World Cup Scouting

Well Saviola's performance this game was sub-par.. but that won't kick him out of the starting lineup. He played rather well last match.

Originally Posted by Mystik

Well Saviola's performance this game was sub-par.. but that won't kick him out of the starting lineup. He played rather well last match.

not sure what you mean but Saviola was MoM until he got subbed along with Maxi Rodriguez. Saviola didn't score but created the 1st and 3rd goal (both scored by maxi Rodriguez) and if he was subbed it was only because Pekerman wanted to give Tevez a chance as well with the result being 3-0 for Argentina.

The player that really impressed me was Didier Zakora from the Ivory Coast. Very good player is physically strong, has alot of pace and a great shot on him and wins alot of balls in the midfield reminds me abit of Essein. He would be the perfect partner for pirlo.

The times when Tevez did lose the ball were the times when the pass to him made him stretch for the ball, which when you look at it isn't his fault. He was buzzing as soon as he came on, wanted the ball, came deep to look for it, was full of running, he had an excellent cameo appearance.

but also let's not forget that by the time tevez came in, S&M have already raised the white flag after being already 3-0 down and soon they were left with 10 men. it's hard to believe that a team in this position would be a serious hurdle for any good player, who's highly motivated to win a starting place in the team.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind at all having Tevez at Milan but at the current moment with Corinthians not willing to sell and putting a pricetag on him in the 30-40+ mil region, and Chelski being first in line to get him, it's highly unlikely that we'd go for him. Plus, to be honest, doing so would be plain bad business as there are a number of players out there, several in the Argentinian team alone, who would cost a mere portion of that money and will still provide us with quality options. Argentina didn't need tevez today to trash S&M, did they?

The player that really impressed me was Didier Zakora from the Ivory Coast. Very good player is physically strong, has alot of pace and a great shot on him and wins alot of balls in the midfield reminds me abit of Essein. He would be the perfect partner for pirlo.

yeah he impressed me too. Im glad he played well because he was linked with Utd last year and i had to persuade people that he wouldnt be just another Djemba-Djemba they might believe me now...

Spurs are the front runners though, they want him to replace Davids (and Carrick?)

BARCELONA, Spain -- Argentina striker Javier Saviola has been told he is not wanted by Barcelona, the Spanish champions have confirmed.

Saviola is under contract at the Nou Camp until the end of the coming season but has spent the last two years on loan at Monaco and Sevilla.

Barca manager Frank Rijkaard has no plans to keep the pacey forward, who is currently preparing for his country's second World Cup match against Serbia and Montenegro on Friday, and will either sell him or agree another loan move.

The European champions' sports director Txiki Begiristain told the club's official website: "The situation with Saviola is closed, he does not interest us and I think that is quite clear.

"We will have to look for the best solution for both parties when the World Cup finishes," he added.

Begiristain also admitted Eidur Gudjohnsen's signing from Chelsea this week may not be the last new arrival at the Catalan club this summer.

He added: "I cannot say categorically that we are not going to have any more new players because it is our responsibility to always keep an eye on the market."

cnn.com

Hmmm... sounds tricky.

None of the fwds mentioned above are in the same class as Sheva. Sheva's heir is Gilardino. He is the best pure forward out there in terms of scoring skills. Torres is too inconsistent, he has not taken la liga by storm, while at the same time, we haven't had much luck with players from La Liga. Saviola has played very well this world cup, but I am always reticent about world cup transfers. Last WC, Ilhan from Turkey, Diouf and Coly from Senegal, were some of the best players, yet look at where they're at now. Saviola never fullfilled his promise at barca, and he was not that great with sevilla this past season. Sadly, there is no one as good as Sheva out there, but a player like Ibrahimovic seems to be the best fit to me. He knows Serie A, and his skills are compatible with those of Kaka and Gilardino. If we can get Crespo to serve as the 4th fwd, and have gila, pippo, ibra, and crespo, with kaka, Gourcuff, pirlo, and Clarence, we will be ok in the offensive department. If the "Calciopoli" investigation ends soon and we are not punished, meaning we stay in A and play champions this coming season, then we need a forward who can adapt quickly to the team and to Serie A, which is the toughest league in the world. I think that's why in the end, Berlusca and Galliani will go for a Serie A fwd. The only other fwd who can replace sheva in terms of scoring, is Trezeguet. Will be interesting to see if we can get him if Juve is demoted. Should be our most interesting transfer season in quite some time.

i want the whole argentina team and i love this zokora guy, if we cant get diarra then get him

Actually, Saviola was great in his first, and only I think, season at barca. But after the arrival of Rijkaard, for some reason Saviola fell out of favor with the new coach and without any clear explanation was loaned out to Monaco and then to Sevilla. The point is that he's proven he can play for a big club like barca. As for him not being overly impressive at Sevilla, well, that shouldn't be a surprise for a player who's been having more or less a nomadic lifestyle and hasn't been able to settle in one and the same club for 3 years now.
Riquelme never really fit Barca style and never met the expectations they had for him but that doesn't mean he's not a great player.
A huge plus about Saviola, apart from his abilities, is that he would be much cheaper than his realistic market value due to the fact that Barca are basically looking for a quick way to get rid of him.

i would love to see saviola here, but in place of amoroso, shevas replacement should be more similar to him

I have nothing against Saviola as a player except that he is one of those players who breaks your heart because you always expect more out of him. Actually Zlatanov, Saviola played at Barca from 2001 until 2004. In 105 appearances, he scored 47 goals. Good record but not world class, and certainly not Sheva's heir. I would highly doubt that management would go for this type of player. I still think one amongst Ibrahimovic, Suazo, Trezeguet, or Torres, will most likely be a milan striker next year.

Tevez and Saviola dont belong to the same class. Obviously there are money reasons, but we lost our GUY, icon, and we need a top flight striker to replace him.

Saviola isnt that guy, Tevez although he isnt there, he has a great shot at it. So he should be our guy. Too bad he would probably be Sheva's heir, but in Chelsea.

Wait a minute here... in his first season at Barcelona, Saviola played up front next to Kluivert and he scored 17 goals.

In his second season, Van Gaal came in. Van Gaal took him out of the starting 11 and played him out of position (usually as a sub). Van Gaal was sacked and Antic came in and gave more opportunities to Saviola (and Riquelme). Saviola finished the season with 13 league goals scored, great number if you think of what happened with Van Gaal.

The next year, Rjikaard came in. He used only one striker but when Kluivert got injured, Saviola came in and scored 15 times in primera division. He scored 45 times in 84 league games (25 of them came in as a sub) and another 11 goals in 20 games (europe and spanish cup).

Saviola is a proven goalscorer in Europe, Tevez is not. He is just 24 years old and his price is a bargain for his talent.

He is a great player, very fast, can play as a winger and as a striker (like Etoo in Barcelona), and I believe he would be great next to Gila (for the right price which according to reports will be very low for his value).

Saviola was never given an extended run as a starter and I think Barcelona gave up to him very early.
DOES THE NAME GIOVANNI ELBER TELL YOU SOMETHING?