Skip to main content

Daniel Güiza. The other Míchel. Christian Stuani. And Abu Dhabi? (8th June, 2017)

Today's article is all about players who moved in 2015.

Asunción-based club Cerro Porteño shockingly released legendary Spanish goalscorer Daniel Güiza, who was the Pichichi winner in 2008 playing for seventh place Mallorca – ahead of the likes of Luís Fabiano, Sergio Agüero, Raúl, David Villa, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Diego Forlán, Frédéric Kanouté and Samuel Eto’o. He was instrumental in Spain’s Euro 2008 win too.

In 2015, the then 35-year-old, signed for third-tier Andalusia-based Cádiz. Whose fans were irritated by his origin from fierce rivals Xerez, and by his commitment made ten years ago to never play for – you guessed it – Cádiz.

And yet, less than a year later, it was Güiza who scored the only goal at Hércules in the second leg of the play-off finals (2–0 on aggregate), helping the club return to the second division after six years.



Look at Asturian player Miguel Marcos Madera aka “Míchel”. In January 2010 he was a Sporting Gijón legend, joined Birmingham and was described as “better than Mascherano”.

In 2011, he was at Getafe. In 2014, he was released and joined Maccabi Haifa in Israel. And in 2015 he left again to join Qarabağ Agdam in Azerbaijan – at the age of 29. In hindsight that hasty winter exit to Birmingham proved costly – a player “worse than Míchel” waited six months more and joined Barcelona.



In 2009, a 23-year-old Uruguayan striker who had scored one goal in 18 months at newly relegated club Reggina arrived at Castile–La Mancha club Albacete in the second division, and scored 23 goals in 39 games - the second most in the league.

He would go on to play in La Liga with Levante, Racing Santander and Espanyol - in his final season at the Catalan club, he scored 15 goals despite playing as a backup to Felipe Caicedo.

Born in Tala, Canelones, Christian Stuani started his professional career with Danubio FC. In 2005, he went on loan to C.A. Bella Vista in the Uruguayan Segunda División, performing well enough to be recalled - scoring 12 goals in 14 games.

It was just the kick start his career needed - he went on to score 19 goals in just 14 games with Danubio, a season that earned him a move to Europe. In January 2008, Serie A club Reggina picked him up.

In 2015, Espanyol sold their 12-goal striker Christian Stuani to Middlesbrough for €3 million, but only received €300,000. The club only owned half of the striker’s playing rights, and still owed Italian club Reggina – who owned the other half – €1.2 million from when Los Periquitos made his year-long loan deal permanent in the summer of 2013.

He had joined Espanyol on loan in 2012, but things could have been so different - that summer, Stuani was linked with a move to Deportivo de La Coruña and even passed his medical but he signed with Espanyol. The move was made permanent in the following campaign.



Bani Yas is a cash strapped club in a league where money has never been a problem. For them, making shrewd acquisitions is not a trend but a necessity. In the summer of 2014 they secured the services of the Spanish duo of classy midfielder Joan Verdú from Espanyol and center back Ángel Dealbert from Kuban Krasnodar - all for the grand total of €0.

Just a season later, however, they were released, and brought in Celta Vigo striker Joaquín Larrivey from Celta de Vigo for a ridiculous €2 million.

Joan Verdú, who went on to score 10 goals in 24 games, may have been a baffling decision, but his performances in Italy, Spain and now China haven't lived up to the same standards. Ángel Dealbert was an intergral part of Lugo's campaign last season but is now a bit part player.

And Joaquín Larrivey's 18 goals in 37 games earned him a move to JEF United Chiba in China.



There were others too - Xavi’s saddening departure to Al-Sadd. Sergio García, a player who captained Espanyol through thick and thin, and left for Al-Rayyan aged 32. Who, a few months prior to moving to Qatar, said this:

A captain can’t jump ship. These are my people and this is my home. My heart told me I couldn’t leave and so it has proved, which is why I rejected the offer. I’m very happy here and I hope the fans are with me too.

Sporting Kansas City changed the MLS's reputation of signing ageing stars with the singing of 21-year-old former Barcelona B attacking midfielder Jordi Quintillà from Ajaccio, who was once widely earmarked for a first team spot.

And last, but certainly not least, Cerro Porteño bagged a quality player in Cristian Álvarez, 31-years-old and in his prime. The San Lorenzo goalkeeper, fresh off a successful loan spell at Rayo and with five years of La Liga experience at Espanyol, was widely expected to sign for a mid-table club in a top European League. Instead, he joined the very team he made his professional debut against while playing for boyhood club Rosario Central.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Francisco Pérez Pérez - the actual oldest player to have played in Spain (1st November, 2017)

I've always wanted to ask a football player: how much do you love your club? If you see your club go down, what are you willing to put on the line to see them go back up? The notion that "players will come and players will go, but the fans are the club" is one that is sadly true in what has become a money-filled sport. The story of a player sacrificing money and success for his club? That story is rare. That story is beautiful. This is that story. This is the story of a player who loved his club. His local club. It'll be a long time if and when someone beats his record. Francisco Pérez Pérez, also known as Chico, currently holds the record for being the oldest player to play in the Segunda B - 43 years and 93 days is the figure. That's a figure that second place Diego Rodríguez Fernández (41 years and 324 days) falls short of by a year and 134 days. I should also point out that the top 3 list for oldest players to play in any of the top three tier

When three teams offered a 19-year-old an eight year contract (11th October, 2017)

Just how many players can you name who have the following descrption: He is a striker of great quality, and was a great promise of Spanish football, but his bad luck and some injuries denied him the opportunity to recover - he has never played more than one season in the same team. This is the story of a player - a technically and physically excellent striker - who made mistakes and suffered injuries very young and never really recovered. Born in Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana, Barcelona, Iván Peñaranda started his youth career at Granollers. His real formation, however, was in the lower categories of Barcelona, ​​in which he stayed for seven years (1991-98). Playing alongside Xavi Hernández, Gabri and Carles Puyol. He was considered as one of the young players with a huge future within the club. In the summer of 1998, he angered Barcelona by using "change of residence" as an excuse to sign for Mallorca B (he would move there along with his family), where he would play alongs

Who is Raúl Martín Presa, the Mickey Mouse? Part 1. (20th August, 2017)

José María Ruiz-Mateos was the head and main shareholder of Nueva Rumasa - the company that owned Rayo and other companies - mainly specializing in dairy products. (He wasn't the president of Rayo though - his wife, Teresa Rivero, was Rayo's president). In early 2011, the directors announced a debt of over 700 million euros, that it was on the verge of bankruptcy and that staff wouldn't be paid. And the players were visibly angry about it - captain Míchel assured the press that the club would continue fighting on the pitch, but the day after the announcement was made, six key players didn’t attend training. Veteran midfielder José María Movilla spoke on radio station SER about the situation, about the fact that he had only received seven of the last eighteen months of pay, about the fact that there were a few players who couldn't even afford car repairs. When Rayo Vallecano were about to earn promotion to La Liga despite all the odds - the players not being paid,