The swap. Every time the transfer window is opened up to let the breeze of new players run through it to new clubs, there is talk of a swap between some major player for some other player of great caliber. However, none of these rumours ever come true, until now. Eto'o and 45 million for Ibrahimovic. Now all you followers and readers of FDLI know my feelings on Ibrahimovic and what he might be like at Barca already. Today, I'm going to compare valuable stats and then give you my opinion on who is losing out and who is making a steal in this swap.
We all know that both are goal scorers and pure center strikers but what sets them apart? How about even the little details? Let's pull these two apart. Eto'o, age 28, is one year older than Zlatan. Eto's is an athletic force by himself. I have money that says the Cameroon international takes the Swede in a foot race on any occasion. Eto'o is agile, swift moving. This could be why he was so vital to the Barcelona pass and move brand of football we all witnessed last year. As the center striker he was a focal point, checking to the ball and laying it back into the midfield then darting to another open space. Ibrahimovic is a different bread of human all together. He is 6'3 compared to the 5'11 Eto'o. He is definitely more of an air threat, but for being a big guy, he has deceptionally, tidy, (enormous) feet. It looks unnatural for his body shape but he is exceptional running at players. However, if Ibrahimovic is going to play the same role Eto'o did for Barca he won't be running at players because Barca likes to isolate the 1v1 battles on the flank for Messi and Henry. The real question is now does Ibrahimovic change his "I'm the star" playing style for Barcelona pass and move football or does the Blaugrana trade in their intricate version of possession football for a different approach. Even though last season's Catalan adored playing style won over the hearts of many, perhaps the change of style will fit more the personnel better at Barcelona this year? Ibrahimovic is a big man and his size can be useful in the penalty area. Messi and Henry can both beat players on the flanks and if they switched sides, could use their foot of choice to deliver high quality balls to a big target. Let's take a closer look of Eto'o at Internazionale. Ibra had plenty of room to roam at Inter. He often times had a striker such as Balotelli off of him but did a lot of the work himself. Can Eto'o handle the work load? Zlatan had the ability to create goals out of no where because he had so much practice in the Inter system doing so. Next season Eto'o wont have the likes of Messi, Henry, Xavi, and Iniesta to support him. He will have to connect with his striker partner Ballotelli or Julio Cruz, or hold the ball up long enough for the rest of the Inter attack to join the fight. I'm sure that Jose Murinho has considered all of this and is cooking up a formation that would suit his new look squad. He also has 45 million at his disposal due to the swap that he might use for this specific issue. Back to the stats, goals. Ibrahimovic scored 29 goals for Inter last season. Eto'o scored 34 goals for Barca. This stat favors the Cameroon international, but not just because he scored more goals. It's because he scored more goals in a more competitive league. Now sure Eto'o had the assistance of some of the best players in the world, but his work ethic attributed a lot to his success. For instance, take the goal he scored against Manchester United in the Champions League final. That's where Ibrahimovic would not have scored. Ibra is a great player but doesn't work ethic and lacks the pure athletic ability to be bulldozed but still toe-poke the ball past Van der Sar. A lot of this comes down to character. You can see how much every goal means to Eto'o after he scores. He gets very emotional, very intense, like there is something more than just him scoring a goal, a greater cause. Examples in games you might have seen, against Manchester United, against Real Madrid. When Ibra scores, the celebration is more of a "look at me" or "look what I did for you" approach. He is a very arrogant self centered player, based on the cockiness in some of his interviews. his attitude can be a potential problem. That simply will not fly at a very team orientated Barcelona. If Ibrahimovic can learn to curb his "me, me, me" ways and play like a part of a unit (much how Cristiano has to become part of a unit at Madrid), I predict he will become on of the best Barca signings in history. He will develop parts of his game he has yet to perfect and will really put his stamp on football. If not, the disruption could prove fatal for Barca and both club and Zlatan will be unhappy, probably leading to the transfer of a lower reputation Ibra in one or two seasons. On the other hand at Internazionale. If Eto'o can figure out Italian defending he will be a force to stop. He too will have to develop a part of his game that he never had to practice at Barcelona, simply using his pace to blow people out of the water. If he can play like everyone uses him on FIFA09, he'll be on the end of a thousand through balls and powering home goal after goal before the defenders can turn around to catch him. Maybe the African roots of both Eto'o and Ballotelli will find each other and they will make a powerful, fast, and strong partnership. Imagine marking the pair of them two all match long, exhausting. The one thing that Barca will have to worry about more than Inter do not is can Ibrahimovic due it on the big stage? He is so often criticized over his performances in Europe. Compare the performances of Eto'o and Ibrahimovic against the same Manchester United last season. Ibra missed a for sure goal chance in the second leg that should have put Inter through to the next round. Eto'o's credentials in Europe are of great significance, winning to Champions Leagues with Barcelona.
In the end who is getting the better deal? I would say Inter are for the time being. However, if Ibrahimovic becomes a sharing, selfless kind of player, he could be worth the Eto'o and 45 million. Because if Barcelona just bought Ibra for the 45 million and he became this player they are hoping he does, he would bump Eto'o out of a position and Barcelona would offload him for even more cash and he isn't at the club as if he was swapped anyway, but now they have more cash for him. It all depends on Ibra really. I doubt Eto'o will fail in Italy. He is too good of a player and will no doubt score many goals. So for now Inter have the better deal in my eyes.
Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid,
Bobby
We all know that both are goal scorers and pure center strikers but what sets them apart? How about even the little details? Let's pull these two apart. Eto'o, age 28, is one year older than Zlatan. Eto's is an athletic force by himself. I have money that says the Cameroon international takes the Swede in a foot race on any occasion. Eto'o is agile, swift moving. This could be why he was so vital to the Barcelona pass and move brand of football we all witnessed last year. As the center striker he was a focal point, checking to the ball and laying it back into the midfield then darting to another open space. Ibrahimovic is a different bread of human all together. He is 6'3 compared to the 5'11 Eto'o. He is definitely more of an air threat, but for being a big guy, he has deceptionally, tidy, (enormous) feet. It looks unnatural for his body shape but he is exceptional running at players. However, if Ibrahimovic is going to play the same role Eto'o did for Barca he won't be running at players because Barca likes to isolate the 1v1 battles on the flank for Messi and Henry. The real question is now does Ibrahimovic change his "I'm the star" playing style for Barcelona pass and move football or does the Blaugrana trade in their intricate version of possession football for a different approach. Even though last season's Catalan adored playing style won over the hearts of many, perhaps the change of style will fit more the personnel better at Barcelona this year? Ibrahimovic is a big man and his size can be useful in the penalty area. Messi and Henry can both beat players on the flanks and if they switched sides, could use their foot of choice to deliver high quality balls to a big target. Let's take a closer look of Eto'o at Internazionale. Ibra had plenty of room to roam at Inter. He often times had a striker such as Balotelli off of him but did a lot of the work himself. Can Eto'o handle the work load? Zlatan had the ability to create goals out of no where because he had so much practice in the Inter system doing so. Next season Eto'o wont have the likes of Messi, Henry, Xavi, and Iniesta to support him. He will have to connect with his striker partner Ballotelli or Julio Cruz, or hold the ball up long enough for the rest of the Inter attack to join the fight. I'm sure that Jose Murinho has considered all of this and is cooking up a formation that would suit his new look squad. He also has 45 million at his disposal due to the swap that he might use for this specific issue. Back to the stats, goals. Ibrahimovic scored 29 goals for Inter last season. Eto'o scored 34 goals for Barca. This stat favors the Cameroon international, but not just because he scored more goals. It's because he scored more goals in a more competitive league. Now sure Eto'o had the assistance of some of the best players in the world, but his work ethic attributed a lot to his success. For instance, take the goal he scored against Manchester United in the Champions League final. That's where Ibrahimovic would not have scored. Ibra is a great player but doesn't work ethic and lacks the pure athletic ability to be bulldozed but still toe-poke the ball past Van der Sar. A lot of this comes down to character. You can see how much every goal means to Eto'o after he scores. He gets very emotional, very intense, like there is something more than just him scoring a goal, a greater cause. Examples in games you might have seen, against Manchester United, against Real Madrid. When Ibra scores, the celebration is more of a "look at me" or "look what I did for you" approach. He is a very arrogant self centered player, based on the cockiness in some of his interviews. his attitude can be a potential problem. That simply will not fly at a very team orientated Barcelona. If Ibrahimovic can learn to curb his "me, me, me" ways and play like a part of a unit (much how Cristiano has to become part of a unit at Madrid), I predict he will become on of the best Barca signings in history. He will develop parts of his game he has yet to perfect and will really put his stamp on football. If not, the disruption could prove fatal for Barca and both club and Zlatan will be unhappy, probably leading to the transfer of a lower reputation Ibra in one or two seasons. On the other hand at Internazionale. If Eto'o can figure out Italian defending he will be a force to stop. He too will have to develop a part of his game that he never had to practice at Barcelona, simply using his pace to blow people out of the water. If he can play like everyone uses him on FIFA09, he'll be on the end of a thousand through balls and powering home goal after goal before the defenders can turn around to catch him. Maybe the African roots of both Eto'o and Ballotelli will find each other and they will make a powerful, fast, and strong partnership. Imagine marking the pair of them two all match long, exhausting. The one thing that Barca will have to worry about more than Inter do not is can Ibrahimovic due it on the big stage? He is so often criticized over his performances in Europe. Compare the performances of Eto'o and Ibrahimovic against the same Manchester United last season. Ibra missed a for sure goal chance in the second leg that should have put Inter through to the next round. Eto'o's credentials in Europe are of great significance, winning to Champions Leagues with Barcelona.
In the end who is getting the better deal? I would say Inter are for the time being. However, if Ibrahimovic becomes a sharing, selfless kind of player, he could be worth the Eto'o and 45 million. Because if Barcelona just bought Ibra for the 45 million and he became this player they are hoping he does, he would bump Eto'o out of a position and Barcelona would offload him for even more cash and he isn't at the club as if he was swapped anyway, but now they have more cash for him. It all depends on Ibra really. I doubt Eto'o will fail in Italy. He is too good of a player and will no doubt score many goals. So for now Inter have the better deal in my eyes.
Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid,
Bobby
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