The January transfer window has just closed. While it is never as exciting as the summer transfer window at times acquisitions in January do make a difference to the club's season. Here is a list of the top twenty transfers that happened in this window. Please add others which you think were equally or even more noteworthy but have been missed in this list. The list is presented in reverse order of significance in the sense either the importance of the player to the club or the importance of the player to his national team or the profile of the player in general.
20. Tremendous youth prospect Keirrison who was purchased by Barcelona last summer and then loaned to Benfica has now moved to Fiorentina. At Benfica he saw negligible game time. At Fiorentina it's difficult to say whether his situation will improve. Adrian Mutu's failed drug test means the possibility of a long term ban. The Viola has not signed any other forward. Could this mean that Keirrison will see more minutes? Could it also mean that he may get to play in the UCL?
19. Due to some injured and several other poorly performing midfielders Juventus have pinned some of their hopes on recently signed Antonio Candreva who has been procured on loan from Udinese. He is said to be a talented young midfielder but it's too much to ask of him to make much of a difference to the floundering season that the Old Lady is currently having.
18. Inter Milan tried hard to sign a midfielder this winter especially a midfielder who could give them some extra physical presence. The stalwarts such as Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso are still going strong but age is not on their side. Inter had almost signed Manuel Fernandes from Valencia but the deal feel through due to a failed medical. They then went after Lazio rebel Christian Ledesma but Claudio Lotito proved too stubborn to convince even though some feel that he has risked squad morale in times when Lazio is facing a relegation dogfight by retaining Ledesma who it's almost guaranteed will not play at all this season. Then Inter tried for Palermo's Fabio Simplico but the negotiations took time and nothing could be settled in the given duration. So finally they went for Kenyan international McDonald Mariga who has arrived from Parma on a co-ownership deal.
17. Error prone central defender Phillipe Senderos who had a big hand in Arsenal's elimination from UCL 2007-08 in the quarter final at the hands of Liverpool and who has since then not been able to inspire any confidence from Arsene Wenger has been loaned to Everton.
16. South African international striker Benni McCarthy who has not been a regular in the national team for some time but on whom the nation still pin their hopes has moved from Blackburn to West Ham where he would naturally expect to see much more playing time.
15. In a story that shocked quite a few people Tottenham Hotspur captain Robbie Keane was loaned to Celtic on transfer deadline day. A few years ago Keane along with Dimitar Berbatov formed a deadly striking duo at Spurs. When his form was at its peak Rafa Benitez decided to bring him to Liverpool and amidst accusations of tapping Tottenham released him. Keane could never make it at Anfield. Some say that he was never good enough to play for a top club while others say that Benitez did not use him properly. After just half a year he was sold back to Tottenham where manager Harry Redknapp even made him the club captain. Once again he was in the starting lineup this time being paired alongside Jermaine Defoe. However Keane's form continued to fall and he was eventually replaced in the starting lineup this season by Peter Crouch. Despite this his manager openly praised him in the media for showing exemplary professionalism. It has now been said that Keane was so desperate for regular playing time that he decided to move on any way.
14. Former Chelsea and Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen who has had a disastrous six months at Monaco has now moved to Tottenham Hotspur. His arrival may have had something to do with the departure of Keane.
13. In another bizarre twist Arsenal have signed ex-player and veteran central defender Sol Campbell on a free transfer. Seems even an aged Campbell is a better bet than Senderos for 'The Professor'.
12. When at Juventus Tiago said that he was not able to play well because the league is very tactical making it too difficult for him. So he has now moved to Atletico Madrid since in the Spanish league technique counts much more than tactics and he hopes to show that he is much better technically than he is tactically.
11. Hitherto almost unknown Argentine forward Alejandro 'Chori' Dominguez who lit up the group stage of the UCL this season with some inspiring performances has moved to Valencia from his previous club Rubin Kazan. It remains to be seen how much game time he will get when competing against the likes of David Silva, Juan Mata, Pablo Hernandez, Joaquin and even the injury prone Vicente but this is a talent to keep an eye on for sure.
10. You may be thinking that Juventus fans can nowadays barely muster a smile. Well at last they have found some reason to make an attempt at a half smile at least. Error prone left back Cristian Molinaro who had become something of a figure of mirth in Serie A has moved to Stuttgart. Now consider this. In the second round of the UCL Molinaro will be coming up against one Mr. Lionel Messi who incidentally plays on the right flank. That "duel" should provide some extra entertainment to the viewers if nothing else.
9. Former Barcelona prodigy Giovanni Dos Santos who was hardly seeing any playing time at erstwhile club Tottenham Hotspur still managed to play a vital role in his country Mexico's world cup qualification campaign. Now he has done both himself and his national team manager Javier Aguirre a big favor by moving on to Galatasaray to join his former manager Frank Rijkaard under whom he is likely to see a good amount of playing time. This has got to one of best transfers of this window from a player's perspective.
8. Amantino Mancini made a good name for himself when playing at Roma. In a UCL knock out tie he even scored a memorable solo against Lyon. Yet after his move to Inter his career seemed to have stagnated. It's not that easy to understand what exactly went wrong because in spite of being in the same league and playing in virtually the same position as before he was unable to make any sort of impact. Jose Mourinho's proposed 4-3-3 system did not work with Ricardo Quaresma also proving a flop. Once Mourinho gave up this system game time proved very scarce for Mancini and he could make little use of whatever negligible time he got. So he is now trying his luck at not very far away but in the red and black half of the same city.
7. Thomas Hitzlsperger has become quite a regular name in Joachim Loew's Germany team. Surprisingly he has been unable to hold down a first team place at Stuttgart. Germans have for years hardly moved to Italy. Yet this German has done just that by joining Lazio in order to ensure that he is chosen for WC 2010 but he must pull his socks up for the relegation dogfight that he has now got into.
6. Veteran star Argentine striker Hernan Crespo has returned to Parma from Genoa. Parma is the club where Crespo first shone in Europe and then moved to Lazio in what was then one of the costliest transfers. Crespo says that he's trying hard to get a place in the Argentina squad for WC 2010. His task is not made easier by the fact that Argentina probably have more top class forwards than any other country in the world.
5. Still in name he is captain of the French national team but Patrick Vieira has hardly been called up in recent times mainly due to extended injury spells. Frustrated at not seeing enough game time at Inter Milan Vieria in a last throw of the dice has moved to mega rich Manchester City. He may still find it hard to replace the likes of Nigel De Jong and Garreth Barry in the heart of City's midfield but the traditional Italian conservatism of manager Roberto Mancini may see him be used to close out games. Also Mancini may look up to Vieria in games which become more like battles. Needless to say Vieria's main aim is to make it to WC 2010.
4. For long Roma has cried out for a classic number 9 target man striker. For quite some time Franceso Totti who is actually a brilliant second striker was forced to play this role. Now with the signing of Luca Toni on a free from Bayern Munich where he had a major fall out with manager Louis Van Gaal Roma have got just what they wanted. Toni is desperate to make it to Italy's squad for WC 2010 but his form in recent years has not warranted a place for him. It's now up to him to perform well enough to combat the not so tough competition from his rivals and we can be sure that from his side Luca will do his very best.
3. Celebrity veteran footballer David Beckham has once again joined A C Milan on a season long loan from L A Galaxy like he did last season. He hopes to make enough of an impression on England boss Fabio Capello so as to bag a place in the WC 2010 squad. Last season Beckham surprised all but his most ardent fans by performances of such quality that he even displaced the mercurial but indisciplined Brazilian Ronaldinho from the first team. This season it will be more difficult for him because Ronaldinho now has a settled place on the left flank while Beckham's right flank place belongs to young Alexandre Pato who it can be said offers more to the forward line than the veteran can. Still Becks should be making some substitute appearances at the very least.
2. It's too early to say whether this is the shrewdest acquisition of this winter but Goran Pandev who somehow got his contract with Lazio rescinded has since arriving at Inter Milan already showed enough to suggest that he is first team material in a top club and can even endanger the place of superstar striker Samuel Eto'o. Could Pandev have a major role to play against Chelsea in the UCL? Let's wait and watch.
1. Let's end with one that is a win-win for all. Robinho about whom Der Kaiser has said that he is best fit to play in a circus has moved to club Santos in his native Brazil to "suck his thumbs" if we quote what a Goal.com editor recently wrote. Jokes aside Robinho is very serious about ensuring a place in Brazil's WC 2010 squad and preferably even first team and for that his priority is playing time. For Manchester City's no-nonsense manager his lack of commitment had become a serious concern. He had not done enough to be an unquestioned first teamer unlike Carlos Tevez whose work rate if compared to Robinho would seem like comparing chalk and cheese. Mancini offered a rotational position in the team to Robinho at best which he refused. Mancini does not mind his move too much since he now feels that he is able to maintain squad unity and morale better especially because City are very serious about trying to bag a top four place in the EPL after ages.
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