Friday, February 10, 2012

Analyzing the transfer market

Riquelme is right about Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors midfielder Juan Román Riquelme is considered by many the best player in domestic soccer (when he is not injured). He used to be shy and I had quite a job interviewing him years ago, but now he is quite outspoken. He has never got on well with club coach Julio Falcioni (nor with a number other people), but the coach suffers him because Boca Juniors has usually played better with him in the team. But the other day, with the closing championship starting today, Riquelme said that Boca Juniors did not play well and their luck in winning points will end one day.

Later he said he did not quite say what he said, yet it had been recorded. Falcioni did not like it, yet Riquelme roughly expressed what this column asked two weeks ago — Making Boca Juniors favourites again? — because in the opening championship, in spite of their big points lead they found it hard to win many matches. Riquelme also had something to say about the increase of cheap ticket prices from 40 to 50 pesos. While the 25 percent increase seems reasonable since the last increase was in August 2010 and inflation has been higher since, Riquelme said the price should go down, not up because the quality of soccer played has gone down. You cannot dispute that!

Clubs said they needed the increase because their expenses have gone up, but as stated many times, in spite of increasing their income they will always be in debt.

Argentine Football Association (AFA) chief Julio Grondona said recently that if the government had not intervened and paid more money for TV rights in their “Football for all” programme, only 10 clubs would be playing soccer today as clubs depend almost 80 percent on cash from TV rights — wrong, of course, because most clubs have been virtually bankrupt for years and continue playing. In fact, hardly any club has stopped playing soccer due to bankruptcy proceedings — not in this country!

TRANSFERS. With still a day to go for registering transfers and then some time for transfers not yet completed but registered, there have been 35 signings by the 20 top division clubs. Remember that in most cases, clubs can only sign a maximum of two players between the opening and closing championships and eight clubs still have room for another signing. On the other hand, as clubs are trying to reduce their payroll, 67 players have been released or transferred — 29 out of the country, while 15 have been signed from abroad.

Independiente, one of the clubs with most professionals in their player squad in spite of serious financial problems, released or transferred 12 players and only signed one. But San Lorenzo, another club with a large player squad and a worse financial position, have only got rid of one player and signed one (Carlos Bueno) who may leave because so far he cannot play (by law) as the club is being sued. The week’s most stupid utterance by a club official is from San Lorenzo president Carlos Abdo who wants to stop relegation this season. He was backed by a number of other clubs, all of course in the relegation zone, but it is a good job nobody took it seriously.

Yet this whole transfer business is in a mess which would be more transparent if those money grabbing agents did not exist. Leonel Núñez was being transferred to All Boys, he said, without his knowledge and the man doing the dirty business was not even his agent.

AGAINST HOOLIGANS. Another new club president, Mauro Morrone of Témperley, has joined the fight against hooligans. They are not going to live off the club anymore, he says. Before he became president, their hooligan gang even charged for publicity in the stadium, apart from free tickets to sell. The gang told him that under the previous committee they collected percentages of players sold and even asked him for 5,000 pesos a month not to cause trouble. The hooligans have repeatedly insulted him and his committee, but things could get worse. Morrone said he has already made six complaints to police/ courts with no result. It would not be a bad idea if the government finally takes action.

Meanwhile another Nueva Chicago hooligan died from wounds caused in the recent fight in which another one was killed.

DISCIPLINE. Will the AFA’s disciplinary committee please act with more transparency? A referee in a summer friendly match, if one can call it friendly — reported River Plate forward Alejandro Domínguez for kicking him — a serious offence — when he sent him off during the second match with Boca Juniors. Yet the disciplinary committee suspended him only for three non-league matches so that he would be able to play for River Plate in their fight to return to the top division. A curious, if not unexpected situation.

After River Plate’s president Daniel Passarella had a verbal fight with Julio Grondona last season, his club did not win another match, ending in their relegation. Now the AFA may have realized that they need River Plate in the top division — or is it the government’s wish to increase their “Football for all” TV rating — and they are doing everything possible to help them. Of course, it started with that crazy idea of a 38-team first division which would have put River Plate back at the top without winning promotion and which not even River Plate wanted.

But changes are still in the air — with or without government pressure? — and this closing championship may, unfortunately, be the last one to be played under the present format.