Good morning folks. Apologies for the delay in getting the day started but a blackout in North Bergen, home of the SBI compound, last night and this morning was to blame.
Let’s get to some news:
Altidore may stay with Villarreal
As we reported last night, Jozy Altidore is set to be introduced at Villarreal today and now comes word from Spanish daily Marca that Altidore may stay with the ‘Yellow Submarine’ a while. According to the report, Villarreal is considering not loaning Altidore to another club for his first season in Spain, which was being suggested in various reports the past week. Concerns over the fact that Altidore is set to miss a majority of pre-season training to play in the Olympics coupled with a desire to assure that Altidore has a smooth transition to Spain has Villarreal officials considering keeping him.
Is that good news? I think it could be. He will have a chance to train with one of Spain’s top teams, a team that will be competing in the Champions League, and if he does well enough he could certainly see some playing time. Might we see the Altidore-Rossi forward tandem sooner than expected? All kidding aside, I see Altidore making a mid-season loan move out to a team like Recreativo Huelva once he has had a chance to settle. That’s assuming he doesn’t work his way into Villarreal’s rotation.
Schalke signs Farfan
Peruvian forward Jefferson Farfan had his pick of European clubs to sign with, including Tottenham and Fiorentina, but Farfan chose to sign with Schalke 04, which paid a $15.5 million transfer fee to PSV Eindhoven for his services.
Schalke will be hoping Farfan can help a struggling offense that managed just 55 goals in Bundesliga play last season. Farfan, who is still suspended from the Peruvian national team after the big party fiasco during World Cup qualifying last December, joins fellow Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero (Hamburg) in the German Bundesliga.
Fenerbahce and Zico part ways
Fenerbahce has failed to reach agreement on a new deal with Brazilian head coach Zico and are now looking for a new coach, the club announced on Tuesday. Zico helped lead Fener to the Champions League quarterfinals and a second-place finish in the Turkish league.
So where will ZIco wind up? Chelsea is a very real possibility. You might recall that it was Zico’s Fenerbahce that pushed Chelsea to the limit in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Share your thoughts on these stories, and any other stories emerging today, in the comments section below.