or would I?

Contracts are the flavour of this year's summer. And it's not just the Cristiano Ronaldo saga (I was thinking of including a link but where do I begin? Maybe this is the most appropriate) which is still going on with as many twists and turns as the player's moves on the football pitch. Gareth Barry has also been involved in a tug of war between Aston Villa and Liverpool regarding his registration. So should players be forced to honour the contracts that they have already signed or should they be allowed to blackmail their clubs, forcing them to accept a transfer?

Let's take Ronaldo's example: he plays for Manchester United but he more or less says that he would like to go to Real Madrid. Of course, he is under contract with the Red Devils, a contract that he was expected to see out unless both his team and himself agreed upon its cancellation. Real Madrid play the game very carefully: they know that approaching the player without Man Utd's agreement would probably land them some sort of fine by FIFA (although it is Real Madrid that we are talking about...). At the same time, they are making noises about wanting Ronaldo dressed in the white shirt of Madrid.

Ronaldo himself is also in a delicate position. He knows what he wants (the whole world probably does) but is also aware that it may be the case that he will still be at Man Utd come September 1st. He does not want to burn any bridges ... yet! So he sits still. Officially demanding a transfer would probably cost him (in money terms), whereas should Real launch a bid and is accepted, he would benefit more.

But what of the contract which is already under way? Manchester United obviously do not want to sell him, and they may even try to force him to stay by flatly rejecting any approach. And then what? You end up with a disgruntled player, not producing at the best of his ability or even worse who is forced to watch the game from the stands (as Ferguson threatened). Furthermore, the dressing room morale may take a hit and as a result the team's form may plunge especially when we are talking about such an important player.

So who is right in all of this? In my opinion, contracts are there to be respected. If a player is not happy, he should have thought twice before agreeing on what was offered. If he desperately wants to move, then he should find a club who will compensate the team which holds the player's registration adequately. "Adequately" here means at a price which represents the value of the player to his current team (and of course that value may be different to the value of the player to his prospective team), however that is defined. Now whether the valuation is representative or not, that's another post!

One-man team

“It’s a team game” they kept shouting to the Ronaldinho-wannabe when he kept dribbling the ball until he went past each of his 5-a-side opponents twice, in our weekly kick-about. In the end he scored by nutmegging the keeper but that’s not the point, or is it? Well, a couple of weeks later, he couldn’t make it to the game and his team was soundly beaten. Today’s entry is about the huge influence of some specific players on their team.

Take for example France. World champions in 1998 with a baldy guy (no, not Pierluigi Collina) in the middle pulling the strings producing football which was sometimes breathtaking and very often mesmerizing. Then a couple of years later, at Euro 2000, Zidane is at it again, dancing past defenders as if they are not there, and threading the ball through the eye of the needle for the attackers to score.

So what happens when the midfield maestro is either not there or not at his best? Well, a Zidane-less France lose to Senegal in the 2002 World Cup opening match before a goalless draw against Uruguay. Zidane is rushed back, only for France to lose to Denamrk and be eliminated from the World Cup group stage without scoring a single goal. And then when he decided to retire, with France faltering in the qualification for the 2006 World Cup, he was begged to return to action by the manager of France, Raymond Domenech. He returned to lead France to the final (and we all remember what happened then…).

Since his retirement, France have never been the same. The creative vision is missing, the speed of thought is not quick enough and the pattern of play much more predictable. France being eliminated in the group stage at Euro 2008 just highlights the problem and without a clear heir to Zidane’s throne, the future may not be very rosy for Les Bleus.

It is a general misconception that such a loss is only evident at the creative end of the field. Fabio Cannavaro’s absence from Italy’s squad at the Euro proves this wrong. Italy have a tradition of top class defenders and if someone had to put a picture next to the definition of the complete defender one of the few images one could use was that of Cannavaro (Franco Baresi’s would also be there, another Italian!). A cruel injury sidelined the Italian skipper, and he was forced to watch in agony as the makeshift defense was shred to pieces from a rampant Holland in the opening group stage match. The leadership qualities, reading of the game, and impeccable timing that define the 2006 Would Cup best player were conspicuous by their absence.

Taking Italy’s example a step further, they were last night dumped out of the tournament by Spain. In their match, Italy were authoritative in defense but almost clueless in attack. Their idea of a creative attack was to punt long high-balls to their lone striker Toni, in the hope that he would control the ball and either stick it in the net or have someone come from behind (ooer!) for the flick on. So what had changed from the way Italy played in the last three matches (even in the Holland debacle, Italy in fact played really well)? Simple really: Andrea Pirlo. Just watch the quarterfinal again, and compare it with any of Italy’s previous matches. Witness the creative genius of Pirlo quite often in tight situations, and contrast with what Italy were doing last night…

So there you have it. Quite often, teams rely too much on single players, whose contribution is either for all to see (see for example Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd), or underrated by many (see Makelele while at Real Madrid). Unfortunately, teams may not plan ahead in order to have contingency plans and are found out as soon as their star performers are missing. Spectators are often hypnotized by individual ability, but it is the collective performance that will win you trophies in the long run. Let’s hope, for Russia’s sake, that Andrei Arshavin will be at his best in a couple of days’ time…