Guillem Balague - Sky Sports Expert

Henry heading back?

Posted: 01st May 2008 13:26

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Thierry Henry Barcelona

Henry: to leave Camp Nou?

Interestingly enough, Barcelona are looking for a team in the Premier League that will take Thierry Henry - and that is definite.

Gullem Balague
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Our Spanish football expert Guillem Balague looks ahead to another weekend of live La Liga action on Sky Sports - and he answers your email.

Got a question for Guillem? Then send it in here.

Atletico Madrid v Recreativo
Zaragoza v Deportivo
Barcelona v Valencia
Osasuna v Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid v Recreativo
7pm, Saturday, Sky Sports Xtra

Atletico Madrid are finishing the season on a downer. Even the chairman Enrique Cerezo is saying that this season is looking too long for Atletico Madrid and they should have wrapped up their Champions League spot much earlier.

It's only one victory in five games for them now - and they should still guarantee it by beating Recreativo at home, but that's not going to stop the club changing.

The plan at the moment is to get rid of Javier Aguirre and get Quique Sanchez Flores as coach next season. Aguirre's contract renews automatically if they qualify for Europe, but that won't stop the club trying to get rid of him.

They feel he is the kind of coach that players don't particularly trust and they feel he portrays one image in public and another in private. Some players are disappointed by what he adds to the side in terms of strategy and physical preparation.

So they'll go for a new manager and if they can't agree terms with Quique Sanchez Flores, then they'll try for Unai Emery of Almeria.

Zaragoza v Deportivo
9pm, Saturday, Sky Sports Xtra

These are two teams that found themselves in a desperate situation three months ago and they reacted in different ways.

Zaragoza did not believe that relegation was their battle so they kept playing pretty football and exposing themselves at the back.

Deportivo on the other hand found that they needed to strengthen at the back. They now play with five defenders and their football has become much more direct and more efficient. In fact, in the second half of the season, Deportivo have become the best team in the competition.

So Zaragoza are going to have to dig deep to find the sort of battling spirit that they normally don't have and it's going to be very, very difficult for them to get out of the position that they're in - especially when Diego Milito who was the best striker of the last year, has been struggling to make an impact.

Since January he's only scored one goal in 12 games and the burden weighs heavy on him.

Meanwhile, Deportivo will now feel that they have the possibility of getting into the Uefa Cup.

Barcelona v Valencia
6pm, Sunday, Sky Sports Xtra

These are two clubs that will change radically next season and we will see two different coaches in charge.

Voro is taking charge of Valencia until the end of the season and he's happy to bring back the three players that were left out of the squad - Santiago Canizares, Miguel Angulo and David Albelda - back into the team.

He's doing that little by little. He had to play Canizares last week because he didn't have Timo Hildebrand ready and he doesn't trust Juan Luis Mora. He brought in Angulo as well, but Albelda may take a bit longer.

In any case, the coach will probably be Marcelino of Racing Santander, who wants to get rid of 20 players and sign eight new ones. He is somebody with very clear ideas. I met him last week and I admired the work that he's doing and how he communicates what he wants from the players.

He's a modern coach in his approach to physical work, strategy and tactics. I think he's going to need one year to put everything right at Valencia, so expect the best from Marcelino and from Valencia in his second season, if the club are patient enough.

As for Barcelona, I think everything is going to be put in the hands of Josep Guardiola. Frank Rijkaard will leave and Johan Cruyff says at least 10 players need to move on as well. I'm not sure the market is there for all of them, but at least seven will definitely go.

Interestingly enough, they are looking for a team in the Premier League that will take Thierry Henry - and that is definite.

Osasuna v Real Madrid
8pm, Sunday, Sky Sports Xtra

When Real Madrid run out, they may already be champions if Villarreal do not win their game two hours earlier.

If that's the case there will be of course plenty of celebrations and they will end up in the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid.

It's only fair that they are crowned champions and, as we said on Revista, this victory has a double value. Not only are they winning in a year that is still transitional, but they are also doing it with an improved style.

They have won the league in the way that Real Madrid tend to do and that has been more evident in the last three months or so. There was a crucial moment when Bernd Schuster had to decide between Mahamadou Diarra and Gago in the centre of midfield and he went for Gago.

He wanted the passing, the control and the football that characterises Real Madrid and he's succeeding so expect more of that next season with a few changes.

Those include a new striker which could be Didder Drogba, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - or more likely David Villa. There will also be a new midfield player, which could be Xavi Alonso.

Guillem answers your questions...

GUNNER GET ALBIOL
I've heard rumours about Arsenal signing Raul Albiol from Valencia. We definitely need to sign a centre-back next year, and was wondering whether you have any information about this potential transfer? Thanks for your time. Gurpreet.

GUILLEM REPLIES: I don't think that's going to happen. I think Raul Albiol is soon going to become the captain of Valencia, possibly even next season. He's one of the players that Marcelino wants to keep and he considers him a very good midfielder - or more likely a centre-back.

SPANISH STARS FOR SPURS?
Hi Guillem, I am a Spurs fan from London and since Juande Ramos has become manager we have consistently been linked with a number of Spanish stars, most commonly Daniel Jarque and Diego Capel. Could you tell me if there is any truth in these stories? Thanks, Amar from London.

GUILLEM REPLIES: I would say about 19 out of the 20 players that have been linked with Spurs under Juande Ramos are not true, but agents are using it to increase the prices of their clients. Ramos is a bit upset with that, but what's true is that those two - Daniel Jarque and Diego Capel - are on a list drawn up by Ramos. The problem is that he's not the only one choosing players at Spurs - there's another three people that have got as much say as he has. So even if he wants, say David Villa at Spurs, it's got to be agreed by three other people. Having said that, Villa doesn't want to go to Spurs.

SPARE CHANGE FOR CHE?
Hi Guillem, I love your column! I was wondering what you think will happen at Valencia over the summer? As Voro is only temporarily in charge of the team who do you think will be in charge next season? Is it going to be one of Marcelino or Emery or is there another coach that could be in charge? Also, do Valencia have the finances to buy players in the summer? Best regards, Paul from England.

GUILLEM REPLIES: Hopefully I've already answered your question about the new coach above - it is likely to be Marcelino. As for the financial situation, I think they will have money to spend because they are looking to get rid of about 20 players - or that's what Marcelino wants. That includes David Villa; Valencia have accepted that he's going to go and that will bring plenty of money in. They now have a manager who is going to take charge of the new signings hand in hand with Juan Sanchez, the new director of football who, from what I've been told, has a good eye for players and has enough information to make good choices for Valencia.

Comments

Stu H (Liverpool fan) says...

Hi Guillem. I really enjoy your column for what it's worth! If I had a pound for everytime I heard a sentence that included the words, "Henry" and "Liverpool", I'd be able to buy Henry off Barcelona myself. There were rumours last summer that people saw him checking out Melwood. Obviously it came to nothing but, the rumour mill is spinning again and I'd like to know the chances of Liverpool signing the great man. He's always said he would only play for Liverpool aside from Arsenal. He appears to be very good mates with our own Stevie G. Is a deal with Liverpool only ever a pipe dream or is it a done deal he'd only return to Arsenal? A hopefully Liverpool fan!

Posted 05:22 5th May 2008

Lindsay Dunn (Leeds United fan) says...

I am a Real Madrid fan and nice to see the lads come through this year and repeat as La Liga champs. Too bad we will not see them and Arsenal in a dream Champs League final. Madrid needs only a few players to bolster the squad and more important will be keeping the core group of young talent already at the Bernabeau. However, Cesc, Benzema, Quaresma and Ryan Babel ought to be all needed to complete the Madrid squad that would be good enough for the Champs League title. Paying too much for a C. Ronaldo, Drogba, Kaka or Villa doesnt make sense to me. Arsenal are proof that one does not have to break the bank to get a world class squad.

Posted 18:06 4th May 2008

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