SthMelbRed Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Article on our boy: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=607799&sec=europe&root=europe&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&cc=3888 DEGUZMAN LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Julian De Guzman has become a victim of his own success. Last season's player of the year may have priced himself out of the cash-strapped Primera Liga club's budget-range and with no new contract on the table might well be heading to a new club. GettyImages Julian De Guzman in action for Deportivo In less than six months, the Canadian international, who has been capped 33 times by his country, will sell his services to the highest bidder and the Toronto-born midfielder will be available on a free transfer in July. It will be Depor's loss. After asserting himself in manager Miguel Angel Lotina's squad last season following his transfer from German club Hannover 96 in 2005, De Guzman helped propel the Galician side to a ninth-place finish in La Liga and a berth in the UEFA Cup. The 27-year-old was subsequently named Deportivo's Player of the Season. Ironically, his impressive performances may have hastened his exit. Deportivo are currently running a €159 million deficit and must make a €11 million payment against its debts by the end of the season. They cannot afford to take on additional contracts. De Guzman, a sturdy defensive midfielder, is mulling his options. ESPNsoccernet caught up with him over the Christmas break. Soccernet: Given the ongoing financial difficulties at Deportivo la Coruna, do you expect to sign a new contract at the Riazor before the summer? JDG: It's hard to see myself continuing at Depor. The team and fans have made my stay extremely pleasant and helped me fall in love with Spanish football and the lifestyle - which I would say is the best for any footballer. But no offer in extending my stay has been offered to me. Would you prefer to stay in Spain? If I can't play at Depor, I would love to continue in La Liga. I'm very happy here and it has been the best experience of my career. But at the end of the day, I'll lean more towards the better offer. What kind of offers have come in so far? GettyImages Canada's De Guzman battles with Brazil's Diego So far there have been offers from Germany, Spain, England and even Russia. I'm really not in any rush to sign. I just want to get more games and finish this season on a positive note. The rest will fall in its right place. There have been rumors in the Canadian media that you were approached by Toronto FC about making a move to Major League Soccer. Was there any truth to those reports? I have been approached earlier but I don't think it would be a wise move since I'm still young and playing at a level where you won't find many Canadians succeeding at. As long as I can continue to play at such a high level in one of the top leagues in the world and make good money, I'm going to continue to do my best and that and help put Canada on the map overseas. Can you see yourself moving to Toronto at some point? I would love to join TFC at a later stage in my career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 quote:Originally posted by SthMelbRed There have been rumors in the Canadian media that you were approached by Toronto FC about making a move to Major League Soccer. Was there any truth to those reports? I have been approached earlier but I don't think it would be a wise move since I'm still young and playing at a level where you won't find many Canadians succeeding at. As long as I can continue to play at such a high level in one of the top leagues in the world and make good money, I'm going to continue to do my best and that and help put Canada on the map overseas. Too. Damned. Right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I am a bit surprised, and there is nothing--yet--anywhere in the sport or Galician press on this. But it could also be a negotiating tactic. He has said he wants to stay, and paying him more is the only way to go. That might be considerably cheaper than having to find someone new for the spot. Depor is in a fragile state. Guardado has said he wants to take a step up to a more powerful team, though I am not sure he will get the interest. Still, he could be worth a couple million. Manuel Pablo is very serious but ageing and they are looking at David Garcia from Espanyol. Verdú has offers from Espanyol precisely and other clubs. Lafita, who has been very good, is on loan from Zaragoza, who if they promote back into 1st division will likely take him back. The other two mids with experience, Sergio and Valeron, are both getting on, the former wants to return to Espanyol and the latter can't handle 90 minutes consistently. These are all in fact good reasons why Depor should keep De Guzmán, as they need players with experience to give them continuity and especially in the middle. Even if they pay him a few hundred thousand more a year (I suspect his salary is low, maybe 400 thousand euros plus bonuses, as he came young from a poor first contract at Hannover), it will be cheap for them. Unless they don't want to compete for a spot in Europe. I wonder who has made the offer for him in Spain. I could see any of the mid to lower level sides, and even clubs that are very interesting, like Betis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 He's had some money issues with the club for a couple of years. I think he has been nice up to this point, hoping his increased value on the pitch might mean more attention to him on the fiscal side and has probably got fed up and hoping to apply a bit of pressure on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 It would be interesting to see him go to Espanyol. A "big" club that is struggling, and in a relegation fight at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Ed He's had some money issues with the club for a couple of years. I think he has been nice up to this point, hoping his increased value on the pitch might mean more attention to him on the fiscal side and has probably got fed up and hoping to apply a bit of pressure on them. its been reported somewhere (maybe by Jeffrey) that JDG is owed nearly 1 million Euro in unpaid bonus money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 quote:Originally posted by leafdolfan It would be interesting to see him go to Espanyol. A "big" club that is struggling, and in a relegation fight at the moment. I doubt he is going anywhere in January. My guess is its gonna be an offseason move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcl_19 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Well signing a player like Bobby without having to pay a transfer fee would be great for any club. I like the article, seems well informed about canadian football for coming from an american source and it touches on a number of things i think a lot of us maybe have been wondering about. Of all the countries mentioned in the list I'm sure that I'm not the only one suprised about russia being there, though there certainly seems to be the money in that league. I wouldn't mind seeing him stay in la liga though as he seems comfortable there and his style of play seems to complement his team well. Also about the tfc bit, good to hear he would like to come home to play near the end of his career but also good to know hes staying in europe for years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlimus Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I´d love to see him here in Zaragoza!!! We´ll be making a ton of signings over the summer to beef up our "segunda" division winnning side of this season, and our current holding midfielder stinks. What a year I choose to move to Spain!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 quote:Originally posted by VPjr its been reported somewhere (maybe by Jeffrey) that JDG is owed nearly 1 million Euro in unpaid bonus money. That was the Globe and Mail story that he later half-denied, but made the Spanish press. What does Depor do? They could sell him now but not for more than 2 million euros I'd say, though maybe someone in overspending England would pay double that. Depor then takes a good chunk of that to pay off their debt to him. Then have to find another young or mid-career mid to take his spot, meaning maybe paying a good part of what is left. They may make money off a transfer, but very little in the end. Or they pay him what he is owed and make a new offer to him that would at least be close to what he is being offered from elsewhere, so the money difference is not too great and he stays because he likes it (and maybe they are playing in Europe again next year). Julian would do well in any of Betis, Espanyol, Zaragoza, Santander, Getafe, Mallorca, the middle class of Spanish football, and teams with a chance at UEFA on a good year, though not immune from the perils of relegation on a bad one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubuntu Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Maybe he can replace Marcos Senna at Villareal, a good club without any debt, but I hope that he will stay in La Coruna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubuntu Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 by the way De Guzman is out of the list of called players for the match against Sevilla. It will be live on Goltv at 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 A bit more love for Jules, this time on Guillem Balague's La Liga preview on the SkySports football page. http://www.skysports.com/experts/expert_story/0,19793,12087_4764759,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 quote:Originally posted by ubuntu by the way De Guzman is out of the list of called players for the match against Sevilla. It will be live on Goltv at 2. Reports say they'll only start two of those who played in the Cup midweek, Manuel Pablo and Aranzubia. So I don't think this has to do with any contract negotiations. Basically that means they are treating this match and the Cup seriously. A win tonight means they'll go to bed in a Champions League spot, and will give them a boost for the 2nd leg of the cup in a few days, also at the stadium on Riazor Beach. A Sevilla loss could mean they fire their coach, Jiménez, even though they have 8 injured and former Depor mid Duscher suspended. This sort of rotation of the squad is what teams in more than one competition with a real chance of doing something do, so it is good to see, it suggests they are aspiring to higher levels. Depor has its own "Tourmalet" this month (the famous climb in the Tour de France, which Spanish footie journalists use to refer to a hard stretch in the calendar), with Sevilla today, Barça, Real Madrid and Villareal in the works. Just half those points will keep them in the race for Champions. Oh, and it snowed in the hills above Coruña yesterday, maybe that is just 200 m above the level of the pitch at Riazor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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