Over Before It Even Began: Carlos Vela

So much was expected of El Bombardero. He had taken the U-17 World Cup by storm, claiming the Golden Boot and leading his hugely talented Mexican side to World Cup glory - a side that featured current Barcelona outcast Giovanni Dos Santos, who had won the Silver Ball at the same tournament. Now, after an unimpressive showing with Arsenal in the Premier League, and a string of unsuccessful loan moves, Vela is trying his luck with Real Sociedad in Spain's La Liga. 

Where did it all go wrong for Vela? At just 16, Vela had already represented his country at the Under 17 World Cup in Peru, back in 2005. His potential was for all to see as he scored Mexico's first goal of the competition, in their opening fixture with Uruguay, and continued to defy expectations as he scored a further four goals, against such teams like Australia, Costa Rica and even the mighty Brazil in the final. These underage tournaments are always looked to for new talent who, once impressing, have managers sit up and take notice. This was the case for Vela and after that World Cup victory CD Guadalajara owner and coach Jorge Vergara, made him an offer he couldn't resist. However, since Vela was in a position of power, he bargained with Vergara and had him relocate his family after their town, Cancún in Quintana Roo, was on the receiving end of a terrible storm earlier that year.

This deal he brokered for his family made it evident that he loved his family. After winning the World Cup final with a resounding 3-0 victory over South American counterparts Brazil, and with his fathers birthday having clashed with that final date, Vela dedicated his goal in the final, golden boot and the trophy they had won earlier that evening to his father, who was understandably overjoyed at such an action, especially from a 16-year-old.

Following his hugely successful World Cup showing, and impressive club form, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal came calling in 2005 and faxed over an offer of $3 million [£1.5 million] in order to entice the Mexican to London. "He was a player we were looking to be a big part of our future and there was no way we were going to let him go for free," said Vergara after agreeing to the sale of Vela. "We expected him to stay for two or three years and then leave as the big star he was going to be, but in the end it was his decision and there was nothing we could do about it. I hope he won’t regret leaving the club at such an early age."

A deal was agreed imminently and, after passing his medical with flying colours, he signed a 5-year deal with Gunners. However, after Arsenal had the "exceptional talent" excuse for a reason to obtain a Visa in order to Vela to work in Europe turned down, the 17-year-old was forced to look abroad for opportunities before re-applying in a few years time. 

It wasn't long before teams came calling upon hearing of Vela's rejected Visa proposal. In January 2006 it seemed the Mexican was destined for a short-term loan move to Spanish outfit Celta Vigo as David Dein, Arsenal's former vice-chairman, had agreed for him to leave. However, once again things turned sour as Celta Vigo announced that they were not able to take Carlos, due to restrictions regarding non-Spanish players. The loan move was cancelled but new alliances were quickly formed with Spanish Segunda side UD Salamanca, where young Carlos left more than an impression. 

Upon arriving, Vela took time to settle but once he did there was no looking back. He had found his goalscoring touch, scoring a modest 8 goals in 31 games, and also lent a helping hand in contributing nearly half of Salamanca's 53 goals that season, whilst still only 17. This form saw many lavish him with praise, with Spanish newspaper Marca labeling him "the new Hugo Sanchez" as there were several similarities between the two. For example, both had black curly hair, as well as wearing the No.9 jersey. But perhaps the most intriguing piece of information was that both Vela and Sanchez had played in Spain, at Salamanca and Real Madrid respectively, and had a knack of making their presence felt in games. 

He returned to London that summer brimming with confidence but was once again shipped on loan as Arsene Wenger decided he was still to young and needed a fresh challenge, as well as still not having obtained a work permit. Plenty of clubs came knocking, Spanish sides such as Levante, Osasuna, Real Betis and Almeria all enquired about the teenage prodigy, but it was Osasuna who he chose to depart to on a one-year loan, with an option of a second year on the table too. No sooner had he been at Osasuna for the entirety of a single month was he drafted into the Mexican squad for their friendly against Brazil and subsequently Guatemala a month later, in October 2007, whom he scored his first international goal against.

His form for Osasuna wasn't necessarily the greatest, returning to Arsenal with a relatively poor 4 goals in 33 appearances for Los Rojillos, but it was the step up he needed in order to truly show Wenger what he was fully capable of.

In May 2008 Vela was finally granted a work permit and so was able to play for Arsenal during the 2008/09 season. He made his debut for the Gunners in their fifth game of the season, vs Newcastle, and came on for talisman Robin Van PersieArsene Wenger had fielded, as has become the norm, a young, inexperienced side, with Carlos Vela leading the line alongside Nicolas Bendtner. Little did 18-year-old Vela that this would prove to be his greatest achievement for the Londoners as he went on to score a hat-trick - all goals being of the highest quality, especially the second, which was chipped ever so delicately over the on-rushing Paddy Kenny. 

Sachin Nakrani of the Guardian wrote that Arsenal "were a side with an average age of 19, containing one 16-year-old and four players making first starts, played through their more experienced opponents as if they were ghosts, only pausing to catch breath or celebrate the stream of goals". Arsene Wenger later went on to note that they were "the best crop of young players" he has had at the club. But one player who made more of an impression than anyone that night was the young Carlos Vela, handed his first start that chilly September night. His exceptional performance earned many plaudits and Wenger once again led the praise, labeling him a "top-class striker", as well as stating that "he has everything: agility, a good first touch and - perhaps most importantly - clinical finishing". Despite the hugely impressive showing he gave that night Vela was to start only a further nine times that season, making a total of 29 appearances. He might not have made much of an impact, finishing the season with a total of only six goals and four assists, but Wenger still had him in is plans. Or so Vela thought he did. 

The following season Vela made even less appearances and scored even less goals, managing just two. He was limited to cameo appearances and understandably became frustrated at his lack of opportunities for the first team. 2009/10 was no better. Just two goals in 20 appearances. With the arrival of Marouane Chamakh from Ligue 1 side Bordeaux in the summer of 2010, who had scored 16 goals the previous season, it seemed this was the beginning of the end for Vela. In 2010/11 he played only 13 times and ended the season with 3 goals and a single assist to his name. It was perhaps a relief then when West Bromwich Albion took a chance on him and brought him on loan to the Midlands from January 2011 until the end of the season.

In just his second start for the Baggies Vela scored at the death to grab a much-needed point against fellow relegation contenders Wolves. He also scored a late (controversial) equaliser in the subsequent game at the Britannia Stadium, where he had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes, that helped the Baggies climb out of the relegation places - for the time being at least. He was not to feature for the following three games, remaining an unused substitute, but made a further four appearances before the end of the season, failing to score during any of them.

At the beginning of the 2011/12 season it was agreed that he would travel to Spain once more but this time with Real Sociedad. In his thirteen appearances thus far he's started eight, scoring twice, with both coming in successive games. His second goal, an incredible bicycle kick, tied things up in injury-time when Sociedad played Malaga early in December. With two goals in two games and confidence sky-high Sociedad travelled to Estadio El Madrigal to take on the injury-ravaged Villareal but a failure to score in that game and indeed the game after resulted in a dip in this new-found confidence.

Despite his goals, Vela has flattered to deceive at Sociedad thus far and that's very much been the story of his career, with Salamanca proving the only exception. That once fresh-faced potential-ridden youngster who had joined Arsenal in order to achieve his dream to "play there beside Theirry Henry" has taken a turn for the worst and many don't expect him to come back. Only Vela can decide his fate and if he can't improve by the end of this La Liga campaign and change Arsene Wenger's mind odds are his career will end up playing in the doldrums of a division two or perhaps even division three side in the years to come - an utter travesty considering the potential he once possessed.

Precious Messi The Focus of Barcelona

At Getafe's Coliseum Alfonso Pérez stadium on Saturday night it became increasingly apparent for Barcelona that something - or in fact, someone - was missing. No it wasn't Xavi, nor Iniesta (even though he was actually missing), but Lionel Messi. The three-time Ballon D'or winner was the quietest he's been in Madrid on Saturday and it became further evident that for this Barcelona side they've begun to rely on more and more on one individual to supply them with ammunition. His name's Lionel Messi.


These days, Barcelona are essentially a 'one-man' team. Spanish football expert Guillem Balague wrote in his preview of the Getafe vs Barcelona game last Saturday that Barcelona are "heavily reliant" on Messi. And to an extent, that's true. They have become extremely reliant on the Argentine. In fact, last season, if you take away what Lionel Messi contributed - goals and assists - for Barcelona they would have finished 2nd, which means Lionel Messi alone contributed 24 of Barcelona's 96 overall points.


Guardiola has yet to speak about this in person but journalist Graham Hunter, whose new book 'Barca: The Making of The Greatest team in the World' hits shops in January, has written about how highly the Barca coaching staff regard Messi above the rest of the squad. In an excerpt released last week he says:

"It was decided that Brau would be dedicated to Messi, helping him avoid injury, rather than recover from it.

Messi’s diet would now include previously unknown quantites such as fish and vegetables and these changes in the way he maintains his body have made him leaner and stronger, less susceptible to injury and quicker to recover. However, there was more to the plan than that.

Ronaldinho and Deco were to be removed from the team – partly to clear the decks for a new coach but, those in the war cabinet decided, this was equally to save Messi from thier destructive influences."

This favouritism has irked many, some more than others, but nobody as much as former Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish national made it clear in his newly released book I am Zlatan, which sold over 300,000 copies in its first week last week, that he resented the fact that Barcelona cherished Messi so much:

"He came to Barcelona as a 13 year old, was brought up in their culture. He has no problem acting like a schoolboy. But in that team it is all about him.

After I arrived I was scoring more goals than he had. So Messi went to Guardiola and said ‘I don’t want to play on the wing any more, I want to play in the middle of the attack’. Guardiola became pathetic, and he swtiched to something more like a 4-5-1 formation with me just ahead of Messi.

He shouldn’t have adjusted the team for one individual. Why had he bought me if that was the case.”

It's the same in Argentina. When playing for the national team he's made the permanent 'scapegoat' whenever they fail to produce the goods in a tournament. That so-called 'spark' we have the pleasure of witnessing every time he plays for Barcelona is so often absent while he dons an Argentine jersey. This was recently stressed by former Argentine legend Gabriel Batistuta who spoke about Messi in an excellent interview he gave to Fox Sports Latin America in early November stating that:

“I see a Messi that is intelligent, away from controversies. What I don’t like is how [Argentines] always find him responsible for the national team’s shortcomings.

For Barcelona, Messi smashes it and we want him to do the same for [Argentina], but there are different players...Messi doesn’t play for Argentina as he does for Barcelona, I think he seems nervous, because if he makes a mistakr, everyone turns against him.”

As previously mentioned, the Barca team now revolve around Messi. When he plays well, they play well. When he doesn't, they don't. While this may seem a good plan, it can have its disadvantages. In fact, it already has become predictable as this was countered fantastically by Getafe last Saturday in their 1-0 defeat. Messi, you could say, 'went messing' and never really looked like causing too much trouble, partly because he was dealt with superbly by Getafe.


 The Blaugrana travel to the Bernabéu on December 10th for their third El Clasico meeting already this season. In the two previous meeting, both Super Cup fixtures, Barca prevailed as victors having drawn the first leg 2-2 and winning the second 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Camp Nou. Of those 5 goals Barcelona scored three were scored by the ever so brilliant Messi, while the other two were supplied by Andres Iniesta and David Villa.


In that first game, José Mourinho attempted to reduce the threat of Messi by pushing Richardo Carvalho high up the pitch to stop the Argentine doing what he does best. But it was to no avail as when Carvalho pushed up, Messi skipped by him and played in Iniesta for the first goal at the Bernabéu. As Zonal Marking's Michael Cox suggests, Pepé, having been so impressive in last season's classico's, would have been the player to have prospered better, rather than Madrid's no.5.


So often looked to for goals, Messi's influence is undoubtedly undeniable. But, when La Pulga and Co. arrive in Madrid in mid December, many wil be expecting the Flea to be dealt with effectively by Pepé in Real Madrid's midfield. As Didier Deschamps once said: "Great teams are not just created by architects but also by bricklayers and hod carriers", and with the Galacticos just around the corner, now's the time to play to the teams' strengths and not just Messi's.