THE BARÇA TRANSFERS THAT ALMOST HAPPENED - SHEARER & GINOLA

The summer of 1996 brought a new coach to Barcelona that wanted to sign two of the Premier League best players

It’s that time of the year when we are bombarded with gossip that this player or that player is rumored to be pursued by Barça. Summer transfer window gives us, the Blaugrana faithful, something to discuss and ponder as we wait to see what moves our club will do. The number of players rumored to be joining Barça every summer could be enough to field three additional lineups. In the end, only a few of the rumors became reality while most dissipate into the wind. This series though will look back on the possible Barça transfers that almost happened. The second part deals with the near capture of Alan Shearer and David Ginola.

The summer of 1996 was a strange one for Barça and their fans. For the first time in eight years, Johan Cruyff was no longer in charge. His successor was the legendary manager, Sir Bobby Robson, who left Portuguese club Porto to join Barça in July 1996. The era of the “Dream Team” was over and the club was looking into starting a new era.

Upon Robson’s arrival, many players were signed to strengthen the team following two seasons without any silverware. He signed players he was familiar with from his Porto days, Vítor Baia and Fernando Couto. Nonetheless, two players who Robson wanted were plying their craft in the Premier League. Those players were David Ginola and Alan Shearer.

20 years ago, Alan Shearer was the one of the most recognized strikers on the summer market. Most of that interest though was limited to just to England. After shining at Euro 96, there was interest from Manchester United and Newcastle in getting England’s dangerous goal scorer. However, there was also interest from overseas as Robson was interested in signing Shearer. Robson stated that he spoke to Blackburn Rover’s manager, Ray Harford, on three separate occasions about getting Shearer, only to be told each time that Shearer was not for sale. Robson never got to directly talk to Shearer but he was also plotting on convincing the Barça board to sign a 19 year old Brazilian from PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo. In the end, Shearer ended up going to his boyhood club, Newcastle, while Barça broke the bank to sign Ronaldo.

David Ginola was another player that Robson wanted. Ginola had shined for France and Paris Saint-Germain in the mid 90’s. Rocking the long hair look that would make him a well-known popular shampoo spokesperson, the French winger possessed the right amount of talent and flair to be either loved or hated by fans. La Liga fans were aware of him after shining against Real Madrid in the 1992/1993 UEFA Cup and the 1993/1994 UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, and also against Barça in the 1994/1995 Champions League when his PSG side eliminated Barça in the quarterfinals. Ginola then made the jump from the French league to the English league when he joined Newcastle in the summer of 1995. With Robson himself a former Geordie, it was no surprise he was aware of Ginola's performance for Newcastle as they finished runner-ups in the Premier League in his first season there.

After Bobby Robson was hired as Barça’s new manager, he personally called Ginola to inform him that he wanted the player to be part of his team. In an interview with Talksport, Ginola said he received a phone call from Bobby Robson expressing his interest in signing him. Ginola then claims that Newcastle were not interested in selling Ginola to Barça or anyone. However, Bobby Robson stated that Newcastle were willing to sell the 29 year old Ginola but the Barça board rejected the idea because Newcastle were asking too much for a player at his age. Ginola probably wished he had been sold since the manager who signed him, Kevin Keegan, quit halfway through his second season with Newcastle, which coincidentally was the same season Alan Shearer joined Newcastle. Ginola ended up leaving Newcastle at the end of that season, his only one with Shearer, and joined Spurs. Meanwhile, Barça moved on from Ginola and decided to bring back Hristo Stoichkov to the club from Parma.

Now, those two near signings were not going to haunt the club. Even though Barça lost out on Shearer and Ginola, Barça still signed other players that summer such as Antonio Pizzi, Giovanni, Luis Enrique, and Ronaldo while bringing back the legendary Stoichkov. Under Robson, Barça would go on to win three titles that season, the Spanish Super Cup, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Yet, we can only imagine what would have happened if those transfers did take place. It would have been interesting to see Shearer and Ginola don the Blaugrana kit. Barça had signed Gary Lineker in the 80s and we would not see another big name English scorer join the Spanish League until the arrival of Michael Owen in 2005. In the end, many would agree that Barça signed the better player in Ronaldo, but how would have Barça done with Shearer instead? Would he have left the club after one season like Ronaldo did? Better yet, had Barça signed him, would that have meant Rivaldo would not been signed as a deadline day transfer the following season because of Ronaldo’s sale to Inter? As for Ginola, the club already possessed a superb winger in Luis Figo, who would excel under Robson and become one of the best wingers in the world for the next few years until his departure to Real Madrid.

Ultimately, Barça did not regret missing out on those players 20 years ago. The club went on to have three successful seasons under Robson and Louis van Gaal. Nonetheless, one has to wonder what if.

THE BARÇA SIGNINGS THAT ALMOST HAPPENED - MORIENTES AND RONALDO.

The summer of 2002 was an interesting one as Barça targeted a Real Madrid player and the one who would become their next Galáctico signing.

It’s that time of the year when we are bombarded with gossip that this player or that player is rumored to be pursued by Barça. Summer transfer window gives us, the Blaugrana faithful, something to discuss and ponder as we wait to see what moves our club will do. The number of players rumored to be joining Barça every summer could be enough to field three additional lineups. In the end, only a few of the rumors became reality while most dissipate into the wind. This series though will look back on the possible Barça transfers that almost happened. The first part deals with the near capture of Ronaldo and Fernando Morientes.

Believe it or not, Barça were presented with the opportunity to get Ronaldo or Fernando Morientes in August of 2002. At the time, Ronaldo shocked the football world when he demanded that his club, Inter, sell him to Real Madrid shortly after he had helped Brazil win the World Cup. This started a back and forth game between Inter and Real Madrid about how to negotiate this transfer.

Inter, angry with what had transpired, supposedly offered Ronaldo to Barça to play for them for one season on a loan basis. Ronaldo had played for Barça during the 1996-1997 season before being sold to Inter. During that 1996-1997 season, the club won four trophies under the helm of Bobby Robson, with Ronaldo scoring an astonishing 47 goals in 49 games.

Though his goals were memorable, he did not leave a lasting favorable impression with the fans due to his absence from the club to participate at Carnaval during the season, and also for having left the club, down the stretch, in order to join up with Brazil for the 1997 Copa America. Without Ronaldo, Barça lost the league title but managed to defeat Real Bétis to win the Copa del Rey. I am not so sure the Blaugrana faithful were going to be welcoming Ronaldo back with open arms either, especially since he wanted to join Real Madrid.

Nevertheless, on August 26, 2002, Inter reportedly offered “Il Fenomeno” to Barça in a season-long loan, but then manager Luis van Gaal vetoed that deal. Just imagine for a second, Barça could have had a chance to bring back Ronaldo to Barcelona, even if it was just for one season, where he would be reunited with his Seleção teammate Rivaldo. Who knows what entertainment and damage those two could have created on the pitch. I can also imagine how this loan would have not helped matters regarding the finances of the club thanks to its poor financial state at the time. Ultimately, Rivaldo left the club because of van Gaal’s appointment, Ronaldo went to Madrid, and the Dutchman was out of a job before the season was over.

When the Ronaldo loan deal fell through, there was talk that Inter wanted a Real Madrid player, Morientes, to be part of the Ronaldo transfer. Inter though had no intention of keeping Morientes as they had lined up a deal with Barça to sign the player. Supposedly, Barça president, Joan Gaspart was ready to give Inter between €22-24 million for Morientes. However, on the eve of the European summer transfer window, Barça pulled out of that deal. One of the reasons the deal fell through was supposedly the wage demands of Morientes. Others claim that Barça were never interested in signing Morientes, and that their sole intention was to sabotage Ronaldo’s transfer to Madrid deal by pulling out of the Morientes transfer at the last minute. In the end, Morientes remained with Real Madrid for another season and Madrid had to pay more money to Inter in order to get Ronaldo.

However, the Morientes coup would have been something remarkable, especially after the Figo scandal following his transfer from Barça to Madrid just two years prior. Morientes joining Barça, after winning three Champions League titles, with a chip on his shoulder would have been interesting. Morientes even declared that he grew up as a Barça fan. The last player to directly join Barça from Madrid was current manager Luis Enrique. Morientes was being ignored for Ronaldo even though he started in all triumphant Champions League finals for Real Madrid. It would have been interesting to see what he would have done for Barça, especially against his former club. Morientes would haunt Madrid in 2003/2004 Champions League season when he scored against them in the quarterfinals, while playing for Monaco on-loan, thereby knocking them out.

We can only ponder what would have happened if either of those players were part of the club. Could have made an impact on the pitch? Probably. Would it have improved the club’s long term future? Doubtful. With the way Barça was being run back then, it would have been throwing money at a problem that required more than just transfers and on-loan players to resolve. Nonetheless, that was one interesting final month of the summer transfer window back in 2002 where Barça could have obtained one of the world’s greatest scorers.

Should Barça Seek Reinforcements This Transfer Window?

 Barça’s recent struggles against defensive minded teams have reignited concerns about this team’s ability to compete for titles down the stretch. The areas of concern range from not having adequate depth in case of injuries along with the lack of having a Plan B for teams that park the bus. With Champions League clashes against Manchester City on the horizon, perhaps Barça need to look into getting some players through transfers or on loan during this winter transfer period.

Barça‘s scoreless draw against Atlético Madrid and their recent 1-1 draw to Levante saw them drop points against teams willing to sit back and relinquish possession. Sadly, all that possession didn’t result in numerous scoring chances. This has been a common trend that the Blaugrana have encountered over the years without much success.

These matches are even more difficult when key players are missing. Barça were without Dani Alves, Iniesta and Neymar against Levante while Messi and Neymar came off the bench in the second half against Atlético. It is tough to fathom how this team can cope with more injuries and then expect the likes of Tello and Sergi Roberto to be considered adequate replacements. They are not and that’s clearly a drop in quality.

These matches also displayed the team’s lack of a Plan B when they face teams content to sit back and absorb the pressure. Barça control possession without creating many scoring chances and the opponents try to catch Barça off guard and score on a counter attack. The fact that Barça have also conceded six goals from corner kicks also indicates that they have another area of weakness that needs to be resolved.

So perhaps the club needs to address both issues and look into making some moves during this winter transfer period. I grew up watching the club with forwards who were aerial threats such as Julio Salinas and Patrick Kluivert so perhaps they should make a move for someone like Miroslav Klose or Christian Benteke who could make Tata Martino’s tinkering with the long balls more effective. Their presence would attract the attention of defenders who could clear up space for other players much like Fernando Llorente did for Spain against Portugal in their World Cup clash. 

Furthermore, the club needs to add a center back to ensure they have adequate defending down the stretch. Mascherano is no center back and with Puyol still not fully fit, or dependable for that matter, the team is left with only Pique and Bartra as their only valid options. If one of them goes down with an injury, then the team is in a world of hurt. The team might also want to look into signing an actual winger to provide crosses seeing as Tello, Pedro and Alexis are not wingers either. Then again, Afellay is back from injury and he would fit in quite nicely under Tata’s style.

I did not expect the club to make a push for Mata but that would have been interesting to see him come in and share time with one of the midfielders over Sergi Roberto. Winter transfer period is not historically a time Barça signs players but perhaps they can catch lightning in a bottle again like they did when they added Edgar Davids during the 2003-2004 season. Ultimately, Barça cannot keep relying on the same old strategy without changing some ingredients along with bringing in some new faces or else they are going to make their second half of the season more interesting than it should be.