Catalyst Needed in Catalunya?

Most teams would swap half their players to have any player in FC Barcelona’s starting XI. With a team filled with Spanish maestros (Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Bojan Krkic, Gerard Pique, and Carlos Puyol), South American superstars (Lionel Messi, Dani Alves), African flair (Samuel Eto’o, Seydou Keita, Toure Yaya), and French legend Thierry Henry, the Blaugrana faithful seem happy to avoid the transfer market this off-season. However, Barca’s demigod coach, Pep Guardiola, has stated, “I am convinced that the best thing for Barca is for Eto’o to leave.”

Samuel Eto’o clearly does not want to stay with FC Barcelona, and rumours have surfaced in Italy that the Catalan side is willing to unload its star striker. Eto’o is arguably the best African striker, and he was given the African Player of the Year honour three-years in a row (2003, 2004, 2005). The Cameroonian has scored 130 goals in 200 appearances with Barcelona, including a career high 36 goals in the past campaign. Guardiola also admitted, “Could I be mistaken [about wanting to get rid of Eto’o]? Maybe so. But I am here to make these decisions.” Pep Guardiola is not new to making controversial changes to Barcelona’s squad, as he sold former Barcelona legend Ronaldinho to AC Milan. This time around Guardiola is looking to ship his most efficient striker off to Inter Milan. However, Guardiola wants Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the most technical, innovative, and flamboyant strikers in the world, in return.

Guardiola insists that Eto’o’s departure would be good for the team. “I am not here to change anyone’s character, but I can decide on which players I want to count on for the offseason,” said Guardiola.  He went on to state, “I feel that it is best for the club and the team. It’s a question of feelings… After what we won, we had to change the dressing room. I took this decision from my experience as a footballer.”

Barcelona faithful certainly do not want to lose their best marksman, unless there is an offer that they could not turn down. Andres Iniesta spoke about the potential Eto’o to Inter deal commenting, “The transfer is not yet completed and Eto’o remains our friend. I have great respect for him and I will always wish the best for him.”

The fear that all professionals are aware of is the decapitating effect of complacency within a team. Pep Guardiola feels that there needs to be a catalyst in Catalunya next, and he is not alone. Iniesta stressed, “We must improve to avoid a repeat of the complacency that we experienced three years ago… But I believe that the club are doing things well at the moment. There is still a lot of time to finalise our squad and make improvements.”

“As for Ibrahimovic,” Iniesta added, “he is a player with a lot of quality. He is one of the best strikers in the world and if he comes, he will be very well received by everyone.” Ibrahimovic stated on his Twitter page, “I have won everything in Italy. It’s time to move on.” Despite the pace and goal-scoring prowess that Samuel Eto’o, Ibrahimovic would add a whole new dimension to Barcelona’s attack: aerial presence.

Guardiola admitted, “Without [Eto’o] we wouldn’t have achieved what we achieved last year.” Eto’o scored the game-winning goal in the Champions League Final this past year, and his ability to flourish is part of what makes him so appealing to Inter president, Massimo Moratti.

Moratti stated, “Until things are wrapped up, there’s nothing to say but I am confident [of signing Eto’o.” The Inter president went on about the Cameroonian expressing, “Eto’o is one of the most important players on the market. Along with Ibra, he’s one of the most wanted… It’s a good chance for us to have another champion.” Ibrahimovic is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in Europe, but the one critique of the Swede is that all too often he does not perform to the best of his ability in the most important games.

The proposed swap between Eto’o and Ibrahimovic seems to favor Inter as the Italian club will not only get Eto’o, but also a fee in the range of £35 million. While Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta insists that the team will not spend like Real Madrid to try to buy their way to success in Europe and Spain, but he does have faith and support in what ever Guardiola has in mind for the upcoming season. Barcelona would not be at risk if they decide to splash a bit of cash this summer, as they have made a tremendous profit from the Treble success last season.

While there will forever be speculation about who will get the better end of this swap between Eto’o and Ibrahimovic, both Inter Milan and FC Barcelona seem pleased that the deal will be mutually beneficial. Zlatan and Samuel have expressed a decision to leave, and both players hope to add to their successful careers by venturing into new challenges in La Liga and Serie A, respectively