Transfer Window Round-up

September 2nd, 2010 | by: Harun | Comments Off

European football’s summer transfer window closed two days ago, August 31st, and the buying frenzy that marked its passing saw two significant moves for the Bosnian national team. The more notable of the two involves Zvjezdan Misimović, who left Wolfsburg to join Istanbul’s famed Galatasaray. Elsewhere, Admir Vladavić returned to Slovak champions MŠK Žilina, leaving Austira in pursuit of regular football, the Champions League and a national team call up. Unfortunately, this summer was equally notable for the potential transfers that never went through. More below the field.

First off, Misimović. When Wolfsburg brought in Diego from Juventus the writing was clearly on the wall. The question remained, however, where exactly Misimović would go. He was linked most strongly with Schalke, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina. In Sarajevo, national team manager Safet Sušić claimed that a deal was imminent, and by the end of the night news cameras showed our playmaker arriving at an Istanbul airport. He was sold for a fee of around 8 million Euros, and signed a 4-year deal with the Turkish giants.

Is this good for Misimović’s career? While it’s impossible for me to be upset that Miske is moving to a club I’ve always sympathized, the transfer leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth. It’s not even the Turkish league’s reputation in the Western Europan footballing imagination as a graveyard where good players go to die; it’s the way this transfer ultimately came about. In 2009, Misimović gave Wolfsburg their first ever Bundesliga title, and less than two years later they returned the favor by basically treating him like garbage. From what I’ve heard, Misimović was literally about to board a plane to Cologne in a deal that sent him to Schalke and Jermaine Jones and 3 million Euros to Wolfsburg. The move would have allowed Misimović to work under former manager Felix Magath at one of Germany’s most famous clubs. Unfortunately, Wolfsburg’s management apparently axed the deal in the final minutes to send him to Istanbul.

The big question for us, however, is whether this is good or bad for the national team. The answer? Ehh… hard to say. One of Misimović’s biggest weaknesses as a player has been his infamous laziness, both in keeping up with his defensive responsibilities and in keeping off the spare pounds. I believe it was one of his former youth coaches at Bayern who said something to the effect that Miske would be the best midfielder in Germany if he could only stay under 170 pounds, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he hit his best form while under the notorious Magath. Will Misimović be as fit in the Süper Lig as he was in the Bundesliga? It seems doubtful. On the other hand, he’ll surely be fitter than he would’ve been had he stayed around to grace the terraces at Wolfsburg. Furthermore, although in a markedly weaker league, Galatasaray is undoubtedly a bigger name than Volkswagen’s Mickey Mouse club, and it’s always nice to see our players plying their trade in sides with tradition and history.

In a somewhat less notable but certainly positive move, Austrian media report that Admir Vladavić is set to return to Slovak champions MŠK Žilina after his unsuccessful stint at Red Bull Salzburg. While probably a step down in terms of prestige, the move will allow Vladavić to finally play first team football again. Sušić dropped Vladavić from the national team roster because he was confined to the bench during his time in Austria, and the pacey winger hopes that this move will force Pape to take him back. Žilina will play in the Champions League group stages, so with some good performances against the likes of Chelsea and Marseille I’m sure we can expect to see him again. Between Vladavić and Lulić, we will then finally have the option of playing two faster players on the wings – something we haven’t had in ages.

There were no other major Bosnian football moves with the close of this transfer window, but there were several exciting ones that, for one reason or another, didn’t come through. The big one, of course, was the transfer saga involving Edin Džeko, who over the past few months was “on the verge” of a c. 40 million Euro transfer to Manchester City and then Juventus. Although Džeko insisted on leaving a sinking ship, however, Wolfsburg’s management refused and insisted on keeping around a disgruntled star. Džeko’s gotten off to a good start this season, scoring three goals in two games, but we can only hope that in 4-8 months he will finally be allowed to leave.

Perhaps not quite as widely reported, just about a month ago, Emir Spahić was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal. I followed the whole thing about as closely as anyone. The frenzy started when, after a casual link was made in the London press, Spahić allegedly told a Bosnian sports portal that negotiations were well under way and that a deal could soon be reached. About a week later, speaking in front of a camera ahead of the Qatar friendly, Spahić revealed that the quote was completely fabricated. He did not, however, want to elaborate further on the rumor, and by then various other sources had also claimed that Arsene Wenger had made him a high priority. The rumor eventually faded, and a few days ago Spahić finally revealed the whole story to L’Equipe. Apparently Arsenal had indeed made contacts through his agent, but the Gunners backed down when Montpellier insisted on a price tag of 10,000,000 Euros. Another case of hardheaded club administrators blocking the progress of our players’ careers – shame.