Are all Football transfers worth it?

By Adwait at 27 December, 2009, 11:34 pm

Football is a sport loved, played and followed by millions of individuals across all the continents. There are many things which come along with being a football fan. If you play the sport, you develop a certain style by watching your favourites on television. If you’re more into the technical aspect of the game, then you monitor every move made by the coach and manager and then either agree with the decision or question it. One major chunk of a football fans’ life is the opening of the transfer window twice every season.

The transfer window is deemed to be of great importance in the world of professional football. In the FIFA book, it is actually known as the ‘registration period’, but commonly known as the transfer window is the time frame in which a football club has the permission to buy, sell or loan players from other professional football clubs across the globe. All the transfers are carried out purely on monetary terms. Though there are a few exceptions. The classic barter system also functions, though rarely.

As mentioned earlier, there are two such windows where a club can either expand its roster, or off-load players. The two windows are classifies as per their dates. The pre-season transfer window commences from the 2nd of July (1st of June in England) and ends on the 31st of August. This time frame is generally before the professional season starts. The mid-season window opens on New Year’s Day, the 1st of January and is much shorter. It lasts for only a month and ends on the 2nd of February. During these important few months a team has to decide, whom to sell and whom to purchase.

There are no guarantees in football transfers. One may buy a player for a large sum of money and then the player might just not perform. The reverse is very much possible in the world of sport. A star may be born out of a minimal transfer fee, but his contribution might be maximal. After all we are talking about humans and not any synthetic products.
The pre-season transfers leading to the ‘09 – ‘10 season, caught the headlines. The transfers were erratic and it was the Spanish giants, Real Madrid who stole the show.
It was as if, the monetary supply of the Spanish side was never-ending, They had no constraints whatsoever in pouring foreign currency to a variety of clubs, picking up the players the coach wanted as if it was as easy as choosing potatoes for your half-a-kilogram at the local vegetable vendor. And again, as usual, the big transfers of a couple of clubs, failed to produce the magic they needed to and all expectations were shattered. But out of all the transfers which took place, let’s take a small peek into those who really made the difference.

Now all high profile transfers need not necessarily be successful. Take a look at Alberto Aquilani. The 25 year old Italian playmaker arrived in the summer from Italian side AS Roma, to Liverpool. He cost Rafa Benitez somewhere around 21 million pounds. He was immediately bought after Madrid gobbled up yet another player and this time it was the Merseyside playmaker, Xabi Alonso. The time Rafa bought Aquilani, he was already nursing an injury. Paying 21 million quid for an injured player is quite a gamble. ‘Will he recover in time?’, ‘How’s he going to fit in?’, are the questions asked the board and by the fans. Well Aquilani turned out to be quite the disappointment. He missed the first half of the season due to his injury and as he started making appearances as a sub, Pool were already down and out of the title race. It was obvious he couldn’t step into the void left by Alonso.

Arsenal also made a very interesting buy this season. They got in Thomas Vermalen, the Belgian Centre-Back, who was previously the Dutch side, Ajax’s captain. Again this buy by Arsene Wenger, was to fill the gap of a player who left the Gunner’s in the summer. Kolo Tourre left the Emirates, for high rollers Manchester City ( I like to call them the Real Madrid of Britain ) in light of the pay package he was offered. Vermalen is an inter player. At the age of 24, he has already captained the side and was regarded the perfect replacement for the departed Tourre. Unlike Aquilani, he turned out to be the star attraction in the Arsenal squad. He was, early in the season their leading scorer. Being a centre-back, he didn’t manage this feat, with scrappy goals. But some his goals would put some star strikers to shame. His finishing was immaculate. Outside the area curls into the top corner were the way he got his goals. He really was something Arsenal needed and he did live up to all the expectations

Above, we just saw a glimpse of the transfer market - a small peek, a small glance at the tip of the iceberg. The transfer market in the world of football is something I follow religiously. I make it a point to email my friend who stays in London (Yes, I’m lucky, I’ve got a friend who stays in one of the most football crazy cities in the world!) and ask him to email me the daily football tabloids from all the papers he subscribes to. You just got a small notice on Aquilani and Vermalen, but there are many more. And the window opens again, in another week. So keep your eyes and ears open.

I have a feeling something interesting is going to happen in this transfer window. What about you?

Adwait is a first year student at Pune Law College

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Categories : Sports