It was one of those ‘what were you doing when…?’ moments. I was sitting in a pub on Tottenham Court Road, confronting my second pint. Dave, a friend from school, was describing some wonderful adventure he had had recently in New Zealand or Fiji or somewhere. However, the television screen on the wall was trying to catch my attention. A Sky Sports News presenter was standing outside Eastlands, with swathes of happy Manchester City fans behind him. I had heard of the takeover of City by Abu Dhabi United Group on the bus down to London from Newcastle earlier that day.
Then the moment came. ‘MAN CITY SIGN ROBINHO.’ I did a Rowan Atkinson-style double-take, but Dave continued. The pub had become a little quieter as people started to take notice of the screen. There was a gasp here and a ‘No way!’ there. Finally I had to stop Dave in mid-flow. I asked him to confirm that I was not seeing things. Manchester City had signed Robinho from Real Madrid for the best part of £35 million.
A few weeks on, the reality has sunk in, and thankfully sports programmes on television, radio and paper format have stopped the incessant talk of the new ‘richest club in the world.’ Whatever your opinion on how Man City will fare in the future, it is the relationship between Mark Hughes, one of England’s best young managers, and the new owners, that intrigues me. After seeing the power struggle between Jose Mourinho and Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, it begs the question how much interference will Hughes accept from the owners over the question of transfers. How much influence did Hughes really have over the signing of Robinho?
The Daily Telegraph seemed to shed some light on this in an article on Friday September 19th. It is claimed that Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan personally insisted that one of a list of six players be signed on transfer deadline day, in order for the deal to go through. The eventual signing, Robinho, was one of the six. Another was Dimitar Berbatov, who City reportedly agreed to meet in Manchester before he was whisked away from under their noses by the team from the red side of Manchester. Former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy was on the list, as was Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. David Villa, Euro 2008 top scorer and reported Real Madrid replacement for Robinho, also made the shortlist.
It was the sixth man on this so-called ‘galactico’ list that intrigued me. Mario Gomez, born in Germany to a Spanish father and German mother, has acquired the nickname ‘Mr Reliable’ in Germany for his consistent goal-scoring, no-matter the form of his club, Vfb Stuttgart. While the media speculated that Drogba was leaving Chelsea at the end of last season, Gomez was mooted as a replacement. Coincidentally, the 6ft 3in striker made his Stuttgart debut against Chelsea in the Champions League in 2004.
Gomez’ Bundesliga scoring record is excellent. In his second full season for Stuttgart, he netted 14 goals in 25 games, helping them to win the Bundesliga. Last season, while his team struggled and eventually scraped into the Inter-Toto Cup, Gomez managed 19 league goals in the same number of games, as well as 3 Champions League goals. This is all very impressive, but I am still surprised to see him in the ‘galactico’ list. He is 23 year old, with only two full seasons behind, playing in a league that, while I enjoy watching the Bundesliga, offers a staggering number of high-scoring games for a top European league. The reason: most of the defences are mediocre at best, (note Bayern Munich, the team with by far the most money and historical success, conceding 5 at home to Werder Bremen on September 20th 2008.)
Gomez is undoubtedly an excellent prospect, and every Stuttgart fan I have spoken to is resigned to him leaving the Swabian side at the end of the season. But how on earth did this young star, who unfortunately vastly underperformed while in the spotlight of Euro 2008 for Germany, get on to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s list? Regardless, barring injury, Gomez has a very bright future. Will we get the pleasure of watching him in the Premier League sometime? I have a feeling we will…
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