Is Stalteri's starting position safe?
He's an article from SkySports.
I have hi-lighted the section that makes me wonder about Stalteri's future as a strater at Werder Bremen.
Werder track Brazilian ace
Tuesday, 03 February 2004
By Thomas Zeh
Bundesliga leaders Werder Bremen have emerged as new contenders for Sao Paulo ace Gustavo Nery, according to reports in the Brazilian and German media.
The gifted left back, who has already starred in Brazil’s national team, has reportedly caught the eye of Uefa Cup winners Porto and Italian duo Roma and Internazionale.
Premiership outfit Tottenham Hotspur have also watched the 26-year-old in the past but have not pursued their initial interest.
He recently announced that he has turned down a contract extension with Sao Paulo and would be keen to seal a move to Europe as a free agent in the summer.
Werder coach Thomas Schaaf is keen on an alternative to Canadian international Paul Stalteri on the left as Swiss Under-21 youngster Ludovic Magnin has so far failed to live up to expectations and could therefore be tempted to make a swoop for Nery.
Gustavo Nery plays the Left wing at Sao Paulo... Stalteri is a natural right sided player. I suspect there may be more moves at Werder as Ailton is scheduled to move on too.
Bottomline is that Stalteri is too valuable to leave on the bench. If he is not expected to play next year, I would suspect Werder will move him for some cash.
I think they want an alternative to Stalteri on the left because he doesn't normally play that position & would prefer him to move back to his natural right sided position.
While watching the Bremen game on Saturday on FSWC, I heard Allen Hopkins say that Miroslav Klose will be joining the team over the summer, as replacement for Ailton.quote:Originally posted by Canuck Oranje
Gustavo Nery plays the Left wing at Sao Paulo... Stalteri is a natural right sided player. I suspect there may be more moves at Werder as Ailton is scheduled to move on too.
Could be the best thing for Stalteri to lose his left back position. He is playing there because Werder is weak on defence, lacks any sort of depth in this position and because he has the ability to play this position. His natural position would be as right defensive midfielder with some freedom to be making rushes up the right side. I have watched some games in which he played here for Werder and he was very strong. Schaaf knows as well as anyone that Stalteri is playing out of position. If Werder had the budget of Bayern or Dortmund, this would have been rectified two years ago. The fact that they don't have this budget is one thing that makes Stalteri so valuable to Werder with his ability to play every position other than keeper (if he could play keeper he probably would have been their starting keeper last year when this was their biggest problem).
Ailton is off to Schalke next season, despite Schalke's financial problems (according to Inside Soccer). Klose will be a good additionquote:Originally posted by Metro
While watching the Bremen game on Saturday on FSWC, I heard Allen Hopkins say that Miroslav Klose will be joining the team over the summer, as replacement for Ailton.quote:Originally posted by Canuck Oranje
I suspect there may be more moves at Werder as Ailton is scheduled to move on too.
for Bremen. I don't think Stalteri should have any problems being
in the first-team; his strength is his versatility. Remember a couple
of years ago, he played midfield and even striker positions. Bremen
seems to like his ability to move up from the back to attack, as well
as his speed to get back, as shown last Saturday.
Looks like Stalteri will be moving to the mid-field for next season...
(Skysports)
"Long-term Werder Bremen transfer target Gustavo Nery has signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga leaders.
Bremen have been tracking the Sao Paulo full back for some time and have agreed a deal to bring him to to the Weserstadion in the summer.
The 26-year-old, who had been previously linked with Tottenham, Internazionale and Porto, is set to replace Paul Stalteri on the left of Bremen's flat back-four and would free the Canadian international to play in his preferred position in central midfield. "
Great news!
I watched the game on Saturday vs. Schalke on FSWC and thought Stalteri had a great game at left back. He was up against the bull Asamoah all game and handled himself quite well.
I like him at right back in my eleven. I stop there or else I will be in the wrong thread.
Werder Bremen has a real shot at the title and to hold up well in Bundesliga you need depth. You can't expect them to resist up front with a thin squad. 7 points is a small margin over Bayern who won't keep playing "badly" all spring. Especially if they are knocked out of Champions, as they'll be very concentrated on the league.
Paul has been a regular starter for them this year, and is seen as reliable and versatile. If they win the league that will be the success story of the year for Canadians at clubs, unless maybe Benfica can somehow make it to the UEFA final with Aguiar playing.
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