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| Friday, 22 July 2011 13:22 |
Official: Sporting complete Diego Capel captureRead career profile of left winger Sporting today unveiled their latest signing, Diego Capel. The Spanish winger has put pen to paper on a 5-year deal at the Alvalade and declared “I’ve come to be a champion.”
Capel cost the Lisbon club 3.5 million euros with Sevilla entitled to 20% of any future sale. A buyout clause of 30 million euros is written into the contract.
“I’m very happy to be at a historical club like Sporting. It’s a radical change but this is a very ambitious project. I’ve come to be a champion. I want to start working under Domingos as soon as possible,” said the 23-year-old.
So who is Diego Capel? Spanish football expert David Cartlidge looks at the story so far of an exciting talent who has already packed a lot into his career.
Diego Capel career profileIn many senses there is much surprising about Diego Capel’s move to Sporting, but a deeper look at things concerning the player and his now former club give a clearer oversight as to why the winger has crossed the border into Portugal.
Capel burst onto the scene in the 2007/2008 season with his classic form of wide play. Many wingers in Spain are those who are eager to cut inside and join play together in central areas almost operating as second strikers. This is where Capel was different, and it had been awhile since such a direct, simple winger had been around. A young, long haired and fearless Capel terrorized defences in his debut and follow-up season, showing great pace, tenacity and joy at beating his full-back before whipping in driven crosses. Rather than stopping the ball dead and throwing out a trick, he’d simply knock the ball around the defender and attempt to beat him for pace.
It was difficult for many defenders to deal with, as they were put onto the back foot by a player who would be round you within a drop of the shoulder and blink of an eye. Though his cross wasn’t of the placement variety, and instead more of the driven type he would cause no end of problems in opposition penalty areas. Along with the likes of Luis Fabiano and Dani Alves, Sevilla experienced glorious trophy winning years under Juande Ramos as they triumphed with back-to-back UEFA Cup victories. With Ramos operating expansive wide play, it gave the likes of Jesús Navas and Capel license to drive at defenders on the counter attack in which they profited to devastating effect.
Barcelona and Arsenal interestOver a spell of three seasons Capel’s star was rising, and he gradually shone not only at club level but also internationally for the various youth sides. Such all-around good form didn’t go unnoticed by the larger teams within Spain and abroad. For several seasons a week wouldn’t pass without rumour of Capel moving on to teams from Barcelona to Arsenal. The player himself talked little about moves, saying simply he might have to leave in order to progress; such talk held little weight though, as Capel’s career took a downturn.
Diego Perotti arrived at the club and after impressing coaching staff at Sevilla Atlético – the subsidiary of the main team – the Argentinean soon became a favourite of both the fans and management. He offered more balance and patience to a Sevilla side that changed approach, style and personnel. It was becoming difficult for Capel to settle in the team and gain his place back, as errors crept into his game and more often than not he’d be remembered for his playacting rather than for those driving runs from the earlier days.
With Perotti picking up a few injuries along the way in the 10/11 season Capel had the chance to shine in various cameos but the lack of playing time resulted in low confidence which produced little in the way of end product. His time at Sevilla started brightly enough and at one point threatened to explode, but stagnation resulted in his flame barely flickering towards the end. Next season would’ve been even more difficult on that left flank as competition grows; Perotti is maturing well, an exciting young talent in the form of teenager Luís Alberto is emerging and Emiliano Armenteros returns from an impressive loan spell.
Experience, pace and intelligenceAt the recent European Under-21 Championships his brief introduction added some spark to Spain’s forward play, and this will have to be built upon at Sporting. He is still very young though and has a generous deal of experience under his belt, as well as pace and intelligence to link up well with creative players around him. Where he must improve is tactically, and round off the rough edges that still remain in his game while operating as a component within the team.
Make no doubt about it though, if Capel can combine the talents he harnesses and find a maturity to his game then fans at the Alvalade Stadium could be in for some electric left wing performances.
Our thanks to Spanish football expert David Cartlidge. You can read more from David at spanishfootball.info and at his twitter account @Nerdyyy
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Pereira's outbursts are getting old and should be worrisome for Sporting and the Seleccao.
I've never been a fan of Djalo. Like you said, he's inconsistant and doesn't or is unable to bring it day in day out. I think that Capel will win that spot outright.
Sportinguistas should be thrilled by Paciencia's words after the match. He will bring success to Sporting and I just hope that it doesn't come at Benficas expense.
In regards to Juve, after a lot of talk of players (big names) coming, nobody has. And Aguero isn't nearly enough. With the new stadium you would figure that they would look to improve a dismal squad. Especially with only three CL spots up for grabs and Inter and Milan almost a lock for two of them. Jube is going to hoping that Napoli falls back and others sell.
The midfield consisted of Schaars, Rinaudo, Djalo, and Pereirinha. Schaars seems like a good player. His set pieces were dangerous and his passing was always accurate. Rinaudo surprisingly got the start ahead of my favorite Sporting player, Andre Santos, but he played very well defensively. Santos is an excellent passer, but he isn't a traditional tough -tackling defensive midfielder. Rinaudo is better off the ball than Santos, but he doesn't have the technical excellence and composure of Santos.
I am not the biggest fan of Djalo, but he is capable of having excellent games. He is extremely inconsistent, but when he is on, he's a joy to behold. His touch let him down a couple of times, but his speed and trickery on the ball caused Juve all sorts of problems. Pereirinha, Postiga, and Van Wolfswinked all had quiet games.
Does anybody even remember the controversy and uproar in regards to the Lopes election?
If I was a Sportinguista I would say, who cares. Most impressive to me is that they are bringing in players that will enrich their coffers, should they pan out.
It's hard to imagine this team not finishing in the top 3, so a Champions League qualification will only make the club more attractive. Bright future indeed.
Sporting have countered a period of stagnation, dull play and lack of creativity and results by doing the exact opposite. They've implemented a complete overhaul of the team, and abandoned the old formular of overlooking international talent in favour of homegrown players, to their detriment. And to the surprise of many, they've attracted players from a wide variety of countries, not just the usual South American exports.
If anything, this type of more cosmopolitan acquisition strategy will make the team more attractive to foreign players in the future, especially if it translates into positive results. This has to surely be one of the most exciting periods for Sporting fans in a long time. Can't wait for next season.
I don't think i've ever seen the big 3 look so strong going into a new season.
Of course, things could change and some big names could leave before the season starts, but I really can't wait for the season to start now.
I really doubted Sporting could get someone like Capel from a big club playing in a big league, but fair play to them for pulling off this coup.
Although the qualities mentioned are similar (running at defenders with pace) to Djalo, Capel is younger and could bring much greater profit.
The question I would have is whether unlike Djalo, will Capel be able to fend off defenders and not get easily knocked off the ball. In Djalo's case, he didn't have much to offer once his pace didn't get it done.