'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Major European clubs are splashing the cash in the market and competing with each other to reach new levels of expenditure in a single season. With 5 days to go till the end of this transfer window, now is a good time to remember that some shrewdly made loan deals can also turn out to have a big impact, while not coming close to being as heavy on the wallet. Loan deals have been used to bring magical players who save a club from relegation, or some who were brought for short loans as cover for injured players, but turned out to be such perfect fits that they have stayed on for many years. Many have found the form of their life while playing on a loan break at another club, such as Loic Remy for Newcastle United last season.Fans hold deep affection for a hero who has come on a loan deal, holding him as a sort of travelling knight bestowing favours. One of the most enduring images of the 2004-05 season was of West Bromwich Albion fans holding aloft loanee Kieran Richardson, at the end of ‘The Great Escape’ relegation battle which the club miraculously survived, with help from a goal by this man who never managed to fit into Manchester United’s scheme of things, before or after.Thierry Henry was brought back to his old club at 35 on a 2 month loan deal, in what was a fulfillment of wildest Arsenal imaginations. He scored the matchwinner in a FA Cup 1-0 victory against Leeds United on debut, and scored a stoppage time matchwinner in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland in his final match, thus providing a perfect farewell for the club legend.These are some of the most high-profile and successful loan deals made by major European clubs in the recent past.
#10 David Beckham (LA Galaxy to AC Milan)
Beckham had a very public two month loan move to AC Milan in 2009 at 33 years of age, and many within and without the club had serious reservations about the deal because it stank of a marketing gimmick. The two months were to coincide with the off season in the MLS, and since Beckham still harboured hopes of further involvement in the English national team set-up, it was a logical move for him to attempt to make a mark in a more competitive league.
Beckham often looked to be lacking in match fitness and rarely played the whole 90 minutes of a match. However, he regularly provided accurate crosses and corners from the right flank, and his understated performances were utilized by the Rossoneri, who therefore expressed a desire to extend the loan to the end of the season in July. A unique ‘timeshare’ deal was agreed between the Milan club and Beckham’s American club, leaving many LA fans disgruntled with the superstar. There were ‘Part-time Player’ placards raised in the stands on his return to America.
Beckham’s time in the Italian sun did not go completely without rewards though. He scored 2 goals and gave numerous assists, thus paving way for a return to the club on another loan deal the next season. His international plans did not come closer to fruition though – a torn Achilees tendon suffered in a 2010 Serie A match led to a five-month layoff and he was thus not available for the World Cup in South Africa.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#9 Edgar Davids (Juventus to Barcelona)
Davids joined Barcelona for a short loan spell in a season that can be identified as the beginning of Barcelona’s dominance of European football that was to continue for almost another decade.
Davids had enjoyed six successful years at Juventus, but was increasingly having to fight for his place in the starting 11. So, in January 2004, his services were offered to Barcelona who were languishing in mid-table. Recently appointed manager Frank Rijkaard was under considerable pressure to arrest the Blaugrana slide. The second half of the season featured an incredible resurgence from Rijkaard’s side, and they finished at second spot with only Valencia above them.
‘Pitbull’, as he was known, brought his all-action, combative style into the lacklustre and often lazy side that had been underperforming all season, and almost single-handedly turned the course of Barcelona’s season around. He returned to Italy on being offered a lucrative deal at Inter Milan the following season, and Rijkaard went on to be coach of one of the most successful club teams ever for many more seasons.
The Dutchman’s amazing contribution to the 2004 resurgence laid the foundations for the scripting of a historical period in the club’s history, but the non-permanent nature of his stay there often leaves him an unheralded hero obscured by the big names who have since taken his place.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#8 Henrik Larsson (Helsingborg to Manchester United)
This Swedish superstar was signed by Manchester United for two months between January and March in 2007, a period coinciding with the Swedish League’s off-season.
The 35 year old scored on debut against Aston Villa in a 2-1 FA Cup win, and impressed in his short stay with his overall professionalism and team ethic. United were to go on to win their first Premier League title in four years and even though Larsson had not played the requisite number of matches (10) to claim a winner’s medal, the importance of his contribution was recognized by the league authorities and he was granted special dispensation that allowed him to add yet another medal to his personal honours.
Manchester United were eager to extend the Swede’s stay, but Larsson claimed that his professional and personal commitments would not allow him to stay. "We would love him to stay but, obviously, he has made his promise to his family and Helsingborg and I think we should respect that – but I would have done anything to keep him”, said manager Alex Ferguson. He received a long and raucious standing ovation from the home fans when he was substituted for the last time at Old Trafford.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#7 Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur to Celtic)
The Irish legend found himself playing second fiddle to Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko in the 2010-11 season, and his career, though already illustrious, looked in danger of reaching a premature end. After having scored only 2 goals in the first half of the season, he was shipped to Celtic in February 2010 till the rest of the season.
In Keane’s 4 months at the Glasgow club, the change of scene made him recover his golden touch, scoring a remarkable 16 goals in 19 matches. He was awarded with the club’s Player of the Year although he had played for them for only a fraction of an year. Keane said that he had enjoyed his time in Scotland immensely and that it had given him back his ‘hunger for football’.
The return of his appetite led him back to England however, where he had a improved first half of season, but was yet again loaned out in January – this time keeping him in the Premier League with West Ham United.
A loan for all seasons!
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#6 Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea to West Bromwich Albion)
Lukaku has been one of the most consistently performing strikers in the Premier League for the last two years, and it is easy to forget that he is a Chelsea player on loan.
He scored 15 goals last season in Everton colours, but it was the season before that in which he would have caused the London club to regretfully scratch their heads even more. He joined Chelsea at 18 years and despite being touted to be the next Didier Drogba as well as turning in some stellar performances in the handful of matches he was allowed to play, was consigned to play mostly for the Chelsea reserves. He refused to hold the Champions League trophy at the end of the 2011 season because he said he did not feel like a winner.
He was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion the following season to give him more exposure to first-team football, and he accepted the chance with open arms. He made a habit of scoring freely for his temporary club, his best hour being when he scored a second half hat-trick to complete a comeback draw (5-5, also the highest scoring draw in the league’s history) against Manchester United in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last match in charge.
His 17 goals placed him above all of his Chelsea teammates in the goalscorers’ list for the season. However, Lukaku maintained that he wanted to be a legend at Stamford Bridge instead of at The Hawthorns, and so was sent out for another season-long spell at Everton.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#5 Jurgen Klinsmann (Sampdoria to Tottenham Hotspur)
Klinsmann had impressed in his first spell at White Hart Lane, having scored 29 goals in the 1994-95 season, and so was a Spurs favourite by the time they made a loan move for the 34 year old in 1997.
The German was at the last stage of his playing career when Tottenham made a desperate loan move for the legend, to stave off an impending relegation. He certainly did not disappoint, scoring 9 goals in 15 appearances for the club, including a stunning four goal haul away at Wimbledon. This was the last time he was to offer his services in a major European league, and he firmly established his legendary status at the club with this short but invaluable final service to the London club.
150,000 Tottenham shirts bearing his name were reportedly sold, and he was later honoured with a wax statue at Madame Tussauds.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#4 Fernando Morientes (Real Madrid to AS Monaco)
Morientes was a crucial part of Real Madrid for many years, winning three Champions League medals and two La Liga winners medals. However, the continually growing ambition of the club meant that Morientes would soon fall down the pecking order in the list of world-class strikers at a team that was a veritable galaxy of stars. With the Brazilian Ronaldo’s arrival at Real Madrid in 2002, Morientes found his chances drying up and despite staying on for the whole season, vent his frustration in a highly publicized on-field spat with manager Vicente del Bosque.
The striker’s future at the club was hanging in balance, but he was still clearly at the top of his game, having managed to score 5 goals in the very limited appearances he made in the 2002-03 season. French upstarts Monaco gave the troubled Spaniard a place to play his football, and Morientes returned the favour, making his parent club regret its decisions madly in the process.
Monaco reached the final of the Champions League out of the blue, with Morientes being the top scorer in the edition with nine goals. Real Madrid and Monaco met in the quarter finals and Morientes contributed majorly to causing one of the biggest ever upsets in the tournament, thus also giving him a huge personal victory over the club which had considered him surplus to requirement. He scored a vital away goal in the first leg (2–4 away loss), and scored again in a 3-1 victory in the return leg.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#3 Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea to Atletico Madrid)
Courtois is currently one of the highest rated goalkeepers in the world, and has been another loan deal Chelsea have had reason to regret. His entry into the scheme of things at Chelsea would always have been limited by Petr Cech’s presence, and so was prompty sent out to gain experience at Atletico Madrid in 2011.
Courtois made an immediate impact as a 19 year old, keeping 4 clean sheets in his first 6 matches. His time at the Vicente Calderon co-incided with the most illustrious period in the club’s recent history, and his goalkeeping feats have earned him individual honours and plaudits as well. He faced his parent club in a UEFA Super Cup and a Champions League semi final, and Atletico got the better of Chelsea on both occasions.
He also currently holds the club record at Atletico Madrid for most minutes spent without conceeding a goal – 820. His achievements have now given him the edge over Cech, and on his return, it is the Belgian who has taken the field for Chelsea in the two matches this season, in place of the benched Petr Cech.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#2 Ivan Campo (Real Madrid to Bolton Wanderers)
Manager Sam Allardyce will count bringing Ivan Campo to Bolton Wanderers as one of the biggest achievements of his career. Campo was a central defender in the Real Madrid team, having featured in the 2000 Champions League victory as well, but had fallen out of favour with the club authorities.
Campo was converted into a holding midfielder for the Lancashire outfit, and he had the fans won over with a 43 yard screamer on debut. The combination of skill and aggression that he had fitted well with Bolton’s style of play. He played a key role in the Trotters’ season, a year where it went down to the last matchday before they were assured of survival in the league.
At the end of his season long loan, Campo decided to stay back in England, saying that he preferred living there, and signed a deal to keep him at the Reebok Stadium for a further 4 years – a period over which he turned into a cult hero for the Bolton faithful.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
#1 Mikel Arteta (Real Sociedad to Everton)
Arteta had a dream move to Real Sociedad for €5.2 million, where he was to partner childhood friend Xabi Alonso in the centre of midfield. The dream never lived up to its promise because Alonso soon left for Liverpool in search of stronger competition, and Arteta could never progress beyond being a second-half player.
Everton manager David Moyes signed him on January 2005 for the remainder of the season as replacement for Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen. His floundering career was resurrected at Goodison Park after playing an important part in a successful campaign which earned them Champions League qualification. He impressed in his short loan outing and was signed permanently for €2 million the following season.
Arteta turned in many superlative performances in the 2005-06 season, and was adjudged the Everton player of the season by both fans and players. He would go on to spend five more years at the club, becoming one of their most recognizable names over a successful period for the club. He was also named captain on a few occassions.
‘Everton’s dressing room spirit is the best in football’, Arteta said on his departure from the club, the spirit that must have been lacking in his native Real Sociedad.
Buy the best football t-shirts here
