<a href="http://www.bundesligatalk.com/the-new-gaffer-introducing-jol-at-hamburg/40/martin-jol/" rel="attachment wp-att-41" title="Martin Jol"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/8/files/2008/07/hsv.jpg" alt="Martin Jol" align="right" height="339" hspace="15" vspace="15" width="300"></figure></div></a>Fred Rutten isn’t the only new Dutch manager in the Bundesliga, as ex-Tottenham Martin Jol took over the reigns of Hamburg earlier this month. It’s been nearly 30 years since Jol’s last appearance in Germany. He made 9 appearances for Bayern Munich as a midfielder in 1978/79 before returning to the Netherlands the next season. His managerial journey has now mirrored his playing career, rotating among the northwestern European triangle of the Netherlands, England and Germany. This time around he hopes to spend more than a year in the Bundesliga.
Jol will be Hamburg’s 26th gaffer in the past 45 years. While this seems like a lot it’s actually the norm for the league (as next week’s entry on Bruno Labbadia will detail). The only manager to last longer than 4 years at Hamburg? Ernst Happel. Yes, he of Ernst-Happel-Stadion fame (the stadium was named for the two time European Cup winner and not vice versa, in case you were wondering). While fans would love it if Jol could emulate Happel’s European triumphs, they’d be satisfied with replicating his domestic success. Coincidentally both Happel and Jol began their managerial careers at ADO Den Haag. Anyway, it’s been 25 years since he Happel brought home the team’s last championship. Since then they’ve been a steady, if not spectacular, club:
 <a href="http://www.bundesligatalk.com/the-new-gaffer-introducing-jol-at-hamburg/40/hamburg-position/" rel="attachment wp-att-46" title="Hamburg Position"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/8/files/2008/08/hsv-tabellenpositionen.jpg" alt="Hamburg Position" align="middle" height="200" hspace="15" vspace="15" width="480"></figure></div></a>
They own the unique distinction of being the only remaining original Bundesliga side never to have been relegated. To continue staying afloat in the Bundesliga and hopefully challenge for silverware Hamburg must first and foremost continue developing their Dutch pipeline.
Currently Hamburg employ four Dutch players in their first team: Joris Mathijsen, Nigel de Jong, Romeo Castelen, and captain Rafael van der Vaart. Chelsea-flop Khalid Boulahrouz is also a recent member of this group. Together they comprise the second-largest national contingent in the squad and arguably its most talented. Hamburg has developed in somewhat of a Dutch Portugal. Portugal, for obvious reasons, is the destination of choice for young Brazilian talent making their initial move to Europe. Those who display enough promise are then snapped up by larger clubs. A crude analogy, to be sure, but it effectively describes the situation. Like the Bundesliga at large, Hamburg in particular has evolved into a showroom for foreign talent before it moves on to more lucrative English or Mediterranean shores.
The most obvious example of this will soon be Rafael van der Vaart, who has made his feelings quite clear about leaving Hamburg over the past year. For a time the rumor was that he’d end up at the Mestalla with Valencia. Now the bids have centered around the Spanish capital, either as part of Atletico’s summer signing spree or as Real’s ersatz Ronaldo. Although his contract runs through the 2009-2010 season it is clear that he is on his way out and almost certainly to the land of his mother’s birth. Hamburg would be well-advised to sell soon rather than risk losing a hefty (approximately 15 million Euro) transfer fee thanks to the <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&amp;lg=en&amp;numdoc=61993J0415" title="Bosman Ruling Text" target="_blank">Bosman ruling</a>.
The best way to spend the van der Vaart money would be exactly how the club has in the past, on young players. While no one has or will likely ever confuse Hamburg for Arsenal, the club have made the decision to pursue mostly young professionals (three of the four Dutch players above are 25 or younger, for instance). It seems unlikely that Jol will alter this policy, although were he to try he’d find himself dealing with a much stingier board than Tottenham’s (and he won’t have a repeat of his run-in with Spurs’ director of football Damien Comolli).
Is Jol the man to have Hamburg fans partying like it’s 1983? Is there a limit to how many Dutch players German fans can stomach in the squad? Is it only a matter of time before Hamburg, taking their cue from North London, replace Jol with Sevilla’s current coach, Manolo Jimenez?
Next Week: Bruno Labbadia at Bayer Leverkusen

The New Gaffer: Introducing Jol at Hamburg

The New Gaffer: Introducing Jol at Hamburg - World Soccer Talk

<a title="Tiago Mendes - football player" href="http://www.serieatalk.com/is-tiago-on-the-juve-chopping-block/139/tiago-mendes-football-player/" rel="attachment wp-att-140"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" style="width: 260px; height: 189px;" src="/files/2008/07/tiago-mendes.jpg" alt="Tiago Mendes - football player" width="283" height="200" align="left" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="15"></figure></div></a>Rumours of Tiago Mendes&nbsp;leaving Juventus are circulating,&nbsp;after vacating his home in Turin.&nbsp;&nbsp;The talented Portuguese midfielder was previously linked to both Tottenham and West Ham United of the English Premier League&nbsp;in January of this year.
Tiago, who is a regular in the national team, spent one season at&nbsp;Chelsea after Jose Mourinho took him from Benfica and he played a substantial part in the Premier League winning season of 2004-05, making 34 appearances.
Things&nbsp;have not been&nbsp;as bright in Italy&nbsp;after&nbsp;the 13 million euro transfer from French side Lyon. Manager Claudio Ranieri has&nbsp;played the Portuguese sparingly and Goal.com described&nbsp;Tiago in his first term as, the third biggest&nbsp;flop of the season.&nbsp; Missing a penalty Tuesday evening during the Trofeo TIM against AC Milan&nbsp;hasn’t&nbsp;improved&nbsp;the player’s situation.
References:
1. Football Italia –&nbsp;<a href="http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/jul31g.html">Tiago vacates Turin&nbsp;home</a> 
2. UK Telegraph – <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2288351/Tottenham-line-up-bid-for-Tiago-Mendes.html">Tottenham line up bid for Tiago Mendes</a> 
3. FIFA.com – <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=538789.html">Juventus sign Tiago and Almiron</a> 
4. Goal.com – Calcio Debate: Serie A Awards

Is Tiago On The Juve Chopping Block?

Is Tiago On The Juve Chopping Block? - World Soccer Talk

Deals are heating up on the eve of the Euro 2008 tournament so let’s dive straight in and get caught up.
This morning’s big news is that Mexican striker Giovani dos Santos has left Barcelona to sign for English club Tottenham Hotspur after the two clubs agreed an initial £4.7m fee which could rise to £8.6m. The BBC also reports (<a href="http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada07-08/06/n080606104518.html">confirmed on the official Barca site</a>) that Barcelona have retained the right to 20% of any fee should the 19-year-old move on from Spurs in the first two years of his spell with the club and 10% on any transfer after that.
Dos Santos can play in midfield or attack and may solve the right, is set to sign a five-year contract with Tottenham. Spurs entrance in the UEFA Cup, rather than the Champions League, may be one factor to this deal as Barcelona are said to have turned down offers for Dos Santos from AC Milan, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. 
 
Staying with Barcelona, Goal.com is reporting that they have concluded a deal to sign Daniel Alves from Sevilla but that has not been confirmed yet. A couple of deals that were done at the Nou Camp saw them acquire Villarreal’s Uruguay defender Martin Caceres for 16.5m Euros. Caceres is a 21-year-old central defender is widely regarded as one of the most promising young players in Spain.
They’ve also signed former trainee Gerard Pique from Manchester United. After rising through the youth team ranks at Camp Nou, Pique opted to try his luck at Manchester United in 2004 but, after failing to establish himself as a first-team regular, he jumped at the chance to return to Barca. The fee was reportedly £4 million.
Moving out is full-back Gianluca Zambrotta, who completed a move to AC Milan at the beginning of the month. The move is a return home for Zambrotta who left Italy following the demotion of former club Juventus for their part in Italy’s match-fixing scandal. Zambrotta who can play on either flank will ease the recent departures of Cafu and Serghino.
AC Milan recently sold forward Alberto Gilardino to Fiorentina and are in the market for at least one new striker. The 25-year-old Gilardino spent three seasons at the San Siro and has now signed a five-year deal with the Viola reportedly worth 1.65m euros a season. Fiorentina beat the Rossoneri to the fourth and final Champions League spot in Serie A this past season.
The promising young Yoann Gourcuff has agreed to join Bordeaux on loan from AC Milan with an option for a permanent deal. The French midfield player, 21, had attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Marseilles and Ajax.
AC Milan is trying to sign Emmanuel Adebayor according to various rumours out there. What helps fuel the stories is the fact that the Serie A side have already lured away French midfielder Mathieu Flamini on a free from Arsenal.
Arsenal would be reluctant to sell Adebayor as they are looking to build upon last season’s squad. The hope would be to keep the core of their young stars together and supplement it with new signings like Olympique Marseille playmaker Samir Nasri, whom Arsenal are in the midst of negotiating for.
The 20-year-old Nasri, who has been tagged in France as ‘the new Zinedine Zidane’, is part of France’s squad for this month’s Euro 2008 tournament. He has won seven caps, scoring two goals for Les Bleus. Nasri extended his contract with the club this year until 2012 so Marseille will want good value for his sporting rights. The fact that Nasri can operate on the left side of midfield, where Alex Hleb has been playing, has fuelled rumours that Hleb is also going to leave the club for either Inter Milan or Barcelona.
Another Arsenal exitee is Jens Lehmann, who will continue his career after Euro 2008 with Bundesliga side Stuttgart after signing a one-year contract with the 2007 German champions. Raphael Schafer failed to give the Stuttgart defence a sense of security in his first season since joining from Nurnberg, so the club began the search for a new number one in May.
The Telegraph reports that Arsene Wenger has his eye on yet another promising young African, this time 16-year-old Torric Jibril. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accra_Hearts_of_Oak">Heart of Oak</a> (based in Accra, Ghana) midfielder will take part in a two-week trial before signing for a fee of around £1.5m, with Arsenal having beaten off competition from Atletico Madrid and Lyon.
I’ll run an update again next week with more deals and rumours.

Transfer Moves: Dos Santos Departs Barca, AC After Adebayor

Transfer Moves: Dos Santos Departs Barca, AC After Adebayor - World Soccer Talk

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Is Tiago On The Juve Chopping Block?

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Transfer Moves: Dos Santos Departs Barca, AC After Adebayor