{"id":442929,"date":"2011-06-17T09:50:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-17T09:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/17\/a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc-fabregas-when-they-already-have-thiago-alcantara\/"},"modified":"2011-06-17T09:50:00","modified_gmt":"2011-06-17T09:50:00","slug":"a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc-fabregas-when-they-already-have-thiago-alcantara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/17\/a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc-fabregas-when-they-already-have-thiago-alcantara\/","title":{"rendered":"A Catalan obsession &#8211; but Barcelona don&#8217;t need Arsenal&#8217;s Cesc Fabregas when they already have Thiago Alcantara"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<h4>17 Jun 2011 10:50:00<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<div readability=\"104.937951412\">\n<div readability=\"14.5943396226\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"La Liga, Barcelona v Levante UD, Thiago Alcantara \" src=\"http:\/\/u.goal.com\/133400\/133489_news.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>La Liga, Barcelona v Levante UD, Thiago Alcantara<\/p>\n<h4>Related Links<\/h4>\n<h4>Teams<\/h4>\n<h4>Players<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p><span readability=\"27.4818123803\"><strong>COMMENT<\/strong><br \/>By Ben Hayward<\/p>\n<p>The name of the perfume wasn\u2019t Obsession, but it would have been appropriate. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goal.com\/en-gb\/people\/spain\/2840\/cesc-f%C3%A0bregas\">Cesc Fabregas<\/a> was in Madrid on Wednesday to take part in the presentation of a new fragrance and, for the second summer running, the Spanish press reeled off the usual questions about the midfielder\u2019s hopes and dreams of moving to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goal.com\/en-gb\/teams\/spain\/125\/barcelona\">Barcelona<\/a>. Fabregas answered them respectfully, but also obligingly. And the conclusion: Cesc is still obsessed with Barca. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goal.com\/en-gb\/teams\/england\/94\/arsenal\">Arsenal<\/a> captain spoke of his frustration at failing to win titles at the north London club; he said Barca are guaranteed winners. His favourite scent? \u201cThe Mediterranean\u201d \u2013 and the sweet smell of success.<\/p>\n<p>Barca share this obsession. The Catalan club saw two big-money offers rejected last summer for their former youth player, but are back in for the 24-year-old midfielder and he won\u2019t come cheaply. A purported price of \u20ac40 million (\u00a335m) is being quoted and is likely to smell less sweet for Barca, who originally thought they had slightly more cash to spend than that before sales. Sniff in a different direction, however, and they may find the solution is right under their noses: Thiago Alcantara.<\/p>\n<p>While Cesc is a pure Catalan product, born and bred in the region and raised in Barca\u2019s youth system, Thiago is a blend of Brazilian flair and Spanish smooth. Born in Italy to a Brazilian father, World Cup winner Mazinho no less, Thiago is now starring for Spain at the European Under-21 Championship in Denmark. He\u2019s an international, bright young thing \u2013 and he\u2019s already at Barca.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c4\" src=\"http:\/\/u.goal.com\/129700\/129784hp2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" \/><strong>Obsessed with Cesc |<\/strong> But wouldn&#8217;t Thiago be a better option anyway?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span readability=\"9\">Thiago has been impressive in Denmark, turning in fine showings against England and Czech Republic so far. He was used sparingly for Barca last season, but scored three times in 17 appearances &#8211; playing mostly as a substitute &#8211; and appeared more than capable of performing for Guardiola\u2019s side. Peerless in possession, Thiago has Xavi\u2019s knack of receiving the ball and recycling play, nearly always creating more positive positions for his team-mates. He is constantly available, searching for space and triangles, and he can drive forward with the ball, too; he has completed 10 successful dribbles already in just two games at the Euros \u2013 more than any other player. And he plays the Barca way.<\/p>\n<p>So does Cesc, of course. The Arsenal midfielder has Barcelona in his blood since idolising coach Pep Guardiola as a youngster, he played in the club\u2019s youth sides and is friends with half of the first team squad at Camp Nou. He may be ideally suited to Barca\u2019s way of playing. So too, however, is Thiago.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"10\" cellpadding=\"10\">\n<tbody readability=\"1\">\n<tr readability=\"2\">\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong><span>CESC &#038; THIAGO | Their numbers from last season<br \/><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Cesc Fabregas<\/td>\n<td><strong>35 games<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>9 goals<br \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><strong>17 assists<br \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">Thiago Alcantara<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>17 games<\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>3 goals<br \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><strong>3 assists<br \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>\nFabregas has also been away for eight years playing in a different league &#8211; and he signed an eight-year contract with Arsenal in 2006. Financial security is one thing, but as the midfielder has always maintained he dreams of a return to Camp Nou, an eight-year commitment seems excessive now. Back then of course, he could smell success in London; Arsenal were competing for titles every year and played Barca in the Champions League final in 2006. Since then, though, the Gunners have had merely a whiff of the major trophies.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, Barca have gone from strength to strength, winning almost everything in sight. But the Catalan club still has debts to pay and central midfield appears well covered, especially in terms of starters. Even if Cesc were to sign, he would be unlikely to dislodge either Xavi or Andres Iniesta, while Sergio Busquets plays a more defensive role. The Arsenal captain is also prone to injuries and was disappointing for the Gunners at times last season, too.<\/p>\n<p>So Barca would do well to back Thiago and spend their money on more pressing needs, such as a central defender to cover Carles Puyol and a left-sided forward. Cesc will come anyway \u2013 sooner or later. In the meantime, Guardiola already has a bright young star in Thiago. The player\u2019s father has claimed the midfielder will not be moving, so surely the time has come for Barca to forget their Cesc obsession, save their money, remove Thiago from his packaging and let his spirit shine. He\u2019ll be like a free gift \u2013 with a classy aroma. It all makes sense.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span>Follow Ben Hayward on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/bghayward\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/u.goal.com\/93900\/93900.jpg\" border=\"1\" alt=\"\" width=\"48\" height=\"11\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The rest is here:<br \/>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.goal.com\/en-gb\/news\/3277\/la-liga\/2011\/06\/17\/2535845\/a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc\" title=\"A Catalan obsession - but Barcelona don't need Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas when they already have Thiago Alcantara\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Catalan obsession &#8211; but Barcelona don&#8217;t need Arsenal&#8217;s Cesc Fabregas when they already have Thiago Alcantara<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> 17 Jun 2011 10:50:00 La Liga, Barcelona v Levante UD, Thiago Alcantara Related Links Teams Players COMMENT By Ben Hayward The name of the perfume wasn\u2019t Obsession, but it would have been appropriate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-442929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Catalan obsession - but Barcelona don&#039;t need Arsenal&#039;s Cesc Fabregas when they already have Thiago Alcantara - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/17\/a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc-fabregas-when-they-already-have-thiago-alcantara\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"A Catalan obsession - but Barcelona don&#039;t need Arsenal&#039;s Cesc Fabregas when they already have Thiago Alcantara - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"17 Jun 2011 10:50:00 La Liga, Barcelona v Levante UD, Thiago Alcantara Related Links Teams Players COMMENT By Ben Hayward The name of the perfume wasn\u2019t Obsession, but it would have been appropriate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/u.goal.com\/133400\/133489_news.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/17\/a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc-fabregas-when-they-already-have-thiago-alcantara\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/17\/a-catalan-obsession-but-barcelona-dont-need-arsenals-cesc-fabregas-when-they-already-have-thiago-alcantara\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"A Catalan obsession &#8211; 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