Do Chelsea Really Need Kaka?
Recent reports over the weekend suggested that Chelsea were planning a £80m bid for Milan’s Kaka. Milan officials confirmed the story whilst Peter Kenyon denied any such bid. However, there were reports suggesting that Scolari was interested in the Brazilian.
But does Kaka really fit into Chelsea’s system?
Scolari’s appointment represents the first coach after Mourinho with credentials enough for fans - or rather, the owner - to start expecting a change in approach to the playing style. Whilst Scolari has been a disciplinarian, he also oversaw one of the more entertaining international sides during the 2002 World Cup. And his focus on buying players of finesse gives us a peek into what he wants to introduce into the Chelsea midfield.
But at the core of it all, the current Chelsea side is very much Mourinho’s side, months after his departure. Their strengths lie in raw power and physicality as flair players have increasingly found their positions under threat. The purchase of Deco and Kaka will attempt to add sparks that Chelsea have seemingly missed over the past two years - despite giving Manchester United a good run. However, it will come at a price.
At the moment, Chelsea have Deco, Ballack, Essien, Mikel and Lampard who play in the centre of the park. They already have rich talent there even if Lampard is to leave for Inter. If they do buy Kaka they will have an undroppable player who will have to be accommodated at all costs. In order to make use of their strength in central midfield, they could go with a diamond formation with Essien in front of defence, Ballack and Deco in front of him, and Kaka in the ‘hole’ behind the strikers. But that would take a player like Joe Cole out of the equation, unless he is played alongside a striker.
Alternatively, they could play a formation they are familiar with: a three man midfield of Ballack, Deco and Essien with Kaka and Cole/Kalou/Malouda out wide and a striker on his own. (Losing a player like Drogba, however, would make it difficult for them to employ a lone striker effectively.) But this is again unfamiliar territory for Kaka, who has reveled in an attacking role through the middle, although I wouldn’t bet against him being successful out wide. But in an unfamiliar role, and in an unfamiliar league and environment, stranger things can happen - see Andriy Shevchenko or Thierry Henry.
The purchase of Kaka could be the spark that could make Chelsea watchable, but it involves considerable tinkering with the squad. It is also an attempt to fix what is not broken; midfield is the least of Chelsea’s worries, if any. A top striker that can replace a want away striker like Drogba should be their priority.
Continuity has been Manchester United’s forte over the past couple of seasons of success. In fact, despite their three year drought, it has been a feature of Alex Ferguson’s reign where squads were rebuilt gradually rather than overnight. Chelsea would do better by maintaining a sense of continuity than go the Real Madrid circus route of squad overhauls following every underwhelming season, which is why buying Kaka may not be the brightest of ideas.
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this is the main problem with chelsea and madrid these days. they really don’t know how to spend wisely. why spend 150m (rumored) for a superstar you don’t need, and will require an entire revamp of the system to fit in when you can buy 5 excellent 30m players instead? it’s silly really. for that kind of cash you could get robinho (40), arshavin (20), berbatov (25), and since i dont want to type 8 more names, lets just say messi (65). stupid chelsea…
Coz, we are very rich, that’s all
I can picture it - Chelsea buy Kaka, the next day the PR machines starts talking about divine right and having ‘God’ on their side and suddenly the fans turn this into a religious thing.
It’s not going to end well…
I’m joking, in case you didn’t get it…
chelsea were dull & boring. chelsea want to solve problem by buying kaka, they are repairing what wasn’t broken. what’s the problem, why the beef? can’t chelsea get anything right? he might not come.many will be happy if he dosen’t cos they’re scared.
kaka is more of a publicity thing. personally i think it would be cheaper and easier to get van der vaart.
Chelsea’s squad as it stands is pretty strong. As it stands chelsea has strengthened their weak right side.
Realisticly chelsea doesnt require too many players. Malouda, deco and j.cole are all flair based creative players. Sure malouda didnt have the best season but i expect better from him. Kalou is also shaping up nicely and i can see him and sinclair being rotated around the wings if SWP is sold. Our weakness is perhaps our attack, i think sheva can cope with english play like he showed during his time b4 he got injured, anelka is there as well and he should be utilised slightly more then he is currently. Chelsea hasnt really gone through that many drastic changes with i think the main bloat due to the quick turnover of managers. having so many managers in a club causes alot of bloat but as seen the core group of cech, carvalho, a.cole, lampard, essien, terry, drogba, makelele and j.cole havent really changed since mourinho’s early start and only the rightback and left winger have really been a problem spot as well as the emergence of ballack forcing either essien or makelele to a rotation/back up role.
Will chelsea play a more entertaining brand of football? perhaps but not to the levels of arsenal. Will we play a football that is nicer tho look at then mourinho and grant era, definitely. Scolari is inheriting a squad but unlike grant he has a preseason to adjust the team. Even though grant is maligned as a manager it was obvious if you actually watched some games that as the season went on he tried to changed the style of play very slowly so as not to cause problems.
Let’s see… Chelsea has bid for Kaka. They tried to bid for Ronaldinho. They’re interested in Robinho. I guess Scolari wants to stockpile as many Brazilians as possible. Not a terrible strategy. Much better than Fulham’s “America First” strategy…
When Kaka looses does that mean Jesus doesn’t love him as much as the he does the winning side? Does the lord just try and keep him humble? Maybe it was CR7’s turn this sesaon since his future “is in the hands of God”? Just remember “The meek shall inherit the earth” and “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” I am waiting to see both of them get round to that last bit.
what is missing in the analysis is simple fact that kaka-ballack-deco do not need to be on the field at the same time same for essien/mikel:
Kaka + Ballack/Deco + essien/mikel works pefectly especially if count in international games, injuries, etc for the full season
last think ballack/deco are 30+ what about 1-2 years from now?
sell Lampard and be done with it, decide on drogba sooner rather than later and be done with it, if he does go then it is more important to have someone like Kaka
main reason MU did what they did after Ruud went to real is Ronaldo, Kaka can do the same (or better) for Chelsea, lamp/ballack/deco all at 30+ would not
totally makes sense for CLC but question is how much …
I don’t know if we can claim he wouldn’t fit in until we see the system Scolari wants to set up. I gotta say he would fit into any system because he is one if not the best player in the world. The midfield for Chelsea look scary already, add Kaka and you have a difficult team on paper to find a win against. With that said, it don’t see it happening. Milan do not want him to leave, and Milan don’t sell unless they fell its in Milan’s interest. It is not in any teams interest to let a player of Kaka’s caliber leave. What a summer it could be, Ronaldo and Kaka for record fees? It seems the media takes a hold of these stories and builds them up larger than they should. If Milan and United say no, it should end with that.
Chelsik, your not rich, Abramovic is. You better hope he doesn’t get bored with his hobby.
For Chelsea to win, they need fiber, passion. It is not there yet. In some sense, it is nice that Man U has won it all the last couple of seasons. They don’t need shady money, have decent players, but most importantly have one or two players who are so emotional on the field they make a difference in the finals. When Barca won in 2006, it was not just because of Ronnie, but because of Xavi and Eto, who, together with Deco, were incensed by the play of Ronnie… Maybe Kaka can be a spark that will incense some other players like Essien. But I doubt Kaka would go to Chelsea. He has refused transfers that involved clubs with shady investors in the past.
For chelsea to be better off in playing passion and also be great at buying players who are of good quality.there is a need for the work of buying players to be only done by ebullient managers like scolari,Jose,ranieri etc. But Abramovic should be exclusive in the term of transfers.Why don,t they go for striker like berbatov,Robbie keane and santa cruz.I doubt Kaka to fit into chelsea system,he will be shevi if he comes to stamford bridge but Robinho at least can do sth.
If Abramovic has nothing 2 do with his money then let him use that money as TPs.
there is no any weaknesses in the middle pack where we,ve Essien,super Lamp,Obi,Ballack,Deco.For i would be very grateful if chelsea goes for striker not an attacking midfielder.
We need robinho in chelsea cos we dnt have winger is going cos kalou is still made some silly mistake but now we need experience player.up chelsea
chelsea do not need kaka’ or robinho, but manage to buy schweinsteiger or ibrahimovic…
I wish my chelseafc 2 do well in the coming season though the management is trying to buy naughty players i may call or term them to be, sorry!and how they,re also waisting their case on those kind of players but let money not be waisted.let me hope that the playing style iz going 2 b changed by big Felipe.
Chelseaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa for life as ever!