Another Young Star for Udinese
By: Martha | December 28th, 2007
Man, Udinese are good — they’ve got scouts in the right places and, somehow, have the ability to get youngsters to sign with them rather than with bigger clubs, possibly by pointing to their track recording with young talent, as well as the chance for first-team action well before players might find it at the major clubs in Europe. And just weeks after capturing three young Ghanians — all of whom have played for the national team already — they’re at it again: It’s being reported that Udine have secured the services of Chilean prodigy Carlos Villanueva.
Though I can’t find anything on the Udinese site, the signing is apparently official, and it means the little northern Italian side have somehow beaten both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid to the punch for a player who scored on his debut in the full Chilean national team and, at the ripe old age of 21, led the Chilean league in scoring this season. If you trust El Pais, the kid’s has been one of the best players in all of South America in the last calendar year.
Villanueva won’t arrive until summer but, when he does, he’ll joint two of his equally young countrymen in the Udine arsenal, strongly suggesting that this UEFA Cup-spot-on-no-money-at-all thing isn’t a fluke. Mauricio Isla, a mere child of 19, arrived last summer and is currently tearing things up for the Bianconeri primavera side, expecting to make his debut in the senior squad in the second half. Alexis Sanchez, meanwhile, is also 19 and has been on the Udine books for two years, having cost them $3 million as a 17-year-old. The striker has been playing on loan in Chile for the past two seasons and is seen as one of the most talented young players in the national team setup, having already secured seven caps after making his debut at 17.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you compete on a tiny budget: Invest in the very young, manage their development well, play them for a couple years to raise your level of play and their stature, and then sell for a tidy profit, sinking the money right back into the youth setup. (If only people on both sides of Milan could get a grasp on the concept of smart buys and frugality, imagine where they’d be.)
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If only people on both sides of Milan could get a grasp on the concept of smart buys and frugality, imagine where they’d be.
Not on our telly sets, that’s for sure.
Posted from
India
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In defense of Inter, even if they do make more than their fair share of transfer errors, I think they’ve actually made quite a few intelligent, budget-minded additions in recent years. Julio Cesar, Maxwell, Cambiasso (!), Figo, Solari, and Crespo were all free or nearly so. The fees paid for Maicon, Cruz, Stankovic, and Burdisso have to be seen as bargains. I don’t remember if Inter paid transfer fees for Dacourt or Cesar, but they were probably good value. And I don’t think the price paid was too significant for young Pele, who has looked fairly promising in recent weeks. Remains to be seen if Inter get a good price for Jimenez from Ternana, but his loan has already been more than worthwhile.
All that said, I have immense respect for the shrewd Friuli club.
Posted from
United States -
Steaua needed this player very much. Badluck, Udinese was faster than Steaua!
Maybe on 2-3 years :)Posted from
United States
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