The Galatasaray Offside returns with a bang

By: Musab | July 30th, 2009

Now that I’m back from some overseas expeditions, I can resurrect this blog once again. Big news coming out today is Elanos 11 million Euro move over to Istanbul from Manchester City. City’s summer spending spree has left Elano out in the cold and with the 2010 World Cup just around the corner, that isn’t good for him. So Elano decided to make his way over to us in hopes of getting regular football with a top class team.

For those of you familiar with English football, Elano needs no introduction. A technically gifted player, hes able to use both legs effectively and possess a wicked shot. His free kicks are also something to applaud, as his free kick against Newcastle United two years back points out. After coming through the ranks of Santos, he was snapped up by ex-CimBom coach, Mircea Lucescu for Shakhtar Donetsk. He later made his way over to England where he had two impressive seasons. Elano has also played for the Brazilian national team 35 times. Pretty impressive when you consider the competition for the position.

However what makes Elano special for us is his professionalism and his high level of discipline. Thats something that the SOB Lincoln didn’t have, and so he was a failure. Elano is nothing like Lincoln. Elano will do is job as necessary and will deserve every penny of his 3 million a year contract.

So how will our midfield be next year? With Elano’s arrival, Arda will move back to the left wing where he is most comfortable as Elano takes the “Number 10″ spot and Keita will probably on the right flank. Mehmet Topal and Ayhan will probably make their stand behind this attacking front with Baros as a lone striker up front. One glaring problem with this setup. Harry Kewell will ultimately be left on the bench with this formation, something he doesn’t deserve at all. The only way to accommodate Harry is to go with a single defensive midfielder in Mehmet Topal and put Kewell on the right wing and move Keita up as a secondary striker along with Baros.

This would mean a radical shift in Galatasaray’s preseason plans as Rijkaard had consistently insisted on a 4-3-3 formation. Whether he will go for a squad rotation system to satisfy all the players or make such a shift is something that Rijkaard will have to contemplate. Until then let’s enjoy some of Elano’s magic!