For Reals?
By: Abby | January 21st, 2008It’s being reported that Tottenham Hotspur are going to purchase Gilberto. As in, now. For £2.5 million. 3.4 million in Euros. As opposed to at the end of the season. When he’d be free.
I’m really hoping this isn’t a joke and they really want to do this. I’m almost afraid to write about it in the chance that it’ll be jinxed somehow. Berliner Kurier suggests that Gilberto’s putting Dieter Hoeness between a rock and a hard place, because getting rid of an experienced head in midfield/defense could backfire with the influx of young players who are unfamiliar to the Bundesliga. But I think of it as more between a rock and one of the mildly uncomfortable and kind of hard mattresses that I had in Berlin. Gilberto’s been not very good this season (or terrible, but I’m being kind due to the good work he’s done in the past for Hertha). He’s 31. He’s been bitchy lately. He’s going to go anyway. It’s far better to get money from Tottenham now than no money from whoever in June.
(Also, an aside, and this is only kind of because I’m an Arsenal fan- are Tottenham even worse at transfer bargaining than Hertha is? Is that possible?)
So if Tottenham do give us €3.4 million for Gilberto, what will we do with it? Buy more 20-year-old Serbians, of course! The newest to-sign is Gojko Kracar of Vojvodina Novi Sad. He’s undergone a medical check and should be announced soon. For an estimated €3 million. Because, well, it’s Dieter Hoeness and there’s no player he can’t pay too much for.
He’s also somehow managed to piss off the president of Hajduk Kula, club of Ljubomir Fejsa. Who was that other teenage Serbian we were supposed to be signing. Or maybe have signed. It seems to be far more complicated than it should be, as he might actually be owned by FC Metz somehow.
What we should be doing with the money, though, is raising the salary of the Serbian we already have. Marko Pantelic is attracting interest from West Ham and Fulham and is allegedly unhappy with his current pay. As our attack mainly consists of Pante, and he continues to produce, I very much hope that we keep him. Give him Gilberto’s €2.5 million salary. Even if Raffael is as great as the videos on his website say he is, he still doesn’t know the Bundesliga. And he could probably use another good striker to work with.
So, to sum up. Gilberto: probably gone by the 31st. Gojko Krancar: just about official. Ljubomir Fejsa: needlessly complicated. Marko Pantelic: deserves a raise.
Oh, and we drew with TuS Koblenz 0:0 in our most recent friendly. Bryan Arguez played 90 minutes (is he signed yet or not?). But that’s not nearly as interesting as transfers.
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Argues played 90 minutes? Jesus, this move confounds me as a United fan (and blogger) to no end.
Posted from
United States
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As a Hertha fan (and blogger), this confounds me as well. But that’s par for the course with many Hertha moves. He definitely played, though. And seems to be part of the team now. So maybe it’s completed? Or maybe Hoeness has found a way to make it needlessly complicated too.
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United States -
This whole Arguez thing is a great story. I bet we see more US players who fall through the cracks at home take off elsewhere. Anyways, thanks for keeping up on him at Hertha and I totally read your blog all the time even though I don’t know anything about the Bundesliga. Yup… thats how I roll.
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United States -
Aww, thanks!
And no problem. It’s my pleasure to track an American at Hertha. I really hope he does well. It would make happy as both an American and as a Hertha fan. And I definitely see smart (and cash-strapped) European clubs looking to American youth players, particularly in Germany and England where physical prowess is needed.Posted from
United States -
Last I heard during the weekend, Arguez’s transfer is being delayed by paperwork. So maybe it is Hoeness’ fault!
As a DCU supporter, I am not at all surprised that we had someone good enough to play in the Bundesliga languishing on our bench for an entire season. That’s just how DC rolls.
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United States -
Reports on the Gilberto transfer fee are ranging from as little as €1.6m and as much as €4.5m. But whatever the final figure will be, from an economic perspective it’s a good deal. Gilberto currently earns €1.5m, so the deal would make room for €750.000 in Hertha’s wage budget for the rest of the season. And the fee helps refinancing some of the new transfers, so Hertha doesn’t need to touch too much of the Sportfive millions.
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Germany -
[...] What do you get when two financially clueless clubs get together? Awesomeness. (Hertha Offside) [...]
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United States -
I’m with you, Jan. Any money for Gilberto is good, because the alternative will be no money. Can we just give the salary saved to Marko Pantelic? He’s actually earned it this season.
Arguez delayed by paperwork? That’s my Hertha. Making a relatively straightforward transfer as confusing and complicated as possible, just for my amusement.
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United States
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