Chapter 13 The Espanyol

Chapter 13 The Espanyol

"I would like to thank everyone at Dinamo Zagreb for raising me and without them I wouldn't be where I am today, but now it's time to say goodbye and it's a great satisfaction to join Fiorentina. As a result, Fiorentina is a great team. There have been many great players here, including my idol Roberto Baggio. It is a kind of luck to earn enough to play for Fiorentina. I can't wait to contribute my life to Fiorentina. I also firmly believe that in the new season, we will achieve brilliant success!"

At the joining ceremony, Modric also took the initiative to show his favor to the Fiorentina fans. People are familiar with Modric. The team's ability to introduce players of his level also proves that in the new season, the team is ambitious. , which is a welcome sign.

People love championships and no one can stand a team that has no goals at all.

Digan also welcomed Modric on behalf of Fiorentina: "Luka can join us. This is the best result. He is a very good player. We all firmly believe that he is the most suitable person for Fiorentina. I also look forward to it. In the new season, we can fight side by side and strive for better results for Fiorentina."

Prandelli also expressed his satisfaction with the team's deal: "There is no doubt that this is an exciting result. Luca is a real talent. His performance in Dinamo Zagreb has already Conquered me, I am sure, in the new season, he will play a very important role in the team."

The introduction of Modric is certainly not the end. After Albertini retired and Liverani and Jorgensen were determined to leave, the most urgent need of the team was to supplement the midfield position.

Just the second day after Fiorentina introduced Modric, Fiorentina's official website announced another message, confirming the team's second signing deal of the season.

Mikel Arteta!

The name is still unfamiliar to Italian fans, but in England, especially in London, he is an idol for many people.

As the core of Everton's midfielder, Arteta's ability is beyond doubt, but what is worrying is his nationality-Spain!

Before this, there has never been any Spanish player who has achieved success in Italy. AC Milan is considered a pioneer. Spanish players can't adapt to Italian football style.

However, Degan was not worried. Unsurprisingly, this deal was once again advocated by Degan.

Arteta may not be well-known now, but he will be Arsenal's new generation of core players in the future. As for whether he can adapt to the Italian football style, Degan thinks this is not a problem at all, because Arteta is an outstanding player in Spain. The famous "prodigal son", unlike most Spanish players who are used to playing domestically, spent most of his career overseas.

Arteta is an outstanding representative of the Barcelona youth academy. He was discovered by the Barcelona club at the age of 15 and started his career in the Barcelona b team in 1999.

But he never played for the first team of Barcelona, ​​and then he played for Paris Saint-Germain Football Club in France, Glasgow Rangers Club in Scotland, Real Sociedad Football Club in Spain, Everton Football Club in England, and grew up as a football club in England. Fulton's core.

In 2000 and 2001, Arteta was loaned twice to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He became teammates with Ronaldinho, who was so famous there at the time, and fought side by side in Ligue 1, but Arteta only played there for one and a half seasons.

Two years later, the Scottish Super League Glasgow Rangers signed Arteta for a high price of 5.8 million pounds. Arteta has been extraordinarily active in the limited Scottish league.

In 2003, in the last game of the league, Arteta scored a penalty in the last minute against Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, helping the Rangers overwhelm the old enemy Celtic with a goal difference to win the championship trophy .

In the same year, Arteta also helped the team win all the honors of the Scottish league. In two seasons in Scotland, he scored 12 goals in 50 league games.

Perhaps it was because he stayed abroad for too long. In the summer of 2004, Real Sociedad brought Arteta back to La Liga at a price of 2.5 million pounds to replace Harvey Alonso who went to Liverpool. On the contrary, Arteta was very uncomfortable.

Arteta, who is not familiar with the rhythm of La Liga, failed to play his due level. Instead, he was injured again and again, and he has never been able to occupy the main position in the team. In half a season in La Liga, he only scored one goal in 15 appearances account.

In January 2005, after Thomas Gravesen moved to Real Madrid, Everton urgently needed to find a successor. As a result, Moyes rented Arteta from Real Sociedad before the transfer market closed on January 31.

At Goodison Park, the Spaniard was reborn again. Arteta, wearing the No. 6 jersey, conquered all the fans in just four months and helped the "Toffees" achieve incredible success that season. They finished fourth in the league and entered the UEFA Champions League qualifying round.

This is the first time since the establishment of the Premier League that Everton has ranked higher than rivals Liverpool in the same city for the first time!

In July 2005, "Toffee" officially bought it out permanently for 2.85 million pounds, and Arteta quickly integrated into the new owner. He has gradually become an indispensable soul figure in Everton's midfield, the brain of Everton.

Last season, Arteta played the best record in his career. In 35 games, he scored 9 league goals and was selected as the team's best player for the second consecutive year.

In addition, in the voting held by Sky Sports, Arteta beat Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo and was selected as the best midfielder in the Premier League.

However, Arteta has never been called by the national team so far. It is worth mentioning that he was the captain of Spain's u21!

Everton coach Moyes once said: "He is a very important player and we rely on him. He has dedicated all his strength here and deserves more. Maybe there are too many strong players in the Spanish national team, so squeezed in The national team has become so difficult. But he should be given a chance to prove himself."

The importance of Arteta to Everton is self-evident, so when Fiorentina tried to introduce him, Moyes refused without hesitation.

But Moyes refused, but Arteta himself was tempted. He felt that he had reached a bottleneck in Everton. Now what he wants is to try a new football style and achieve a breakthrough in strength.

Another point is Arteta's heart disease, that is, he has never been selected for the Spanish national team. In Everton, a small club, he feels that he wants to win the favor of the national team. Going to the top giants, but at least Fiorentina is willing to invest. If he can succeed in the club, then at least he can also attract the attention of the national team and finally be selected.

When Arteta told Moyes of his thoughts, Moyes knew that Everton would not be able to keep people, and the twisted melon was not sweet, and Arteta was very important to Everton, but Everton Dayton's own business strategy is a wealthy blood station, even if they never admit it, but this is the fact.

The transfer has entered a normal process. Fiorentina offered 12 million, which is four times what Arteta was worth when he joined Everton, but Moyes refused.

Immediately afterwards, Fiorentina offered another 15 million euros, and Moyes refused again, but this time Arteta spoke.

"It's hard for me to say that. I've been at Everton for two and a half years. I've had a lot of friends and a lot of love here. I'm very grateful to Coach Moyes for helping me out. The low point of my career, I also thank the fans here, thank them for their applause, but I think it's time to say goodbye, I'm used to walking around, I like to try different styles of football, I know there are many now Regarding the scandal between me and Fiorentina, what I want to say is that everything is true and I hope the club will seriously consider my ideas."

Arteta's words caused an uproar among Everton fans. He is the core of Everton's midfielder, and now he actually said he was leaving.

Everton fans were disappointed, but the reaction was not intense. In fact, over the years, they have long been accustomed to the loss of core players. The fans are not surprised that Arteta will leave, but they did not expect the parting to be so early arrival.

Moyes also knew that Arteta couldn't be kept, so he counter-offered 20 million euros. Fiorentina finally offered 18 million euros, and the two sides reached a deal.

Arteta then went to Italy to complete the medical examination, and then the two sides signed a five-year contract with an annual salary of two million euros. In the new season, Arteta will wear the No. 20 jersey to play for Fiorentina.

"I would like to thank Mr. Moyes. Although I know that leaving may cause troubles for Everton, I hope my career can go to the next level, so I said goodbye cruelly. I hope that one day when I return to Gu Still popular with Everton fans at Dixon Park!"

For Arteta, Degan, as the team's new captain, also welcomed: "This is a perfect deal. Arteta is an excellent player. He has great strength. His joining is very important to Fiorentina. The club is an important supplement, but the transfer work of the team will continue. We still need to supplement the strength of the team. Our goal is to build a perfect team. In the new season, our goal It's not just about reaching the Champions League!"

Degan's words are a signal. As the core of Fiorentina, as the best forward player in the world, Degan's words are almost a weather vane. Everyone can see that Fiorentina's ambitions in the new season are not small.

Modric, who was introduced before, illustrates the problem. Modric's strength has long been recognized by many European giants.

But Arteta is hard to say.

Although Arteta performed very well at Everton, can the curse of Spanish players not adapting to Italian football really be broken on Arteta?

People were skeptical.

According to experience, Spanish players have not played well in Serie A. The only one who can do it should be Suarez when Inter Milan's two-time Champions League champion.

In addition, whether it is Mendieta, Jose Mari, Farinos who bought at a high price, or Guardiola who went to retire, whoever has succeeded.

In terms of technical styles, the styles of the two countries are just the opposite. Spanish football advocates offense, while Italian football likes defense. Let's talk about their football coordination. Spanish players pay more attention to technical cooperation, while Italian players pay more attention to tactical cooperation.

To put it bluntly, Spain prefers to play enjoyment football, while Italy prefers to play utilitarian football, which is why Spain has only won the European Cup once, while Italy can win four World Cups and one European Cup.

In the coaching systems of the two countries, the Spanish coach wants the defenders to participate in the offense, while the Italian coach wants the forwards to start the defense. What a conceptual difference. If the two countries exchange players, not only the Spanish players will not go. In Serie A, it is actually a headache for Italian players to go to La Liga.

Although it is a long time ago, Spain has produced Suarez in Italy anyway, and Italian players have succeeded in Spain, whether it is Vieri, Di Vaio or Cannavaro. Although they have won championships and golden boots, but It's hard to call it a success there.

The only one who can be considered successful should be Capello. After all, the old man stayed there for two years and won two league titles, but what happened to him?

The same is scolded and fired.

It is really a difference between the two cultures, which has gone beyond football.

Prandelli also raised objections to this deal, but Digan seemed very confident.

Degan's self-confidence is not without reason. Arteta is definitely an outlier among all Spanish players. So far, he has spent most of his career abroad, whether in Paris, Scotland or England. , he has achieved success, but in Spain, he encountered a lot of difficulties.

This means that Arteta is not a successful educational product of Spanish football at all in terms of style, but also has a very strong adaptability.

Deegan is confident, but others are skeptical.

But then Fiorentina surprised people again. They announced on the official website that this summer, the team's third transaction, people felt messy, and it turned out to be another Spaniard!