Van Bronckhorst Returns to Holland

FC Barcelona fullback and Dutch international Giovanni van Bronckhorst will continue his career in Holland, returning to Feyenoord. Despite being under contract through 2008, van Bronckhorst, 32, was granted a release from his Barcelona contract due to clause allowing him to opt out of his contract early in order to return to Feyenoord. In his four years at Barcelona, van Bronckhorst won two Primera Liga titles and was a member of the 2006 European Cup winning side.

Barça Remains Active in Transfer Market, Strengthens Midfield

One day after adding all-world striker Thierry Henry to its squad, Barcelona has added some much needed strength to its midfield by signing Monaco’s Yaya Toure, younger brother of Henry’s former teammate, Arsenal's Kolo Toure. Toure, a member of the Ivory Coast team that participated in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, signed a four-year contract with the Catalan club worth £6 million ($12 million), with a possible future payment of £2.7 million ($5.4 million), contingent on results.

Txiki Begiristain, sports director at FC Barcelona, said of Toure, “He is a strong player with a great physical presence and an ability to distribute the ball well. He’s a ball winner and is good in the air.” Begiristain went on to add that he is “similar in style to [Inter Milan midfielder and World Cup champion with France] Patrick Vieira”, a player that Toure has great admiration for and views as a role model.

The addition of Toure is a significant step toward improving the versatility and all-around quality of the Barcelona midfield. For Barça, bolstering its talented but, at times, soft midfield was an even more pressing need that adding another prolific goal scorer. While the addition of Henry will likely grab the lion’s share of headlines, the contribution of Yaya Toure could prove to be equally significant to Barcelona’s return to the Spanish throne.

It should be noted that Barcelona does not appear to be finished in the transfer market. It has been reported that the club is also looking to add Romanian defender Christian Chivu, currently in Italy’s Serie A with AS Roma. The fee for his transfer will likely exceed £10 million ($20 million)

Inter Targeting Even More Goals in 2007-08

Fresh off a season in which absolutely dominated Italy’s Serie A, winning the league title by an astounding 22 points, Inter Milan is showing no signs of allowing the competition to close the gap. Spearheaded by 15 goals from Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 14 from Argentine striker Hernan Crespo, and 10 from everyone’s favorite Zidane antagonist, defender Marco Materazzi, Inter scored a league-leading 80 goals (6 more than #2 Roma, 18 more than #3 Fiorentina), but the club is not relying on past successes, aggressively bolstering its frontline in the summer transfer window.

Earlier today, Inter completed its signing of Cagliari striker David Suazo to a four-year contract for an undisclosed amount. After breaking Gigi Riva’s club record with 22 goals in 2005-06, the 27 year-old Honduran international led Cagliari with 14 goals this past season and shared the honor of best foreign player in Serie A with AC Milan’s Kaka, arguably the top footballer on the planet today.

The signing of Suazo was the culmination of a truly bizarre two week transfer battle between city rivals Inter and AC Milan. Two weeks ago, Inter announced the signing of Suazo but, after failing to finalize the deal, Suazo was offered to AC Milan, who would have signed him had he not already signed a contract with Inter.

In addition to Suazo, another world-class striker, West Ham United’s Carlos Tevez, has expressed a strong interest in joining Inter Milan this summer. Top clubs from around Europe, including Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid, have expressed an interest in adding Tevez to their squads, but the Argentine international has made it clear that Inter is his club of choice, saying that “Inter’s team is like an Argentina colony”, referring to the presence of fellow Argentines Crespo, Julio Cruz and Javier Zanetti on the club’s roster.

Tevez, whose controversial transfer from Brazilian club Corinthians to West Ham with fellow Argentine international and now-Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has come under the intense scrutiny of the English FA, played brilliantly in the final weeks of the English Premier League season, helping West Ham avoid relegation with a beautiful goal on the season’s last day against Manchester United.

In the event that Inter is successful in adding Tevez as well as Suazo to its attack, it may signal the end of the road at the San Siro for another of the clubs’ talented strikers, Brazilian international Adriano. Following another disappointing season for the Nerazzurri (5 goals in 14 games), Adriano will likely be made expendable by the arrival of two world-class strikers. This would open the door for not only his return to Fiorentina, where he played 15 games in 2002 on a loan deal, scoring 6 goals, but a reunion with Adrian Mutu, a Romanian international with whom Adriano formed a potent scoring combination at Parma in 2002-03. Fiorentina recently lost more than a quarter of its goal production (16 of 62) following the £7.5 million ($15 million) sale of Italian striker Luca Toni to Bayern Munich.

The Widespread Impact of Thierry Henry's Move to Barcelona

Over the weekend, Barcelona and Arsenal agreed to the transfer of Arsenal’s superstar striker Thierry Henry. With this deal, Barça has not only added a world-class striker to an attacking corps that already boasts the likes of Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o, but it has done so at a significant discount. Thanks to an injury-plagued 2007 season, the £16 million ($32 million) fee that it took to bring Henry to the Nou Camp is slightly more than half the £30 million ($60 million) that it likely would have taken to acquire the Frenchman just a year ago.

Members of the Barcelona squad have acknowledged that the team was not in top form this season and have vowed to approach next season with greater dedication and resolve. While this alone might have been enough to signal improvement for next season, the addition of Henry could provide an added spark that will return the Catalan club to the top of world football. Following a disappointing season that saw them fail to advance deep into the Champion League and stumble down the stretch and lose the La Liga crown on the season’s last day to arch-rivals Real Madrid, management at Barcelona has taken initiative and sent this message to its supremely-gifted-but-sometimes-complacent team: We will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to field a championship team. Now, you do your part!

Thierry Henry’s much-speculated move of to Barcelona may just be the latest in a chain of events whose impact will be felt around the world of football. First, the sudden departure of former-Arsenal Vice Chairman David Dein, whom Henry respected and admired a great deal, calling Dein “Mr. Arsenal”, was a severe blow to Henry’s relationship with the club. Additionally, Arsene Wenger, Henry’s countryman and the only manager he’s known at Arsenal, as well as the coach that gave him his first big chance at the age of 15 at French club Monaco, does not have a contract beyond the upcoming season. Henry had been clear that in order to maintain his services, Arsenal would have to extend Wenger’s contract, which never happened. Most recently, Franck Ribery, Henry’s friend and teammate on the French national team, was transferred to Bayern Munich for £17.5 million ($35 million), despite both Henry and Wenger’s obvious interest in having Ribery join them at Arsenal.

For supporters of the club, the truly frightening thought is that, for all the collective damage that has already been done to the team, the worst may still lie ahead. Conceivably, Arsenal may have a mass exodus on its hands. In this scenario, here is a possible global domino effect:

• With Thierry Henry’s arrival, there will be an embarrassment of riches on the Barcelona frontline. This will likely lead to sale of one of Barça’s talented attackers. With Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Anderson Deco firmly entrenched in the lineup, and the club reportedly in pursuit of Rodrigo Palacio of Boca Juniors in Argentina, either Samuel Eto’o or Icelandic striker Eidur Gudjohnsen could be pushed out. Given his, relatively speaking, moderate salary, Gudjohnsen, who is a fine striker coming off of a disappointing season, is an ideal backup attacker for Barcelona. This leaves the young and very gifted Eto’o, who is prone to disagreements with teammates and club management, is the object of AC Milan's desires, and has also expressed his admiration for Liverpool and the English Premier League. His sale would net upwards of £25 million ($50 million) on the open market, more than double what the sale of Gudjohnsen would fetch.
• In the wake of the departures of both Dein as well as Henry, it now appears less likely that Arsene Wenger will keep his post as Arsenal manager beyond the upcoming season, perhaps even following Henry to Barcelona, where manager Frank Rijkaard, despite repeated statements expressing his commitment to Barcelona, is the subject of persistent rumors suggesting that he may be the future manager of Italian giant AC Milan.
• Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal’s 20 year-old Spanish midfield playmaker supreme, who left Barça’s youth system to join Arsenal, has openly stated that he would one day relish the opportunity to return to Barcelona, saying in a recent interview “I hope there is a chance to return (to Barça). People who know me already know this… There is always hope.” Following Henry’s move, Fabregas will likely be even more inclined to return to the Catalan club. In the same interview, Fabregas expressed his desire to continue playing with Thierry Henry saying, “If it was up to me, Henry and I would play together for the rest of our lives.” Despite being under contract with Arsenal through 2014 and public overtures from Spanish giants Real Madrid, the departures of his manager and most-talented teammate could hasten Cesc Fabregas’ return to Spain.
• Another Frenchman and friend of Thierry Henry, Arsenal defender William Gallas, who has also stated his desire for the club to be more competitive, is unlikely to be encouraged by this latest development. This could lead to Gallas request a transfer away from Arsenal, likely to a club in Spain (Barça or Real Madrid) or Italy (Juventus, AC Milan or Inter-Milan).
• Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, now the Gunners’ longest tenured player, could also be nearing the end of his Arsenal days. As there had already been questions regarding his future with the club, Henry’s departure (and its possible fallout) may serve as the catalyst for his exit.
• Arsenal has developed a reputation for having a world-class youth system, so the Gunners’ cupboard is hardly bare, but Arsenal must now pragmatically assess its personnel and determine how drastic a move needs to be made to retool its frontline. With Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor and teenage sensation Theo Walcott in attack, there is no shortage of talent for the Gunners, but the club is a bit short on experience and depth. Aside from these three, Arsenal’s only remaining striker is the talented, but young and inexperienced Nicklas Bedtner. More bodies will have to be introduced into the mix, both for insurance from injuries, as well as for added talent and experience.
• Should Arsenal look to the transfer market to replace Thierry Henry, their best options look to be either Newcastle’s Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Ajax Amsterdam in the top Dutch league, each of whom will likely command an eight-figure transfer fee.

David Beckham's Impact on MLS

On July 1, David Beckham’s five-year, megabucks contract with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy takes effect. On the eve of this milestone for world football in the United States, it may be appropriate to examine the impact that Beckham’s signing has had on Major League Soccer thus far, and its impact going forward. Beckham, whose game is still in world-class form, recently capped his 4-year run with Spanish football Real Madrid with a league championship. So good was his play down the stretch of the Spanish season in fact, that Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon expressed his desire to purchase Beckham’s contract back from the Galaxy, an offer which was quickly rejected by the American club. In becoming the highest profile European player to make the leap to MLS, Beckham has committed not only to playing midfield for the Galaxy, but to becoming the face of the world's most popular sport, in a media crazed country that has long been reluctant to adopt world football. Beckham will try to carry on and further the work of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, whose time with the New York Cosmos in the late-1970's and early 1980's sparked America's first short-lived love affair with soccer.

Any phenomenon that gains traction in America only does so when it has a superstar flag bearer. When we look back on the history of boxing, we reflect on Ali, Louis and Dempsey. The NBA was a floundering league until it was rescued by the emergence of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan in the 1980's. Sports fans in the United States love spectacle and pageantry, all of which football can deliver. But we love superstars even more, and that is what MLS acquired in the person of David Beckham, one of the most recognizable celebrities on the planet, not to mention a gifted footballer who, at age 31, still has years of world-class play ahead of him.

Given the financial magnitude of his contract, it is inevitable that expectations for David Beckham's performance will take on a life of their own. Before we go down this path and lock him into the ultimate no win situation, it’s important to understand that this contract is about far more than one team signing one player. In making this commitment to David Beckham, Major League Soccer made a commitment to itself- a commitment to joining the world’s top-tier of football leagues. In the aftermath of expansion (3 new teams), new ownership (6 new owners), new distribution (4 long-term TV deals) and new venues (4 soccer-only stadiums), the league has organically built the foundation on which the future of world football in America will rest. With all this in place, David Beckham has the two qualities that MLS and soccer needs most right now: credibility and star power. SUPERstar power. Perhaps other than Beckham himself, the biggest beneficiaries of this deal are ALL THE OTHER PLAYERS IN MLS. While millions tune in to see Beckham, his teammates and opponents will have the opportunity to display their talents on a global stage. While it may be on a relatively small scale, for the first time in its history, MLS will occupy a place in consciousness of football fans across the world.