The Drenthe Question

By: Isaiah | July 16th, 2007

There seems to be little debate that Royston Drenthe is the next great thing at left back and, because the Spanish press believes he is worth several articles a day (granted, during a time in which Barcelona has been the center of very little news; even the Chivu news has been, shockingly, somewhat constrained recently), I figured I should put in my two cents worth of blogosphere text. After all, my opinion seems about as noteworthy as those expressed in Marca, Sport, and especially El Mundo Deportivo.

It’s not that I know much about Drenthe or even the art of defending in general, but I think I know enough about politics and economics to at least begin to formulate coherent thoughts about the shenaningans of various clubs in the transfer market. After Laporta declared that Madrid inflates the transfer market with absurd fees like the €30m paid for Pepe, it seems somewhat absurd that we would, in a sense, return the favor through a player like Drenthe. But that’s how the political game is played, especially in an offseason where you can say Barcelona have paid far less than teams like Madrid, Chelsea, ManU, and Liverpool for comparable talent. A team with grand designs (League, CL, and Copa) has to spend, or so says conventional wisdom.

A cursory look at YouTube reveals impressive skills, but the question is not really about his worth, but rather whether or not Barcelona should invest in yet another high-priced player this year. After all, the youth system has turned up some absolute gems recently (the most proven of which is obviously Messi, but there is Iniesta to consider as well and, of course, Bojan and Gio Dos Santos are the next stars, but all of those are offensive-minded players), so why can’t it produce any more players of the calibre of Puyol? Maybe that’s asking a bit much, but there seems a disproportionately large gap between the offensive and defensive players that ply their trade in the Mini Estadi, or at least those that make the jump to the first team. Still, with the age of Barcelona’s defenders, even their new ones, somewhat higher than you’d like, there just doesn’t seem to be the reserves in place to replace those who will have to depart at some point.

Is Jesus Olmo the answer? Wikipedia’s Barcelona and Olmo pages suggest he is already a member of the 1st team, but will he have any sort of positive impact over any of the next few season? He is listed as a central defender, but therein lies one of the biggest issues. With the purchase of Gabi Milito, the role of central defender has been filled very well, especially when Puyol returns to the fold. I can imagine the first few weeks of the season we’ll see Milito parterning Thuram or Marquez, so where will Olmo get his playing time? Should he, like the rest of La Liga, be sent out on loan? It makes the most sense, but with Puyol out and possibly not returning in time to start the Champions League, Olmo will be deemed necessary and will have to wait an extra year in the wings before being given a chance at the big time.

Is it a question of priorities, of how much investment is made in defenders? Or is it merely a question of talent? I do not profess to know or understand the process of scouting, identifying, and signing young talent to a youth academy, but if you can land a Messi, why can’t you land another Puyol? I suppose it must be harder to identify defensive genius at a young age than it is to notice footskills, speed, and shot power, but is it so much harder that it creates this monstrous gap in skill? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Back to Drenthe: There is still a gap in the back left, even with Abidal. After all, the season is excessively long for top tier clubs and the ability to throw a strong squad into the domestic cup without endangering any domestic league or European duties is paramount when counting trophies at the end. Drenthe would do well in the Copa del Rey against the likes of Badalona or Racing Portuense and could doubtless grow in the future to become a solid first team starter. It’s not a bad investment, but one has to wonder about the amount of cash being thrown around. As of right now, with 4 signings, Barcelona has spent €65m. What’s another 10m, right? While denying Madrid the ability to sign Drenthe would be fantastic, is it worth it in the long run? There are suggestions that Feyenoord are willing to sell to Barcelona at a lower price than to Madrid because of the goodwill engendered by allowing Gio van Bronckhorst to leave for free, so perhaps it is time to cash in on that, but I’m not sure that’s how to most affectively run a business and there’s always the factor that Madrid are willing to drop €30m on a Pepe, why not €15 on a Drenthe? I mean, they’re already overpaying, right? Perhaps Laporta has a point about Madrid’s inflationary measures…