Sneijder voor 3,5 jaar naar Galatasaray #2

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Op donderdag 24 januari 2013 12:37 schreef kasper het volgende:

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Wow Manono, jij hebt verstand van voetbal.

OT: ik blijf het een vreemde keuze vinden. Als ik hem was was ik misschien wel bij Inter gebleven en mijn kans afgewacht. Iig tot de zomer.

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Sneijder confident in taking road less traveled to Turkey

Wesley Sneijder, the Dutch national team captain, was on the phone from Istanbul, and I asked him something that had never entered my mind until this week: Is it realistic to think Galatasaray could win the UEFA Champions League? The Turkish club may be the most intriguing team in world soccer right now after pulling off a double-stunner in the past week to acquire Sneijder and Ivory Coast star striker Didier Drogba.

Sneijder chuckled a little bit at the question. He has won a Champions League, after all, with Inter Milan in 2009-10, and he knows how hard it is to raise the most important trophy in world club soccer. But doing it with Galatasaray?
"That might be a little too far," Sneijder said. "But we are still in the Champions League, so the next round will be Schalke, and it will not be easy. We have to go from game to game, but we have a high-quality team, so let's fight for it and see what happens."

More than a few people were surprised when Sneijder opted to sign in Turkey instead of one of Europe's Big 4 leagues. This is a guy who made a good case for being the world's best player in 2010, leading the Netherlands to the World Cup final and Inter to the Champions League title. Granted, Sneijder has seen a bit of a dip in the last two years, but he's still just 28 and a central figure for one of the world's best national teams.

Inter decided it didn't want to continue paying Sneijder's hefty salary and had kept him off the field recently, a clear sign that he needed to find a new club.

"[Inter] wanted me to leave, so they didn't let me play anymore," Sneijder said. "I had a possibility to stay there because I had a contract until 2015, but I didn't want to risk anything because I want to play in the World Cup in 2014. So in the end I decided to move. The offer came from Galatasaray. I spoke to the people at the club and heard all the ambitions they have. They really want to grow, and I checked the quality of the Turkish competition. There's real competition. It's not like you come here and there are only two clubs like Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. The quality is high."
It no doubt helps that Sneijder is making big money at Galatasaray. But he says that's not the only reason he opted for Turkey over the chance to join, say, an English Premier League team.

"For me, Galatasaray is like a step forward," he said. "The options I had in the Premier League, I didn't see them as really a step forward. If you're going to move to another country, the first feeling is the most important one. My feeling was really good with Galatasaray. That's why it wasn't difficult to make the decision in the end."

It's one thing for a club to say it has high aspirations, but it's another thing to back them up. By following up the Sneijder signing with the acquisition of Drogba from Shanghai Shenhua, Galatasaray is adding action to words. Both Sneijder and Drogba will be eligible to play in Champions League against Schalke in the Round of 16 starting on Feb. 20.

"He's one of the top strikers in the world," Sneijder said of Drogba. "They have a lot of ambitions here, so they're trying to become one of the biggest clubs in Europe as soon as possible. With a player like Drogba and his quality and experience, it will be even easier to win our games and go forward."

As for Sneijder, he's having to work himself back into top form after not playing for Inter since Sept. 26. Over the weekend he made his Galatasaray debut, playing for 25 minutes in a 2-1 win over rival Besiktas.

"It's a huge difference between playing games and just doing training sessions," Sneijder said. "I didn't play for like two months. I played 25 minutes [on Sunday], so we'll have to do it like this, maybe 35 minutes [next time] and then next week a little more. And before long I should be 100 percent playing a whole game."

There's certainly plenty of enthusiasm for Sneijder in Instanbul. Just as the basketball star Allen Iverson was famously mobbed at the airport on his arrival when he joined Besiktas, Sneijder was impressed (and a little overwhelmed) by the chaos that greeted his arrival last week. To say the Turks are passionate about sports is something of an understatement.

"The people here are crazy about soccer," he said, "and if you do a good job they will love you even more. They told me you can expect a lot of people waiting for you at the airport. But when we arrived there were 75,000 people, and they stopped the airport. It was amazing, you know, something I'll never forget. And I've played many games in my career so far, but what happened in that stadium [on Sunday] was amazing. I can't describe it. You should see it and feel it, because it's different in comparison with all the other teams."

You'll note that Sneijder said the word soccer to a U.S. journalist without pausing and having to think about it. It's a small thing, but it's also a sign that he's already familiar with the United States. He has visited Los Angeles several times over the years with his wife, Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen, an actress and TV host, and he reiterated with me that someday he may very well be up for donning an L.A. Galaxy jersey.

"I've said many times I'm thinking about going there one day," Sneijder said. "But you never know. If you'd asked me five years ago if I'd be in Turkey now, maybe I would have said no. You never know where it ends, but I feel really happy here now."
What's more, Sneijder and Drogba have piqued the interest of global soccer fans by moving to Turkey. Suddenly, Galatasaray's Champions League future is drawing a lot more attention.

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Op donderdag 31 januari 2013 21:38 schreef Stiggie het volgende:
Sneijder kon wel naar de Premier league Zie CNN artikel. Snap niet waarom hij niet gewoon heeft gewacht tot vandaag maargoed

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http://sportsillustrated.(...)transfers/index.html

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Op vrijdag 1 februari 2013 12:21 schreef Iwanius het volgende:
Jongens, mark my words:

Sneijder gaat opbloeien daar in Turkije en wordt een hele grote mijnheer daar in Istanbul.
En wij profiteren ervan tijdens het WK in Brazilië.

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Op vrijdag 1 februari 2013 12:21 schreef Iwanius het volgende:
Sneijder gaat opbloeien daar in Turkije en wordt een hele grote mijnheer daar in Istanbul.

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Op vrijdag 1 februari 2013 15:05 schreef speknek het volgende:

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Gaat ie plateauzolen dragen?

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Op donderdag 31 januari 2013 21:38 schreef Stiggie het volgende:
Sneijder kon wel naar de Premier league Zie CNN artikel. Snap niet waarom hij niet gewoon heeft gewacht tot vandaag maargoed

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http://sportsillustrated.(...)transfers/index.html

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Op zaterdag 2 februari 2013 18:22 schreef Manono het volgende:

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wil sneijder alleen in een team waar hij de sterspeler is?
lijkt soms of hij anders niet kan namelijk..

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Op zaterdag 2 februari 2013 21:53 schreef Jivis het volgende:
Vandaag maar twintig minuten meegespeeld. Waarom zetten ze Sneijder niet gewoon in de basis eigenlijk?

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Op zaterdag 2 februari 2013 23:57 schreef RetRy32 het volgende:

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Hij is nog niet topfit...
Ook wat aan de dikke kant.

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Wesley Sneijder has revealed he wanted to go to Manchester United in 2011 but Inter Milan blocked the news.

It was the move Manchester United fans were desperate for, and seemingly so was Wesley Sneijder.

What supporters were not aware of, thanks to the Dutchman's diplomacy behind the scenes back in 2011, was that Sneijder wanted the move to go through and was disappointed when it didn't.

He revealed so yesterday, now speaking as a Galatasaray player after moving this January, stating: "President Moratti promised ¤7M and a five-year contract. I signed it, but later I learned that at that time there was a ¤50M release clause.

"Manchester United offered ¤20M, but Inter did not sell despite me wanting to go."

It is clear from Sneijder's comments why the transfer was blocked, and it's Manchester United's fault not Inter Milan's.

United's 20 million Euros offer equates to £17 million, a fee which Inter would have no doubt dismissed as derisory. And it was.

While Sneijder was sold for just £8.4 million to Galatasaray last month, 18 months before his stock was far higher. In the year-and-a-half since his fliration with United; he has collapsed from being a world class superstar to an injury-prone out of form midfielder with it all to prove.

Sneijder's career has hit the buffers over the past 18 months, with Inter going through a revolving door of managers and the Dutchman being asked to play in a variety of positions in different formations and systems, without finding any consistency or success.

This combined with injury problems, and his falling out behind the scenes with Inter had seen his market price devalue, combined with his contract continuing to tick.

Back in 2011, Sneijder was not only 'playing nice' with Inter behind the scenes, he was still valued as one of the best midfielders in the world. Right now it's probably fair to say he 'was' one - but needs to prove himself all over again.

When United made their offer for him, he was one year removed from a dream season - where he helped Inter win the treble, and scored five goals as Holland reached the World Cup Final.

He was indispensable to Inter back then, and United's £17 million was not enough.

Figures discussed back then in the media were close to or exactly £30 million, and Inter needed around £25 million plus to be convinced to sell.

The reason United were reluctant to offer more was because of Snejider's wages, which would have catapuled the total cost of the deal - reported to want £6 million Euros a year.

So ultimately the deal collapsing was Sneijder's fault and United's. But Inter Milan were absolutely within their rights to block the transfer, as United simply didn't tempt them enough to push through the deal.

United fans do you regret missing out on Sneijder or are you glad the club didn't pay over the odds?