PaulC Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Does this mean that Luis Enrique (who many thought was close to the sack) is one of the best manager's in the world, or does it confirm that Pep's achievements at Camp Nou are vastly overrated? Calling Zatman ☺ Got to give him credit for ripping up the Pep-style of play and making a success of it in his first season. They'd gone stale and got caught up by a few teams and needed changing. Thats true, the football they have played this season has been a joy to watch. Every game they play to score goals. The two signings this season have been brilliant for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 8, 2015 Moderator Share Posted June 8, 2015 So Barcelona who are currently banned from signing players have signed a player for £16m.Story Aleix Vidal: Barcelona sign £16m Sevilla defender despite ban Champions League winners Barcelona have signed Sevilla defender Aleix Vidal for a reported fee of £16m - despite their transfer ban. Barca were banned from signing players in 2015 after being found guilty of breaching Fifa's rules on the transfer of players aged under 18. They have signed 25-year-old Vidal on a five-year deal now but he will not be able to play until January 2016. Vidal is set to replace Dani Alves at right-back, with Alves out of contract. Catalan Vidal started his career with Barca's rivals Espanyol but left without making an appearance and was part of the Sevilla side who won the Europa League last month. Barca, who won their fourth Champions League trophy in the last nine years on Saturday by beating Juventus 3-1 in Berlin, were given the ban for two transfer windows for breaking transfer rules. Fifa rules state that international transfers are only permitted for players over the age of 18 - unless the player in question meets one of three qualifying criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 really are a lovely club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 8, 2015 Moderator Share Posted June 8, 2015 And what a lovely federation UEFA are for sitting back and saying 'yup that all looks fine to us'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I have to keep my opinions about UEFA to myself after some comments in the FIFA thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 If he's not allowed to play until January I don't really see the problem? I assume the rule is that they can't play any new signings for a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 8, 2015 Moderator Share Posted June 8, 2015 No, the ruling is that they can't sign anyone. Not that they "can't use anyone they've signed". It's a huge difference because it means they can now effectively continue to sign whoever they want (meaning that player can't be signed by a club that haven't, say, broken transfer rules). It makes a total mockery of the punishment and of UEFA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 No, the ruling is that they can't sign anyone. Not that they "can't use anyone they've signed". It's a huge difference because it means they can now effectively continue to sign whoever they want (meaning that player can't be signed by a club that haven't, say, broken transfer rules). It makes a total mockery of the punishment and of UEFA. No the ruling is they can sign players but can't register them until January 2016. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 8, 2015 Moderator Share Posted June 8, 2015 FIFA article ... The Disciplinary Committee regarded the infringements as serious and decided to sanction the club with a transfer ban at both national and international level for two complete and consecutive transfer periods, together with a fine of CHF 450,000. Additionally, the club was granted a period of 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned. ... Transfer ban for 2 complete and consecutive transfer periods. We are in one of those periods. They have just 'signed' a player. Can another club come in now and sign that player from Sevilla? I don't think they can, therefore during a 'transfer ban' Barcelona have signed someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 they havent "signed" a player though, they've agreed to the sale with sevilla same with regular transfer windows, there is no rule in place that stops a deal being agreed outside of a transfer window (chelsea signed the brazilian kid in april) the rule stops the player registering with the club until 1st july, milner, cleverley and ings have all signed deals this week, none of them join their new club until july 1st the interesting thing will be the transfer of the cash, im assuming that cant happen until january but can see sevilla wanting it now, unless they can secure a loan against the future fee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 FIFA then came out and said they could sign players this summer as long as they didn't register them until January 2016. So either Fifa changed the rules or there was little point Barcelona signing anybody and not being allowed to play them before this transfer windown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 8, 2015 Moderator Share Posted June 8, 2015 As I said, it's certainly an interesting interpretation and does make a mockery of the initital intention. Barca can still stockpile anyone they want, maybe even in order to prevent their rivals from getting them this summer. That would be an actual punishment, if they had to sit back and watch players joining Real or Bayern that they might have signed given the chance. In the current climate I do wonder what could possibly have happened for UEFA to water down their initial statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 What happens to the player then. He is in limbo for 6 months and if stays at Sevilla he cant play Champions League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 8, 2015 Moderator Share Posted June 8, 2015 Good point Zatman. Sevilla don't get to use the player in certain competitions and probably can't get the transfer money to buy a replacement either. But presumably still have to pay him too? Hardly an elegant solution. When is a transfer ban not a ban on transfers? When it's one of Europe's elite of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 As I said, it's certainly an interesting interpretation and does make a mockery of the initital intention. Barca can still stockpile anyone they want, maybe even in order to prevent their rivals from getting them this summer. That would be an actual punishment, if they had to sit back and watch players joining Real or Bayern that they might have signed given the chance. In the current climate I do wonder what could possibly have happened for UEFA to water down their initial statement. Very true but we'll have to wait and see how many players they sign. Real still have the advantage of being able to pick players they sign straight away. Not sure your first bit about stockpiling is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 So they haven't broken any rules by signing him then. Disgusting club 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 He's currently on the nou camp pitch in the kit doing keepie uppies.... So yeah, not a clue how that works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Las Palmas been promoted back to La Liga after I think 13 year absence, beat Zaragoza 2-0 in promotion play off. So that will be a popular one for anyone holidaying in Gran Canaria late August/early Autumn. Incredibly Valeron is still playing for them aswell, 4o now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) Thought this was a very good read and sums up the (worrying) grip Mendes has on Valencia. On the face of it, it all seemed perfectly understandable when Valencia's executive president Amadeo Salvo gave a press conference to explain his reasons for resigning his post this week. "Our family is going through a very difficult period, as my father has cancer," he said. "I would have left earlier, but I didn't want to do so in the middle of the season." However, whilst there is no doubting the veracity of this explanation, those who have kept a close eye on events over the last twelve months since owner Peter Lim first became connected with the club will be well aware that the writing has been on the wall for some time for Salvo. Sporting Director Rufete and several other of his closest allies from the back room team have been too. When Lim first announced an interest in acquiring the debt-stricken club, he made it a pre-condition of the purchase that then coach Juan Antonio Pizzi would be fired and replaced by current incumbent Nuno Espírito Santo. And it was at that point that the balance of power at the club took a decisive shift in the direction of a man known in the footballing world as Jorge Mendes. To understand how all the pieces of this particular jigsaw fit together, we need to go back in time nearly twenty years, to when Jorge Paulo Agostinho Mendes was a successful nightclub owner in a small town in northern Portugal. He befriended a local goalkeeper and persuaded him to become his first ever client, eventually securing him a move to Deportivo La Coruña. That player was none other than Nuno, and two decades later his faith in a man who is now regarded as the world's number one agent was repaid once the link between Lim and Mendes was established. So what does this all have to do with Salvo and Rufete's sudden departures this week? Put simply, they have essentially been dead men walking ever since Lim completed his takeover. There are many who feel that Mendes has been actively searching for a rich investor to take his operation to the next level for some time, one which would essentially allow him to sell his clients to a club in which he could control arrivals and departures, and all the time taking his cut for his services. However, this idea is directly in conflict with the standard power structure at nearly all Spanish and many other European clubs, in which the President and Sporting Director have the final say with regard to signings, and the coach is expected to incorporate them into his preferred style of play. The final straw came this week, when it was reported that los Che would be signing the latest in a seemingly interminable list of Mendes' South American clients, which includes amongst many others Chelsea's Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado. São Paulo midfielder Rodrigo Caio's move eventually fell through because of concerns over a knee injury, but for not the first time Salvo and Rufete only found out that the signing was imminent after terms had been agreed with the Brazilian club. Spanish sports daily Marca has suggested that Salvo opted to commit 'institutional suicide' at this point, demanding the sacking of Nuno as coach and arguing that he should be replaced by friend and chief ally Rufete. Given the relationship between Lim, Mendes and Nuno, there was only ever going to be one outcome, and sure enough, within 24 hours the now former executive president was facing the press and outlining the reasons for his departure, whilst leaving no one in any doubt that there was more to the situation then he was prepared to divulge. It is not unusual for there to be upheaval at board room level in all levels of football, but the events of this week must have been slightly disquieting to even the most ardent Valencia supporters. Salvo is seen by many as the man who kept the club afloat when it might otherwise have ceased to exist in its current form, and whilst achievements on the field exceeded expectations in Nuno's first season in charge, there are concerns that the club may be losing its identity. There are now two Singaporeans (Lim and new executive president Chan Lay Hoon), two Portuguese and an Englishman (Phil Neville arrived this weekend to be assistant coach) holding the balance of power both on and off the field. Whilst it is undisputed that Mendes has an unrivalled array of talent on his books, some privately question whether he will divert that flow elsewhere should things begin to go pear-shaped. Conversely, should the side do well and players' values increase as a consequence, it is difficult to imagine him encouraging them to reject the overtures of the top European sides, given the personal gain on offer whenever any deal is struck. It has already been suggested that Eugenio López, Nicolás Otamendi's agent, is asking Mendes for help to push through his client's move to Manchester United. As with the recent cases of Roberto Soldado and Jeremy Mathieu, Salvo was insisting that the buyout clause be met - but will there now be a change in attitude with him out of the way - with Mendes driving through a relatively cut price deal from which he and his fellow agent will nevertheless benefit substantially. The signing of Celta youngster Santi Mina this weekend is a classic example of the uncertainty caused by the complete control which Mendes appears to exert over the club's transfer dealings. A 10 million euro deal for a 19-year-old with just 50 appearances and nine league goals to his name, four of them in one historic night at Balaidos against Rayo Vallecano back in April, may yet prove to be an inspired piece of business. Talk to any Valencia supporter and they will tell you that there are various other areas of the team which in need of further strengthening though. Again, the Portuguese 'super agent' may come up with some of the answers; a move for Cuadrado has been mooted after the Colombian's slow start to life in the Premiership, and this would certainly satisfy the demand for a top quality winger. Moreover, bearing in mind the dire financial outlook before Lim's arrival, it is difficult for anyone connected with the club to be too insistent about examining the dentures of this particular gift horse. Nevertheless an uneasy peace is in evidence as pre-season training commences this weekend, with a number of gaps still to be filled. This week Mendes' close links with the club have already scuppered a signing in one key area in which the club needs to strengthen, whilst they wait for Diego Alves to recover from his serious knee injury. Rufete had been close to agreeing a loan deal for young Argentinian goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, even though the youngster had already given his word to Real Sociedad before going on holiday that he would return there for a second season if given permission by his owners. Representatives of Deportivo Maldonado (Rulli's parent club) have made it clear that are not impressed with the events which have unfolded in the last few days, and it was confirmed today that the 23-year-old will now be reunited with David Moyes for the next league campaign after all. An alternative has already been sounded out in the shape of Lyon's Anthony Lopes, whose interests are represented by the Gestifute sports agency, which in turn is owned by none other than Mr. J Mendes himself. And so the uneasy alliance continues at Valencia CF. Clicky link Edited July 6, 2015 by dudevillaisnice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 might sound bad but Valencia were **** about 3 or 4 years ago and are now back in the Champions League. Even fickle fans like Valencia can appreciate that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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