<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20100520_CMS_72157_david-villa1-600x450_4ba1dea4.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=450" alt="david-villa" width="600" height="450" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-102754" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1-600x450.jpg 600w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1-150x112.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure>
The rumors, for once, came to fruition, as FC Barcelona will pay a transfer fee of €40 million to Valencia for Spanish international striker David Villa.&nbsp; This tango (or the sardana for a more local, Catalunyan flair) danced by the two clubs since the previous offseason will finally end as outgoing Barça president Joan Laporta landed the player he coveted for two years.
Surely, Barcelona signed Villa to be a starting forward, and his most effective position in that front line would be as the center forward of the three-pronged attack.&nbsp; With Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodríguez on either side of Villa, the Barcelona attacking machine will continue to operate as efficiently and dangerously as ever.
What does this mean for Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was supposed to be the answer in the center of Barcelona’s attack.&nbsp; In order to lure the Swedish hitman from Inter Milan, the Catalunyans spent a net total of&nbsp;€69 million (€46 million in cash, the transfer of Samuel Eto’o from Barça to Inter, valued at €20 million, and another €3 million to compensate for Alyaksandr Hleb refusing the transfer to Inter).
Ibrahimovic had the qualities that Eto’o supposedly lacked: the ability to hold the ball up for his teammates, the acumen to visualize the perfect pass before the action occurs, and the size to better compete for headers and ward off physical challenges.&nbsp; Even though Eto’o scored thirty goals and led the Pichichi race for top goalscorer most of the 2008-09 La Liga season until Diego Forlán surpassed him late in the season, the Barcelona staff felt they needed more from the center forward role than a pure poacher in the box, at which Eto’o was one of the best in the world.
Through the first few months of the season, Ibrahimovic made an immediate impact with the team, <a href="http://www.laligatalk.com/zlatan-ibrahimovic-a-mixed-bag-in-barcelonas-3-0-victory-over-sporting-gijon/1759">scoring in the first match of the season against Sporting Gijón</a>, <a href="http://www.laligatalk.com/zlatan-ibrahimovic-and-carles-puyol-the-differences-as-barcelona-edges-past-real-madrid/2364">providing the only goal in El Clásico against Real Madrid</a> in November after coming back from a hamstring injury, and netting twelve goals in his first nineteen matches in all competitions.
As the season wore on, however, his efficacy in front of goal dwindled considerably.&nbsp; The match against Real Zaragoza in March clearly showed how his confidence had dropped, when he fluffed three chances that Ibrahimovic would score on his worst days.&nbsp; He did score in that match but only because of a late penalty that Messi gave to him so that he could regain his confidence.
Aside from the first leg in the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Arsenal where he scored twice at the Emirates Stadium, he was noticeably absent both on and off the pitch in Barcelona’s most important matches.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola lost so much faith in Ibrahimovic at the climax of the campaign that in both legs of the Champions League semifinal against his former team Inter Milan, Guardiola substituted him in both matches at the hour mark because of his ineffectiveness.&nbsp; In La Liga, where Real Madrid kept the title race within three points until the final matchday, Guardiola favored Bojan Krkic over Ibrahimovic as the center forward.
Cumulatively, Ibrahimovic had twenty-one goals and ten assists in forty-one matches in all competitions, and while these are solid numbers for a player making his debut season in a new league and country, solid was not the expectation that the Blaugrana set for him.&nbsp; Replacing a Barça legend in Samuel Eto’o would always become an arduous task, and the Barça boardroom sent a message to Ibrahimovic that he did not fulfill what they envisaged for him with the signing of David Villa.
As any good agent should do, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent, Mino Raiola, tried to quell any sort of talk that the arrival of David Villa spelled the end for Ibrahimovic at the Camp Nou.&nbsp; In an interview with Calciomercato.it, Raiola reiterated his client’s standing with FC Barcelona:
<blockquote>“The club already said they were happy with Zlatan.&nbsp; Villa’s arrival has nothing to do with Ibra, and it does not put his stay in danger seeing that Villa can play well on the wings.&nbsp; He has a contract until 2014, and he is happy at Barcelona.”</blockquote>
As optimistic as that sounds, it could mean trouble for Pedro, Bojan, Jeffrén Suárez, and others in La Masia if Barcelona plans to keep both Ibrahimovic and Villa, but with Pedro breaking through with an outstanding season and Bojan filling Ibrahimovic’s shoes at the end of the season, it is highly doubtful that Barcelona, and specifically Pep Guardiola, would stunt the development of their own academy products in favor of Ibrahimovic.
One year for any player should not become the absolute barometer for what that player will do in the future.&nbsp; There is an endless amount of cases where players struggled in their first season only to recover and perform to their highest capabilities.&nbsp; In this day of immediate gratification and astronomical transfer fees, however, instantaneous results matter, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic has not given Barcelona what they wanted.&nbsp; If Barcelona did not make a move for Villa and Ibrahimovic was given a clean slate to go into his second season with Barcelona, a betting man would put his money on a highly successful season.
Barcelona is not a betting man and wanted reassurances with the signing of David Villa.&nbsp; When Barcelona sells Ibrahimovic, they will not nearly receive the value that they paid for Ibra, but they will listen to any offers that come their way.
The last opinion that Barcelona would want of themselves is that they are acting like Real Madrid in buying top talent for exorbitant prices, so a rotation that would bench Villa and Ibrahimovic for certain matches would only further this growing perception that Barcelona is turning into their eternal rivals.
Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, and now Barcelona.&nbsp; Four of the preeminent teams in European football, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could not establish a permanent home in any of those clubs.&nbsp; If a club can solve the enigma that is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he would become the most feared striker in the world.&nbsp; If.

What David Villa’s Transfer to FC Barcelona Means For Zlatan Ibrahimovic

What David Villa's Transfer to FC Barcelona Means For Zlatan Ibrahimovic - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_3190" style="width: 343px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Athletic-Bilbao-Dog.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>Even the dog felt low after Athletic Bilbao&apos;s performance against Valencia.</div>
Sevilla failed to show up against a desperate Real Valladolid side.&nbsp; Mallorca could only muster a draw against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda.&nbsp; Athletic Bilbao knew that a win against Valencia on Thursday would ascend them to within one point of Mallorca for the final Champions League spot.
Sure, Athletic has not won away from the San Mamés since the middle of December, so they were not expected to win at the Mestalla against a Valencia team looking to lock up the final automatic Champions League place.&nbsp; Coming off an impressive 4-1 dismantling of an in-form Almería on Sunday, however, Joaquín Caparrós and his men seemed to have the confidence necessary to defeat Valencia.

As for Valencia, they went back to the future because of their sheer amount of injuries.&nbsp; Vicente Rodríguez, David Albelda, Joaquín, and Rubén Baraja all started for Los Che, hearkening back to the days when Valencia regularly competed in the later stages of the Champions League.
The apparent rift between Éver Banega and Unai Emery seemed to be repaired after Banega’s choleric behavior in being substituted against Mallorca on Sunday, but again, Banega’s inclusion in the starting eleven had more to do with the lack of midfield players at Emery’s disposal than any other factor.
With any match against Athletic Bilbao, the opposition should expect a physical affair and have a muted emphasis on quelling Bilbao’s direct style of play.&nbsp; Fortunately for Valencia, Athletic played with a languid style that did not suit their personnel.
Joaquín Caparrós lamented his team’s lack of energy and intensity in his press conference after the match:
<blockquote>“Today we have not been at the competitive level we can show at home.&nbsp; We knew it was a very good chance, but things do not go as one wants.&nbsp; In the locker room, it feels like the season is already over.&nbsp; We had hopes, but we knew that Valencia does really well in their home matches.&nbsp; We still feel anger that we did not come out with greater aggression.”</blockquote>
With Athletic ceding most of the possession to Valencia, David Villa, David Silva, and the Valencia attack needed to figure out how to break through the obstinate Athletic defense.&nbsp; Valencia plays it best football on the counter-attack, and it is no surprise that after Barcelona and Real Madrid, Valencia has the best away record in La Liga.&nbsp; Through the first half-hour, there was no constant threat on goal from either team.&nbsp; Joaquín and Rubén Baraja had headers that endangered Gorka Iraizoz’s goal, but Iraizoz handled them with relative ease.
When David Silva scored from a goal-line scramble in the 35th minute, Athletic neither stepped up their game nor fought back with anger, in line with Caparrós’ assessment of his team after the match.
Athletic’s lack of confidence away from home was clearly evident against Valencia, but they missed two key players that would have been vital in raising the spirits of their teammates: Gaizka Toquero and Pablo Orbaiz.
Gaizka Toquero has been the loyal sidekick to Fernando Llorente as the right-sided forward this season, but his contributions have gone well beyond his seven goals scored this season.&nbsp; A journeyman throughout most of his career in the lower divisions of Spain, the twenty-five year old would appreciate his opportunity to play with a top-level club more than most players, and his never-ending engine only helps to endear himself to his teammates and the Basque faithful.
Toquero wears the number two jersey, a number usually designated for a fullback, but many times, he helps Andoni Iraola on the right side of defense.&nbsp; Whereas Wayne Rooney sometimes receives criticism for running all over the pitch instead of focusing on his duties up front, fans laud Toquero for his abundance of energy and his willingness to help his defense when necessary.
With Pablo Orbaiz, he provides the steel in front of the defensive live that breaks up the opposition’s play as well as providing that extra slice of intimidation that comes with the Athletic Club brand.&nbsp; Orbaiz has gone over the line in a couple of instances this season, including receiving a two-match ban for his part in the ugly fracas at the end of the Villarreal match in February and receiving another two-match ban in March for kicking the cajones of David Cortés.
Athletic needed that extra bite in the midfield (the legal bite) against Valencia because of their skill players up front, and Carlos Gurpegui, Javi Martínez, and David López did not supply the girth necessary to bother Valencia.
After the halftime break, the insertion of Fran Yeste and Ander Iturraspe for the lagging David López and Igor Gabilondo brought a sense of vitality into the squad, but when David Silva scored his second goal in the 62nd minute, the fight and tenacity intertwined with Athletic Club players dissipated slowly into oblivion as Valencia cruised to a facile 2-0 victory to fortify their third-place position in La Liga.
<a href="http:\/\/www.laligatalk.com/la-liga-review-athletic-bilbao-misses-an-opportunity-to-inch-closer-to-a-champions-league-spot/2985">This column has covered Athletic Club’s struggles when they have had a chance to threaten fourth-place</a>, but to come up so small with the season reaching its climax is inexcusable for a team so close to qualifying for the Champions League.&nbsp; A common theme in La Liga this season has been the failure of the second tier teams below Real Madrid and Barcelona to fulfill their potential.&nbsp; Sevilla, Villarreal, and Atlético Madrid have seen significant dips in form, and while Athletic Club may not have been in that tier to begin the season, they have been consistent in the top ten.
To Bilbao’s advantage, four of their final six matches are at the San Mamés, and with their Dr. Jekyll – Mr. Hyde act, they should consider themselves favorites to garner at least ten out of twelve points from those matches.&nbsp; A Europa League berth based on league standing would be a good achievement for Athletic Club, but if they can finish in fourth and negotiate the playoff round in the Champions League, any European team would dread traveling to the San Mamés on a European night.
Fueras de Juego
– The golazo of the week must go to Pedro Rodríguez of Barcelona in their 3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruña.&nbsp; With Barça holding a slim 1-0 lead, Víctor Valdés went long with his goal kick, a rare occurrence for Valdés, because he saw Dani Alves streaking down the middle of the pitch with only one defender back.&nbsp; Depor goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia came out of his area to clear the ball away from Alves.&nbsp; It was not the greatest clearance, but it went as far as the halfway line.&nbsp; From that point, Pedro kicked a soaring, curling ball first-time nearly from the halfway line into the back of the unguarded net.&nbsp; In a season full of awe-inspiring moments for Barça, that Pedro goal ranks near the top of the list in terms of pure difficulty and technique.
– Whenever a club from the bottom half of the table needs a signature victory over a top-five team, Sevilla is the most charitable team to give those lower clubs that sense of belonging.&nbsp; In Round 32, Real Valladolid took advantage of a below-par Sevilla side, and with their 2-0 victory on Wednesday evening, La Pucela climbed to within four points of Málaga and relegation safety.&nbsp; As much as Quique Sánchez Flores pulls his hair out for Atlético Madrid’s inconsistency, Manolo Jiménez and now Antonio Álvarez cannot understand how their collection of talented players have shut it down for the most part at the end of the season.&nbsp; Injuries took its toll on Los Nervionenses, but that is no excuse for the dearth of passion late in the season as they try to qualify for the Champions League for the third year running.
– Tenerife and Xerez, the other teams besides Valladolid in the drop zone, also won on Wednesday to increase their chances of staying in the top flight next season.&nbsp; With Málaga and Real Zaragoza just above them but hardly running away from the relegation fight, a surge to end the campaign is not out of the question for the bottom three teams.

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