Summer Transfer Window Series: 10 Moves That Shook The World

Every summer usually has a transfer that defines the period. However, some transfers transcend the boundaries of what is expected, or even what was previously thought possible, truly shaking the world of football. In this post, I'll outline my top 10, before looking at the mega-moves that we may see this August.

10. Angel di Maria - Real Madrid to Manchester United (£59.6m, 2014)
The first in my list is the first in the enormous money moves that I've looked at, and makes the list primarily because of the sum paid. Seen as one of the world's best wingers, di Maria starred at the World Cup in Brazil, helping Argentina to the final. With Manchester United in a slump following a poor season, a statement of intent was required - step forward di Maria for an eye-watering sum.

9. Neymar - Santos to Barcelona (£50m (to date), 2013)
The most sought-after young talent in the world at the time, Neymar opted for the Catalans over a number of clubs, leaving his beloved Santos for a reported £50m. This transfer would have serious repercussions, however, with contract irregularities reported set to turn this into a world record move - an incredible £116m quoted as the total potential price.

8. Alan Shearer - Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United (£15m, 1996)
While it's not really the fee that means that Alan Shearer's transfer makes my list, it's the context. In 1996, the English transfer record stood at a metre (by today's standards) £8.5m, paid by Liverpool to Nottingham Forest for striker Stan Collymore. However, having won the Premier League title with Blackburn, England's number 9 made the move to his hometown club, with the Geordie almost doubling that record overnight, and demonstrating to the world the spending power that English clubs have.

7. Sol Campbell - Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal (Free, 2001)
Again, not a transfer I'm picking on fee, but on context. It's extremely rare to see players move directly from one club to its direct local rivals, particularly in the higher division where the rivalry is that little more intense. Sol Campbell, a key part of the Spurs team of the 1990s, made the move across North London to Arsenal, and in so doing, cemented his Spurs legacy as the ultimate 'Judas'.

6. Luis Suarez - Liverpool to Barcelona (£75m, 2014)
While the £75m price tag you may assume is the reason for this to be in this list, it's actually not the only explanation. What makes this move most surprising, particularly for the level of investment made, is that Suarez had received a three month ban from all footballing activity for his bite on Giorgio Chiellini just a matter of weeks earlier. Nevertheless, this did not deter Barcelona, and Suarez made his move last summer for the inflated price.

5. Carlos Tevez - Manchester United to Manchester City (£25.5m, 2009)
Arguably the most controversial move across a city in English footballing history, and one that spawned an ingenious marketing campaign 'Welcome to Manchester' (if of course, you're a Manchester City fan and therefore a true Mancunian). Carlos Tevez had enjoyed a semi-successful loan spell at Manchester United in 2007/2008, before making the move to the heavily spending Blues the following summer. The chants of praise were soon changed to something slightly more offensive and insulting over in Salford!

4. Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United to Real Madrid (£80m, 2009)
Perhaps a few of you will be surprised by the fact that I've only rated this in at number four in my list, but I'll explain my decision. Unlike a number of other big money transfers, where the player either doesn't really justify the price, or the move is a surprise in the first place, neither is the case in terms of Ronaldo. Having made it perfectly clear that he wanted to leave Manchester United, it was equally clear that he would command an enormous sum. Therefore, while it was a transfer that shook the world, it was perhaps not as much of a shock as others.

3. Robinho - Real Madrid to Manchester City (£32.5m, 2008)
Rewind to 2007. Manchester City had just narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premier League. Enter first Thaksin Shinawatra and then the Abu Dhabi United Group on transfer deadline day 2008. With manager Mark Hughes on the golf course, City needed to make a statement of intent. And boy, did they, stealing Real Madrid striker Robinho from under the noses of Chelsea for a British record £32.5m.

2. Luis Figo - Barcelona to Real Madrid (£37m, 2000)
If we thought Carlos Tevez's move from United to City was acrimonious, then we've clearly forgotten Luis Figo's decision to move across the Clasico divide, with Barcelona selling their star man to Real Madrid in the summer of 2000. Pure chaos ensued, with the Portuguese's first return to the Nou Camp seeing him so badly abused that he stopped taking corners. Pelted with bottles, lighters and even a pig's head, Figo showed incredible courage, but also, why it may not be a logical move between close rivals - especially in Spain!

1. Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid (£89m, 2013)
Though this move was not a considerable surprise, if you'd have asked Spurs fans the number it would have taken to prise Gareth Bale away from them, I think only the most hardcore of fans would have suggested a world record £90m. Compared to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Welshman is nowhere, but the potential, and David Levy's notorious negotiation skills, meant that the fee inflated significantly.

With this summer window in full swing, are there any transfers that could shock the world of football enough to make this list? Raheem Sterling's £49m move to Manchester City certainly acts as a contender, but is there anything that looks like happening elsewhere?

The significant rumour mill surrounds Juventus wonder kid Paul Pogba. Both Manchester City and Barcelona have been linked with £60-70m moves for the Frenchman, which would certainly qualify as the defining move of this window. How likely this is is uncertain, but from a personal perspective, it would be great to see him in a blue shirt come September.

Football's 'Best Ever Side' - Really?

For those of you that live in a cave, or don't have access to a TV or the internet, yesterday was the Champions League final. And following a (rather more closely fought than anticipated) 3-1 win for Barcelona, people have as usual got carried away. Calls for the new European champions to be recognised as football's 'best ever side' have emerged, thanks largely to the incredible number of goals scored by the club's front three this year.

For me, this is frankly ludicrous. I'll go into this in more detail later, but far from the being the best side to play football, they're not even the best side I've seen in my lifetime. In fact, they're not even the best Barcelona side I've seen in my lifetime!

Though much has been made of this current side, my favourite Barcelona side remains the Champions League winners of 2009. Managed by Pep Guardiola, this side had matched the feat of the current Barca team, winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey ahead of the meeting with Manchester United in Rome.

Here, it's worth outlining the opposition that the two sides faced. Though Juventus certainly do have some talented players - Tevez, Pirlo, Buffon and Marchisio to name a few - there are a number that are certainly past their best. This was absolutely not the case for the 2009 side. In Manchester United, they had a side that had run away with the English league (and anyone who's watched a season will tell you how difficult that is - unlike Italy), and contained players in their prime. Defensively, the likes of Evra, Vidic and Ferdinand were all seen as being at the pinnacle of the game, and going forward, the side had an embarrassment of riches, with Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez forming a formidable partnership, not unlike the current Barca trio.

Despite this, Barcelona simply destroyed United, with Xavi and Iniesta toying with them in the midfield before letting Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o take over. Though the final score was only 2-0, it could and perhaps should have been many more, with United unable to penetrate the defence.

Whether that side is my favourite because of the football they played and the fact that a treble was unprecedented for Spanish sides at the time, or simply because they picked apart a Manchester United side that I was thoroughly sick of watching win, I'm not sure. Either way, it cannot be disputed that they were comfortably the best side in the world at that moment - but is that true of the Barcelona side of today?

I'd argue not. I know they say that the best side over 38 games wins the league, so perhaps this Barcelona side is better than Real Madrid. But it is worth noting that only a spectacular collapse from Carlo Ancelotti's men in the mid-season, following an incredible 22-game winning streak, handed Barca the Spanish title. I'd strongly suggest that had the furore around Gareth Bale and his unpopularity with the fans not potentially upset the morale surrounding the squad and the feel-good factor at the club, Real Madrid would be sitting here with three trophies, and we'd be calling for them to be instated as the best team in the world.

I'd also argue that, although they were soundly beaten in the Nou Camp, Bayern Munich have a better squad that the Catalans. They had to complete their two legged tie without the assistance of either Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery, two of the best wingers in the world - imagine if Barca had to go on without both Luis Suarez or Neymar. I can't imagine if the roles had been reversed, we would have seen anything other than a German victory.

So clearly, proclaiming the current side as the best ever to grace the game of football is a tad premature. But to be fair, how many of the current Barcelona side would get into the sides of either 2009 or 2011? Who would I pick as my best Barcelona team of the last six years?

Goalkeeper - Victor Valdes (2011), Right Back - Dani Alves (2011), Centre Back - Carles Puyol (2009), Centre Back - Gerard Pique (2009), Left Back - Jordi Alba (2015), Defensive Midfield - Yaya Toure (2009), Centre Midfield - Xavi (2009), Centre Midfield - Andres Iniesta (2011), Left Wing - Neymar (2015), Centre Forward - Lionel Messi (2011), Right Wing - Luis Suarez (2015)

So with only three players in my best Barcelona team of the best six years, is the current side the best of all time? No. Also, to assume that a Barcelona side of within the previous decade is to totally ignore the incredible club sides put together by Real Madrid in the early 2000's, including the likes of Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham and Roberto Carlos, Arsenal's 'Invincibles' team of 2002/2003 or (annoyingly) Manchester United's treble-winning team in 1999. It also neglects the incredible national teams that have been created - think of Spain's 2010 World Cup winners, or the Brazilian sides in either 2002, with the three Rs of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, or the side recognised as the greatest World Cup team, the Brazilian team of 1970 including Pele, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto and Rivellino.

However, the 122 goals scored by Messi, Neymar and Suarez this season cannot be ignored. They certainly have a claim to be the best strike force of all time, but to create an extension to the rest of the team is unfair. Become the first side ever to retain the Champions League next season, as well as completing another domestic and European treble with the same group of players, and then we'll talk.

A Passing of the Guard? Germany 11-3 Spain

            The recent domination of Spain in European football has arguably come to a shuddering halt over the last 2 weeks. The demolition of firstly Barcelona, and then Real Madrid, in the Champions League Semi Final first legs could individually have been considered flukes, but collectively imply a distinct pattern. Whilst Real Madrid fought valiantly last night, providing Borussia Dortmund with an incredibly panicky and tense final few moments, tonight’s Barcelona performance is perhaps indicative of a seismic shift in European football. Barcelona, considered one of the greatest teams ever, exited the competition with a whimper, and the Nou Camp, once an impregnable fortress, was left stunned into silence. This brings into question Spain’s status as the dominant force in European football, and with Barcelona’s abject performances, raises questions over whether ‘tiki taka’ football is dead.

 

                Whilst I will reserve judgement on whether Spain as a national side have lost their world and European number 1 status until after at least the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, if not the 2016 European Championship. However, if subsequent national competitions follow the recent shift in power from Spain to German in club contests, I foresee a rather different outcome to that in 2008, 2010 and 2012. This is not a shift that has occurred overnight. Whilst the events of the last two weeks have forced the issue into the spotlight, arguments can be made that this has been on the cards over the last couple of years. Germany have had at least semi finalists in each of the last 4 seasons, with Bayern Munich being involved in 3 of the last 4 finals. Whilst the ‘El Clasico’ pair have both been regularly involved in Champions League semi finals over the last decade, the fact that Bayern have beaten firstly Madrid, and then Barcelona in the last two semi finals shows that German football, and especially Bayern Munich, have been on the rise in the last few years.

 

                The first all-German Champions League final is seemingly the end of a gradual evolution towards German domination in European club football over the last five or so years. Despite this, it would be foolish to suggest that the two great Spanish giants are now irrelevant. There will always be there or there about, and with two of the best footballers in the world amongst their ranks, they have the potential to turn any match on its head. The argument against these two weeks being indicative of a seismic shift in European football is that Bayern Munich have had a record-breaking season this year, sweeping aside all in their path, both domestically and continentally. This season could therefore be seen as a ‘flash in the pan’, as their title winning campaign this year has broken two years of Dortmund domination. This is certainly supported when we look at how Bayern have performed in their previous two campaigns, finishing 2^nd (2012) and 3^rd (2011), 8 and 10 points behind the eventual champions. Considering these statistics, this record-breaking season cannot have been predicted, and therefore does not suggest that German football, and Bayern in particular, were becoming more prominent in European football. The argument against Dortmund’s presence in this year’s final being indicative of a shift is that they are simply this year’s Chelsea. Whilst they qualified top of arguably the most difficult group, they were within moments of elimination against Malaga in the quarter finals. Relying on a Manchester City-esque double salvo in added time, they were highly fortunate to progress to this point. Personally, I disagree with these arguments. Having experienced Borussia Dortmund first hand in the group stages, they are fully deserving of their place in the final. This is further illustrated by their performance at home to Madrid last week. Bayern, whilst this season may have come out of the blue, have been riding a wave of momentum, and have deservedly demolished Barcelona both home and away this year, having beaten Madrid last. This appears too significant to ignore, suggesting that German football is beginning to usurp their Spanish counterparts.

 

                All of this, along with the emphatic defeat of Barcelona, leads me to question whether the iconic Catalan ‘tiki taka’ style is effective. It may well be the case that they no longer have the element of surprise, and therefore teams may now be able to counter it more effectively. Perhaps the loss of Pep Guardiola at the end of last season has had some significant loss to the philosophy. Whatever the reason, it certainly appears that ‘tiki taka’ football is no longer a match for Bayern’s disciplined, fluid, attacking football. This suggests that certain revisions to the tactic are required.  Whether that is simply the removal of the over-reliance on one man (Lionel Messi), or something slightly more detailed, it is clear that Barcelona can no longer rely on their trademark style to steamroller the top teams, as was the case a few years ago. I wouldn’t go as far to say that ‘tiki taka’ is dead, but it now requires greater sophistication to be effective against disciplined opposition.

                  As for whether German football has overtaken the Spanish game, I remain sceptical. It is hard to argue with that combined scoreline, but Barcelona and Real Madrid both remain consistent on reaching Champions League semi finals, with Barca reaching the last 6 consecutively. Until multiple teams from the German league can say the same, I refuse to accept that they have de-throned the Spanish giants. German football has had a phenomenal season this year, and Bayern Munich can certainly make a case to have deposed the two Spanish clubs as Europe’s best club if they win on the 25^th May, but for German football to have overtaken the Spanish on the course of two weeks is short-sighted. Give them a few years, a World Cup, and a couple of Champions Leagues, and then we can reassess.