Community

KansasToonami won the Throwdown.

naxself

vs

KansasToonami

Throwndowns: 4
Record: 3 - 1 - 0
Fort Worth , TX
All Throwdowns
5
Votes
Throwndowns: 15
Record: 4 - 11 - 0
Lawrence , KS
All Throwdowns
2
Votes

SoccerNation TD, 2nd Round: Ronaldinho is a vanity signing for AC Milan (assuming the transfer goes through)


There is no point to AC Milan signing Barcelona's Brazilian M/F Ronaldinho. Milan has enough firepower that signing him is purely a vanity move on the part of Silvio Berlusconi. Ronaldihno is being brought in to sell jerseys (as if Milan needs help with that) and put butts in the seats (again, as if Milan needs help with that). But he doesn't fit in where it counts: on the pitch.

While Seedorf is getting old, he's still effective in short bursts (he shouldn't be playing 90 mins anymore, but that's another TD). While I admit that Ronaldinho would be an improvement on Seedorf, I feel Milan have a ready replacement for when Seedorf hangs up his boots: Yoann Gourcuff. Perhaps Milan is thinking that Ronaldinho will tutor Gourcuff. That's a bad idea: Ronaldinho sulks and whines when things aren't going well. I can't imagine that he'd be happy to tutor his replacement.

Berlusconi, like Abramowich, is in love with big names. He'll push through this signing even though it doesn't mesh with his team. I'd say they'll implode with Ronaldinho on the team but I don't think Gattuso, Mr. Pit Bull himself, will let them.


I will concede that Ronaldinho is getting older, and that he's being brought in to sell jerseys... but LOTS of superstars sulk and whine... even the young ones (ManU #7)...

...but for a team of the caliber of AC Milan (up there with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man United, and Bayern Munich), he's a worthwhile signing.

Granted, he's had a poor couple of seasons, but this may be due to getting lost in Barcelona's "youth" movement, as Barca seems to be focusing on new talent (and freeing up some money). Milan may re-energize him.

And it all depend on what happens with Kaka. If Kaka welcomes "Ronnie" to the club (along with the return of Shevchenko), then it's highly likely that Gourcuff will go on loan to another club, or remain on the bench for when "Ronnie" inevitably gets injured. That's the way it often works at the big clubs--it will be up to the youngster to be content with coming on as a substitute, and prove himself worthy of a starting spot in the time he is allotted.

Fair? Not always... but that's how big-money outfits usually work.

*Ronaldo* (the original) was a vanity signing for Milan. Ronaldinho is comparable to Madrid getting Beckham. A galactico, but still worth it.


Your points are spot on about sulking and whining. You're also spot on about how the big clubs work. With that said, AC Milan isn't addicted to stars like Real Madrid. It is clear, though, that Ronaldinho isn't the player he was in 2004, 2005, or 2006. I don't think it's a matter of getting lost (everything still goes through him in Barcelona).

What I do know is that Milan isn't getting classic Ronaldinho. And I also know that Berlusconi is doing this to get his fans excited. And I'm pretty sure he's going against his soccer staff's wishes. For a great team to stay great, they must produce, develop and refine talent. They should buy only when they need that particular player's skill set. Ronaldinho's skills - considerable as they are - are not what Milan need; not with a maestro like Kaka (who's younger and better than Ronaldinho) in the middle. Ronaldinho needs the ball to dominate. He won't get it because that's what Kaka does. What Milan needs are wingers and strikers who can put Kaka's passes in the net.

I'm always in favor of getting the established star. But Ronaldinho isn't the same and isn't worth what Milan will have to pay, in fees or in wages.


No, he's not the player he was a few years ago, but he's still good enough to be worth throwing some money at Barcelona's accountants.

He's definitely not *classic* Ronaldinho, but then again, that's quite a high bar he sent a few years back.

It would be comparable to a big club (other than Manchester United) possibly paying a premium for Cristiano Ronaldo, say, 6 years hence, in 2014, when he's not so dazzling as we "remember" he was, back in the glory days of 2007 and 2008...

...but when he's still worth a shot, and when his club (perhaps in a post-Ferguson "new" youth movement) wants to offload his salary to try a young up-and-comer... the way Beckham was let go and "C-Ron" brought in.

So, Ronaldinho has had injury troubles... he's been slow in comparison to the high bar set at his "peak" in 2004-2005 or so... yes, he's getting "stale" in the Barcelona set-up.

"Ronnie" won't be as key to the club as Kaka is, granted. But for the short-term (and big clubs are all about *what have you done TODAY*... see this year's Milan for proof... he's a good buy.

And much like Abramovich with Chelsea, Berlusconi is after titles and Champions' League for his vanity--not after one player.


The reason Barcelona is willing to move him is precisely because they have more than adequate replacements (Messi, Krkic, and dos Santos to name three). Barcelona has an embarrassment of riches in terms of young players.

I like your comparison of Berlusconi to Ambramowich. While I agree that they're both after domestic and European titles, I think the real vanity lies in who they can trot out on the pitch every week. For example, Chelski bought Shevchenko simply because he's Shevchenko. This is the same reason Milan is buying Ronaldinho.

You hit the nail on the head: he's had injury problems and he's not the same player he was. I don't expect him to be the World Player of the Year each year into his 30s but consistency would be nice. And he hasn't been consistent for 2 years.

It's true that big clubs are all about the now but Milan is hardly struggling. This is a Milan team that has been consistently good for the last 3 years. Ronaldinho, because of ego and fragility and costs, will not add to that. He will, however, add to Berlusconi's ego. Thus, he's purely a vanity signing.


Whoa, hold on there... ;-) Chelsea didn't just buy Shevchenko for the sake of spending... they wanted a proven striker at international level, with experience in the Champions' League.

A "known quantity", whether that be a superstar of the Shevchenko/Ballack/Thierry Henry/Ronaldinho variety, or a relative newcomer with significant promise, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Emmanuel Adebayor, Lionel Messi--younger, but known due to international experience and success in "lesser" leagues--will be more appealing than an up-and-coming player who is untested at the highest level of competition.

An illustrative comparison: Zinedine Zidane was first chosen FIFA's footballer of the year in 1998 at age 26 while with Juventus. He won the award again in 2000. "Zizou" could be called a classic "vanity" signing, moving to Real Madrid in 2001 as the first of many "Galacticos". EXCEPT: he then helped Real win the CL in 2003, and won his third FIFA award in 2003 at age 31.

"Ronnie" won his first FIFA award in 2004 at age 24, and a second in 2005. If he transfers to Milan at age 28, he'll be about the same age that "Zizou" was when he transfered to Real Madrid.

"Ronnie" is not a vanity signing, yet.

Comments (11)

Most Recent Comment Add Comment RSS

nice TD

ill wait for the arguments

Report Offensive Comment

Ok question real quick. do we vote based on who argues the best or are they just there to help us with our own opinion on the topic?
But nice arguments so far.

Report Offensive Comment

really, ronaldinho is a complete vanity signing, just like beckham moving from man u to madrid. If that move wasn't to sell shirts in asia ill never watch la liga again

Report Offensive Comment

I think Ronaldinho just needs a change of scenery. Just wait until he plays in a new team, he'll be making noise again. I do believe Barca is going through a youth movement, esp at the offensive level w/ Bojan, Iniesta, Dos Santos and two other kids that have already played in the first team. AC Milan doesn't need strikers and wingers, AC Milan needs midfielders to replace Pirlo and Gatusso.

Ctsubasa, we vote based on the better arguments

Report Offensive Comment

http://www.fannation.com/throwdowns/show/160057

Report Offensive Comment

My bad, copy-pasted that wrong.

Milan doesn't need Ronaldhino, unless rumors are true and Chelsea or someone else scoop up Kaka.

Report Offensive Comment

naxself, I've been inspired by your example to change my profile photo. props!

However I still think Dinho is nowhere near a vanity signing... I stick by the point at the end of my 1st argument: Ronaldo to Milan = vanity. Ronaldinho to Milan = not vanity.

Report Offensive Comment

Kansas: Well done with the new pic, sir. :-)

As for the vanity aspect, the crux of my argument, which I completely forgot to put at the end of my third argument is: does signing Ronaldinho make Milan better than they already are? I say no, simply because Kaka dominates the ball and needs wingers who can move without the ball. Ronaldinho is also a player who needs the ball to be successful.

I like your point about Zidane but he an Ronadinho are completely different players. And, yes, Ronaldo was a vanity signing. But I was still genuinely sad when his career ended the way it did.

Report Offensive Comment

JMG84: Kaka isn't going anywhere, unless Berlusconi plans on living somewhere else. And since he's the big politico in Italy again, I don't think he's going anywhere.

Report Offensive Comment

good throwdown, naxself. good luck in the next round!

Report Offensive Comment
 

Thanks, KansasToonami. Well argued on your part, to be sure.

Report Offensive Comment

Add a comment

Remember to keep it clean. Bad words will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed. More Guidelines


or cancel

SI.com Photos

Faces at the U.S. Open
Back in Time: September 5
Former Athletes Turned Politicians
Visit SI.com for more photo galleries

SI.com Top 10 Headlines

Visit SI.com for more stories