The Behrami Affair

By: salvatore | June 1st, 2008

At this point, it’s clear there’s no chance in hell Valon Behrami is a Lazio player next year. What’s uncertain is where he’s going to end up, and how he gets there. Will he use some sort of contractual loop hole, or will the team be able to transfer him, and in the process land some young prospects?

For a while it looked like the first option was going to happen, but today the rumor mill went haywire with Valon-based transfer scenarios, so there may still be something beneficial to come out of this whole thing for Lazio.

Here are the four potential options mentioned:

1) Behrami to Palermo for Cavani (or Simplicio and Guana). This was the first possibility reported, and it seemed logical, until you factor in the confusing purchase of Nicola Amoruso, Lazio’s interest in Budan, the news that Pandev is staying put, and the supposed 7.5 million offer Lotito made for Pablo Aimar. Suddenly, something doesn’t jive. Just how many strikers does this team need? I guess someone in the Italian press thought the same way I did, because eventually, Simplicio and Guana were named as the “real” targets.

Seeing as how Zampa has already sold half of this defense, I wouldn’t be surprised if Palermo ends up being Valon’s destination. But I’m not sold on either of these rumors, partly because I don’t think Palermo will give up on Cavani, but also because we might get Simplicio anyway. According to La Repubblica, Lazio is already working on a separate deal, offering Massimo Mofo Mutarelli in exchange for the Brazilian midfielder. Is Guana enough on his own? Probably not.

Which brings us to:

2) Behrami to Juve for Marchisio or Almiron. Lotito has been after both of these players since about last January, so it’s no surprise to see their names linked to the team again. Similarly, Juve has had an eye on Valon for a bit now too, so a deal would seem logical. Will it happen? Probably not. Why? Because there’s still the Stendardo deal to work out, and one would think that these players would be used by Juve to help pry Guglielmo away. Of course, Juve does have the luxury of owning half of Italy’s best young players, so two separate deals can always be made.

In any case, Marchisio is a player I’d love to have. Young, offensively creative, and full of potential, he’s exactly the sort of player Lotito said he’d be bringing in (before spending 3.5 million dollars on a 34-year- old striker). Ideally, this would be the deal…of course, the next option is equally intriguing.

3) Behrami to Milan for Abate and Simic. I could, quite frankly, give a rat’s ass about Simic. Yeah he’s a versatile, solid defender, but who gives a shit? We already have players like that. Ignazio Abate though, is a different story. He hasn’t garnered as much attention as some of the other bright lights coming up the ranks in Italian football, but that’s just a matter of time. He’s fast, creative and dangerous, and he’d be fantastic on the right wing, especially with De Silvestri moving forward behind him.

The only thing Lazio has to avoid, is the last option:

4) Behrami leaves on a contractual loop hole, with no players coming in exchange. The exact name for this loop hole is called the Webster Clause, and it allows a player between the ages of 23 and 28 to move in the final year of a four or five year contract, provided he hands in a request to his team no more than 15 days after the end of the previous season. If this in fact went down, Lazio would be entitled to compensation, but only an amount that equaled Valon’s wages in his final contract year. The great irony in all this is that because Lotito is such a tight ass when it comes to salaries, he’d get peanuts in return for player valued at 12 million Euros.

Obviously, this would be the worst scenario, but it’s still very possible. In fact, this still seems the most likely to me. It’s just so incompetent, frustrating and depressing that it’s almost fitting. We are, after all, still being held captive in the Lotito era.

Stay tuned…