Zenga=Figo?

By: Dan | February 28th, 2008

Nothing really new to report, unfortunately.

But, fellow Offside bloggers, what’s it like to blog about one of the sexy MLS teams? One that actually is in the news? I think the Revs are mentioned in the Boston Globe once a week, and it’s sad.

Anyway, since I don’t have much new or exciting to write about, I’ve been pontificating about DPs. The conclusion I’ve personally come to is: why? My new stance is, unless the player is, at the very least, still in their prime then they aren’t worth it. Beckham would still be effective in the Premiership or La Liga, but would Figo be? Can a team be built around him? I think it’s possible, but he’s not all that durable, so he might not be in the lineup a whole lot. And he’s certainly not the same player he was circa 2001, he’s lost a step or two for sure – he’s not in the same place in his career as Beckham is.

The Revs, and the MLS as a whole, has seen some pretty dynamic players from abroad over the years. Unfortunately many of the players were over the hill (Lother Matthaus) or they were using the MLS as a launching pad (Stern John). It seems to me, that investing in players is identical to investing in stocks. The idea is the same: find something undervalued, buy low, then sell high. So investing in a player like Figo would be a poor investment; he’s old, over valued, and will be unsellable. So why bother?

Players like Carlos Marinelli and Luciano Emilio are players that the MLS needs. They were once highly touted, had initial failures, and were picked up on the cheap. But both Marinelli and Emilio are excellent players and function in key roles for their clubs. Their careers rebounded, and they are salable because they’re still relatively young. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if the MLS bought more players from European leagues, but they need to make sure that their buying the players for the right reasons. If the MLS was of comparable quality to the Premiership then seats would sellout forever, if Figo is signed the seats might only sellout for a game or two.

The Revs’ had a DP like player back in the late ’90s. He was a keeper named Walter Zenga and he was a stalwart in net for Inter Milan and the Azzurri for much of the ’80s and ’90s. While Zenga was once a good player, he wasn’t all that good when the Revs picked him up – he was old and pompous (now commonly known as Barthez Syndrome). He was a shadow of his former self and that’s what I’m afraid would happen if Figo actually signed on.

Here’s a video of Zenga in his prime for the Azzurri in the ‘90 Copa Mundial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HEfSsgAC_A