Robinho to FC Barcelona??

There was a constant rumor that Brazilian footballer Robinho will join Spanish giant FC Barcelona, but looks like this rumor will become a true story. Spanish sport media are now reporting that Barcelona reached agreement with Robinho.  However, the deal is not confirmed since Barcelona wants long time loan before the transfer, and Robinho wants the permanent transfer in January.

Robinho, who moved from Real Madrid to Manchester City for a British record 32.5 million pounds, is current recovering from injury, but his addition on Barcelona squad will certainly make the team stronger. If Robinho comes to Barcelona, he will replace injury struggling Thierry Henry. Robinho, who is familiar in playing left side wing foward, will play upfront  with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi which will probably consists the best attacking line up in the world.

There are also reports that Manchester City is  already looking for a replacement for Robinho and looks like Franck Ribery, a French football star, is their first target. It will be interesting to check the final destination of two monster footballers – Robinho and Ribery –  in the January transfer market.

 

Adebayor controversy

Last week’s English Premier League was all about Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor. The 25-year-old Togolese striker scored header against his former team, Arsenal and lead Manchester City to win the game 4-2. The problem is that he rushed over 100 yards to celebrate his goal ceremony in front of Arsenal fans, which almost caused riot.  Before that provocative behavior, Adebayor stamped on his former teammate, Robin van Persie, causing him a small injury which also was not a professional behavior. It was perfect impression to Arsenal fans that Adebayor is not a friend anymore, but a malicious foe.

In fact, Adebayor was booked a yellow card for the goal ceremony, but looks like the result of his mistake is going to be more harsh. Despite his apology after the game, he will not be able to be free from the suspension. Football Association, organization that manages all the football actions in England, already confirmed that they will investigate this matter. If banned, Adebayor will miss a game against derby rivals Manchester United which is a huge loss to Manchester City.

We all know that goal ceremony is the important part of the football game. It is exciting to watch a goal ceremony, because it makes fans and teams energized. But Adebayor’s goal ceremony was just a provocative and reckless behavior. Since he is a professional footballer, he should have managed his behavior more carefully. There was lack of respect for teams and fans. He could have made the team’s victory more gracious and meaningful. However, what he left is his notorious image among players and fans, Manchester City’s woe for the derby game, and damaging the beauty of the goal ceremony.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/13/emmanuel-adebayor-manchester-city-arsenal