Aug 23
So Long Heinze, And Thanks For The 8 Million!
I’ve always wondered, long before this site ever existed, how it would be to say goodbye to a player who’s served your club so admirably. The feeling of parting would be one thing that’s not totally alien. But expressing all those feelings that come rushing into your head, all at once, in some concrete form, is a different challenge.
So in this way, I wondered how difficult it might have been to say goodbye to such players - more prominently, names like Beckham, Ruud, Keano, even Stam and Phil Neville, come to mind. I’ve also wondered in the past about how tough it might be to write a fitting farewell to current players like Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes and so on. Needless to say, they are all extremely difficult if you plan to write a farewell that does justice to their contributions.
Apart from those names I mentioned above, I did also wonder about Gabriel Heinze.
A player, for whom, the fans on the Stretford End chanted ‘Argentina’ much to the fury of fellow Englishmen. A player, who won the Matt Busby Player of the Year award in his very first year. A player, for whom, after the Villarreal game, we wept and then waited, and waited for eternity. A player, for whom, we, and the management, including Sir Alex, showed a willingness to allow him to put country over club. A player, who was known especially for his commitment and work rate on the pitch.
Surely such a player would be the stuff of legend, no?
Things change. But nothing quite so dramatic as this one. Yours truly has always been defending Heinze, despite the barrage of media reports that came about, early in the summer, linking him to a host of clubs. We waited and waited - and in the process, kept rubbishing every report that came out - for the man, himself, to speak. And finally, after several weeks of waiting, he did open his mouth with these words:
“For me to go the offer has to be good for everyone. I’m very comfortable in Manchester. I’ve been a champion, captain and the fans love me. Everything is perfect.”
Exactly. Those were the words. Now, surely, no one could ever contest that statement. But there were certain ambiguities in the statement about things being suitable to all parties and so on.
It was in late July, and early August when things started getting real, when the fact that Heinze might actually leave the club dawned upon us. But then, it may not have mattered to many fans had he made his intentions of moving to a Spanish club clear. (For that matter, many fans honestly believe Ronaldo would eventually leave for Spain.) But Heinze decided to move to a club that was our most bitter rival.
While we talk about disloyalty and inevitably use the word that best classifies such people (cunt, for those wondering what the word is) it is interesting to note another left back who showed a similar desire to move to a rival (Ashley Cole to Chelsea).
However, in pure professional terms, it was possible to explain Cole’s desire to move to Chelsea on two factors, namely, money and the chance of winning big trophies more consistently. Heinze’s move, on the other hand, didn’t make sense, either from a professional perspective or an emotional one. He had already won the league with United. And, surely, United could match anything that Liverpool could offer. Heinze was dear to most fans, and he’d certainly not betray us.
But no. He had mastered the art of making an enemy of his most devoted and loyal fans.
I, for one, loved Heinze as a player. I still do respect his ability. But the events that transpired over the past month has brought out another side of him that has made me question if I really liked him, in the first place. Losing his place to Evra, who was better in terms of going forward and helped add another edge to the already heavily attacking nature of this United side, I thought he - the tough character that he is - would work hard and fight for his place in the side. It is surely disappointing for a player if he were to lose a starting place. But when he knows he’s in with a good chance of starting if he does well in training, then it would be good for him if he can fight his way back into the side.
I thought he was a tough character, and such challenges would drive him on further to do better. But again, for the nth time, I was mistaken. All his determination was now focused on engineering a move to Liverpool, much to the chagrin of SAF and the fans. It’s credit to the management for sticking to the principles that was central to our relationship with ‘Pool for not backing down on our stance, even when they were, apparently, our only bidders.
In a way, I am happy that he moved to a club outside of the Premiership. In a way, I feel cheated by his complete (and still baffling) change of heart.
Madrid haven’t played United in a Champions’ League for four years. It may be fair to say we are due a face-off with the Merengues. After Beckham’s departure the ex-United contingent will now be two strong. While Ruud would certainly be welcome with open arms, Heinze would be better advised to stay at home, or better, run off to his beloved Argentina. The Argentina chants would still be there - we have a new favourite Argie in our ranks - but the vitriol thrown at Gabby might probably equal that faced by Figo when he crossed over to Madrid from Barca. Well, Heinze didn’t cross the ‘forbidden bridge’ that Figo or Phil Chisnall did, but his intentions and behaviour, throughout this saga, is more than enough reason for him to look for personal bodyguards when (and if) he ever happens to play against United again.
So fuck off Heinze, and thanks for the £8 million.
Related items from Red Rants:
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:53
He chose Real over the indirect route to Liverpool (through Crystal Palace). It would’ve been worse if he did that!!
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:00
it is always sad to see a player go(apart from richardson) yes heinze was an ungratefull player for all we had done for him but still im sad yet happy to see him go.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:02
Red Ranter - I used to idolise Heinze. but, I think you wasted too many words on him in his farewell article.
I think the 4th paragraph should have read “So fuck off Heinze, and thanks for the £8 million.”
THE END.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:03
It’s kinda strange that all our ‘good’ players that leave go to Real Madrid…
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:04
i have been waiting for your articles since morning….and the wait was worth it. Nice articles mate…
and for heinze….finally he is gone, now we can concentrate on important things. we have other jobs to do at our disposal.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:06
Well every word of that article bro is exactly what i think and feel/been feeling all the time.
Excellant article absolutely brilliant.
And yes A Big fucking thanks for the 8 Million
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:11
Good article. I really liked Heinze as a player. This whole transfer saga just does not make sense. Why would he choose Pool over Utd. No disrespect to Pool but did Rafa offer plenty blowjobs as part of the contract as i cant see why the fuck he would want to go there.
The question is who do we replace him with cos as far as im concerned Mr Silvestre can jump ship to Lyon as well but the fact remains we have lost Heinze who was a quality defender and have not replaced him.
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:01
just1n..seems like u have not noticed that to be effective in a team requires a combination of many factors and loyalty to the badge is def. 1 of them,so fuck of heinze! i repeat! thanks for the 8m.
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:09
Mr manutd jalou …blah blah blah i noticed what you said but did you ever wonder who the back up LB is gonna be now that we have lost a BLOODY GOOD PLAYER in heinze. I dont care if you hate him now cos he was a good player for Utd and Argentina. nuf said.
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:14
[Just1n]
I am not sure if Silvestre would jump ship right now. The lad is shite on the pitch, but his attitude for the United cause unquestionable. Plus since Heinze has moved on, he will expect to play more here.
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:15
[karl]
It’s also kinda strange that left backs end up being cunts and want to move to rivals.
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:26
great post,
not bad when you consider we made a profit on him, and our second choice left back moving to a huge continental rival where he will be first choice.
kinda makes us seem stronger, praying that we meet Madrid in the Champs league this season.
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:51
There is only one LB i want signed….Philip Lahm. Lets spend the cash on him…
August 23rd, 2007 at 13:56
Good article. If Rio had done this he’d get a lot worse than this transexual Argie has had. He (Heinze Judas) has the hips and face of a woman and, more pertinently, he has a Woman’s deceptive, lying and disloyal nature.
To lie in bed with the lawyers of LFC and to testify against his employers - who pay him a fortune to commit pointless fouls and be injured - disgrace.
Scumbag cunt.
August 23rd, 2007 at 14:07
just1n, lets not!
we should spend the money on berbs, we made a bid for him yesterday allegedly but it was rejected.
August 23rd, 2007 at 14:25
well at least he did not become the next cashley cole and leave for our arch-rival. he is better off at madrid. even though i don’t know why? he will hav competition there as well, maybe more than he had at united. who cares, we can spend that 8 mil on som1 like… a big forward who can find the net without too much problems.
l8ta heinze hope you never play
August 23rd, 2007 at 14:32
Just1in,,again, i don care how good the player may be,let him go.after all the team has done for him he wanted to stub us write in the back,for all i know he aint the best LB in the world and we have people lyk oshea who will always backup wen neededand will always honour the badge. and how much updated are you on manutd news. we have to brazilian twins who will join the squad next year,so good riddance. bye bye rotten heinze! i don care shit what u say Just1in
August 23rd, 2007 at 14:56
3 atchully jaluo.
August 23rd, 2007 at 15:01
Mr manutd jalou. You might not care shit…blah blah blah, but the fact remains Utd have sold a LB and are left with an ineffective LB replacement - Silvestre. Apparently Evans can play there but i have not seen him play and Pique is more CB than LB. And so what if 2 brazilians join us next yr…they are for the future and i seriosly doubt they will make an immediate impact in the prem lg. If we remember how shocking Evra was when Sir Alex put him in the deep end against man city then im not even thinking about the twins. Utd need good cover at LB. Silvestre is not that man and neither is Oshea. Im sure Sir Alex will use his squad that he has but i can foresee some activity during January transfer period. Defender and Forward player. IMO. lets just hope we dont have any more bad luck regarding injuries.
August 23rd, 2007 at 15:19
Fuck Heinze! He was never the same player aftre the knee injury; both physically and mentally. Errors started creeping into his game last season, in particular the AC Milan 2nd leg with that horrible, fatal backpass to the half-fit Vidic. His whole attitude started to change after his injury too; his loyalty lay with his international team not his club; he seemed to lose interest last season, not willing to fight for his place - the signs were there all along! I’m surprised the management did not spot this sooner, so yeah, thanks for the £8million (nearly £2m profit i think??) and fuck off biatch!
August 23rd, 2007 at 15:34
Nino, it was obvious from day 1 that his loyalties lay with Argentina and not his club side. I have to say given the situation it is to David Gill’s that he managed to get 8m for him (although the bean counters at Madrid seem to have gone mad with 20m for Pepe and 22m on Robben).
August 23rd, 2007 at 16:00
Good thing I never wasted my money on a Heinze jersey, which I wanted to!
August 23rd, 2007 at 17:14
News just in http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s6i23644 and http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s6i23637
August 23rd, 2007 at 18:50
what do people think about that german left-back who scored that rocket against england yesterday? he seems like a pretty explosive player, decent back-up to Evra….
August 23rd, 2007 at 19:11
Ranter
Your article is dead on correct. I too loved Heinze and defended him to all those who seemed to find fault in his game while they elevated Evra into Roberto Carlos vintage 1998. Heinze was an outstanding left back and could even hold his on as a center back if called upon. He was a great defender and I believe he was very underrated as an attacker. No he didn’t possess the pace or ability to create width like Evra but his long balls and well timed runs into the box were excellent and perfectly on display at this year’s Copa America tourney. His work ethic and dogged determination were that of legend. So why did it all go wrong? First off, although I will never forgive him for what he has put all of us through in the past month, I think that United and Fergie in particular mistreated him just a little bit. United don’t need an attacking left back. They need a rock solid one who will occasionally move up. OK, so Gabby didn’t perform as well since his return. I attribute that to his serious injury and to Fergie’s unwillingness to play the man so that he could get back in shape as well as find his form. He only decided to play him regulularly after Evra went down with an injury himself. Lets be fair, A year layoff and a lacking match fitness, were we as fans and Fergie as manager expecting him to pick up from where he left off. He was good but was still off his game. The Copa should have alerted United to his recent rebirth. Other than the final where the whole Argentine team stunk, he was a revelation. But Fergie is a stubborn old bloke and when his mind is set, it stays that way. He was sweet on the Frenchman and despite Evra’s questionable defending and complete uselessness in the air, he was his man. When Evra is out there, I get the feeling United sometimes play a 3-6-1 formation because he plays very much like a winger or overlapping wide midfielder. Heinze on the other hand is a classic defender.
Anyway, this betrayal in Heinze’s mind was the final straw. The man is a star on one of the top three international sides in the world. Of course he expects to start. And that is exactly what Rafa the Rotator promised him. And Rafa would have kept his promise to him, for HALF of their league games. Real Madrid were in desperate need for a top left back and they just got one. As for Heinze, I’d like to quote Michael Corleone from the Godfather Part 2 when I say with sincerity and passion, “YOU BROKE MY HEART…YOU BROKE MY HEART”. Gabby, I loved you as a United player but now you are dead to me. It’s time to go out for a little boat ride and do some fishing.
August 23rd, 2007 at 19:13
This is emotional and heartfelt and all. BUT REMEMBER we now need more players to replace those that have left!! Defense is deceptively weak. We need a Rightback and a left-back to cover in case of injuries which happen ALL THE GODDAM TIME!! And Louis Saha needs to be replaced!! Micah Richards or Dani Alves, a quality striker, and a left back to replace Hinze(who provided CB and LB depth)!! No disrespect to John, Wes, or Mikael but we can’t compete with the depth of Chelsea or Liverpool at the moment. To finance an increase in the level of investment in the squad. The Glazers should think about floating the club back onto the LSE, we know they don’t have Abromavich money…I miss the good ol’ days when we were a financially sound cash rich PLC.
August 23rd, 2007 at 20:13
Henize returned from International duty and was diagnosed with degeneration in muscles around his knee due to a premature/rushed return for his International team. The first time he was available was away to Reading. Between that game and Liverpool away where Evra was injured Heinze played; 5 out of 6 CL, 2 out of 2 League Cup, 2 out of 4 FA Cup and 13 out of 24 league games. Even with the fact a few of those appearances were as sub we can see he had a comparable amount of playing time to Evra when both were available. He played against Benfica, Arsenal, Celtic and Chelsea in that time, only missing against (ironically) Liverpool of the big teams.
Fitness is cited as an issue yet my recollection suggests that his performances actually degraded as the season progressed. His game time was more than adequate for fitness recovery by Christmas. To suggest his performance level gave him the automatic right to selection over Evra is tantamount to lunacy. Prior to the away games at Liverpool there was little to no evidence of ‘questionable’ defending or ‘complete uselessness’ aerially from Evra. There was no betrayal or mistreatment of Heinze by SAF; the so called “warrior†simply did not have the stomach to fight for his place.
PS Grognard I think you and I watched different Copa Americas, as I did not see Heinze offering much going forward.
August 23rd, 2007 at 20:28
karl ….lmfao
August 23rd, 2007 at 20:52
Abu
I’d like to see nothing more than for United to swoop up under the radar and steal Dani Alvez from under Chelsea’s greedy clutches. I just don’t think Fergie is interested in spending that kind of money on a defender. Especially now that we need a striker and after we have already spent so much on players. At some point the Glazer money tree will dry up for this season, if it hasn’t already. As for Micah Richards, did you appreciate Liverpool trying to get Heinze from us? No! Then do you think Man City would appreciate that same kind of disrespect shown to them? I’m not sure how many players have moved between the clubs in the past couple of decades but I would imagine that any kind of move to a city rival would tantamount to nothing more than blasphemy. I like Richards but I think we have little chance of getting him. Sven would be crazy to sell him when he is trying to build a team that can compete with the big four. The only chance is if Richards pulls a Heinze and demands a move. And even then I don’t see United getting him. And few thoughts as far as Latin players go, I think the progress Fergie was making in correcting his shakey reputation amongst Spaniards and South American players, as a manager that is hard to play for and easy to displease,is now beginning to look obvious again because of Heinze. Tevez may have signed up and United are always capable of signing youngsters like Nani, Anderson and Ronaldo, but skilled, experienced players think twice about coming up to Old Trafford. They have heard of his indifference to certain types of style of play, his fits of rage and his unwillingness to bend to their skill set. Above all, they have seen how he rewards years of service to players like Beckham, Stam, Keane and RVD. Players like Ronaldinho, Riquelme, Essien, Ballack (yes I know they aren’t Latino), Torres, Crespo and others have turned down offers to come to Old Trafford. In fact, some would prefer to bore themselves to death playing for the Special Scum at Chelski. Comments like Kaka saying that he would love to play with our Ronaldo should not get us all warm and fuzzy inside. What he is saying is that he would love to see Ronaldo move to AC Milan. I love Fergie but I do think there is a reason why he has changed his tactics and player preference. Young players are easier to control and foreign players are better choices talent wise than what the UK has to offer him. They simply don’t like Ferguson as a players manager. They would even prefer to sit on other teams benches than to start with United. I get this from interviews I have read in different world soccer magazines.
Fergie is a great manager but he is old school in his approach and many players from other cultures who have succeeded and are set in their ways, don’t like old school coaching. Those are concerns I had before we bought Nani, Anderson and Tevez. Fortunately they are all young and don’t know better. For them Fergie is the father figure they are in need of.
August 23rd, 2007 at 21:11
Grognard, for a fan of rock solid defenders at full back Alves is an odd man to have on your wish list.
August 23rd, 2007 at 22:09
Grognard, you seems to be making some king size assumptions there. Those players you mention are all rumoured to have turned down moves to OT but did any of them turn us down because of Fergie? No, probably not. The players you mention as having felt the full force of Fergie are all players who over stepped the mark or showed bad attitude or application. You conveniently forget to mention the players that have worked there whole careers with Fergie, players who know what it takes to succeed at United. Veron himself said the pressure to win at United is too much, is impossible. He didn’t say anything about Fergie being impossible to work with. Any player that doesn’t fancy the high standards that Fergie demands isn’t United material. Im not sure how his transfer policy has changed, we haven’t had a crop of home grown youngsters for a while so he is buying youthful players. Makes sense.
August 23rd, 2007 at 23:26
BootifullGame, of the players mentioned by Grognard I can’t recall issues with SAF’s management style being a problem in any of the cases:
Essien - never really in the running once Chelsea came in because we could not afford the £24m at the time. Despite this in an interview with ITV CL program he called OT his favourite stadium, Utd his favourite club, Cantona his favourite player and SAF his favourite manager.
Ronaldinho - Broke down due to Pistol Pete (Kenyon) having the sudden urge to haggle with PSG over £2m at the last moment. Other reason suggested was that Barcelona had better weather than Manchester but this is obviously a complete lie!
Ballack - SAF came out and flat out denied any interest in him last year in a press conference.
Crespo - never seriously linked with him, mere idle tittle tattle in the press at the time.
Torres - Spanish press heavily reports transfer fee and personal terms agreed before the pull of his childhood club changes Torres mind late in the day last summer. SAF mentions interest in Torres for previous 3 years but we did not go in this season because “we could not wait forever for himâ€.
To be fair I am not aware of what the situation was with Riquelme, anybody provide any insight?
August 24th, 2007 at 1:13
[JB]
Riquelme rejected United. Cited family concerns and the language. He didn’t want his family to grow up in a country that spoke a different language. The reasons are hardly surprising as he has made a lot of career decisions keeping his family in mind.
About Ballack, though, he did say he turned down the chance to go to United because he felt he had greater chance of winning trophies with Chelsea. (At that time Chelsea were indeed winning everything, well, almost.) We all know how well that turned out.
Other than that, well said mate!
August 24th, 2007 at 3:01
Heinze has surprised everyone. his style of play made him seem like a proper old school player with real commitment and principles. turned out to be a spineless, disloyal prick like so many modern players. good riddance to the twat. makes you grateful for the likes of ole, scholesy, g. nev, giggs… proper united players!!
August 24th, 2007 at 3:01
Thanks Red Ranter for the support regarding Riquelme and Ballack. Yes I am making some assumptions based not on my own feelings alone but from a lot of different things I have read and heard. Veron has come out and said that Ferguson was too temperamental for his liking and so has Beckham and RVD. When you have great players leave on bad terms, people will talk. That is what is happening here. In fairness to Fergie I do feel that North England weather as well as the culture shock element have also played a role in this. And before you say well what about Liverfool, remember the have a compadre buy the name Senior Bentiez who is there to welcome them, nurture them, feed them and tuck them into bed. Fergie on the other hand would probably throw a boot at them. When you have players like Veron, RVD and Beckham go to play in Spain or Italy, they will talk and the word gets around. Becks did in his book, Veron and RVD verbally unleashed a major attack on Fergie and his methods. That said I love the gaffer and wish him well. And finally as to Veron talking about pressure, trust me there is much more pressure to perform for top clubs in Italy and Spain. They at least have mates they can relate to culturally to help sooth the situations that come up.
August 24th, 2007 at 10:22
[Grognard]
I’m confused here. Are you saying now its Fergie’s fault that Heinze acted like a DICK to WANT to go to Liverpool?
If Heinze wanted to leave, it would have been ok. Perhaps then you would have had a case against Fergie. But, because the Prick wanted to go to Liverpool, HE is being a DICK. It’s unfair to blame Fergie for that. Whatever Fergie did, imo, he received absolution the moment Heinze publicly confirmed his intentions of joining that scum. He MUST HAVE KNOWN how the fans would feel about it. (And you want to defend that???)
So fuck off Heinze, and thanks for the £8 million.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:09
Grognard, that was not support on Riquelme or Ballack. Red Ranter cited family reasons and the chance to win trophies as reasons. As far as I can see of the 6 transfers you quoted not one failed to come about due to SAF’s management style. As for RVN, DB and Veron the only one I have heard of launching a ‘major attack’ on SAF is Veron. Veron’s recent criticism (when being interviewed about Sven) was in fact a criticism of playing rather than managerial style.
August 24th, 2007 at 14:35
Mr. Tony whoever you may be, on behalf of all females, I’d like to inform you that it is terribly rude of you to say that a women’s nature is deceptive, disloyal and all the other insulting things you have said. I wish you would perhaps think a bit before making such comments.
August 24th, 2007 at 15:10
i wouldn’t take everything at face value, media speculation is always skeptical. id be surprised if ferguson hadnt told heinze where he features in his plans.. behind evra in the pecking order, and it has been no secret that man utd were taking offers for the player. these reasons may have been enough to discourage heinzes desire to fight for a place and foreign players have a tendancy to be less passionate for overseas clubs anyway. you’d find little argument in justifying why an argentinian international should not be playing regular 1st team football, maybe gabys desires to play were bigger than those for the club he plays for.
while its controversial for fans to see a player move from manchester to liverpool, we have to remember liverpool were the only club to make an official bid and were guarenteeing a place in the starting 11. as well as having numerous argentinian players in their ranks to encourage him to join, you’ve got to look after number one in this day and age.
for me heinze was an outstanding defender, im not happy with his decision to leave united, ive been praying he wouldnt all summer. i for one wish him good luck at real, he’s a terrific player and fighter that any team would benefit from.
August 25th, 2007 at 17:12
its hard To Lose a player with ability like heinze but Still make me confused…Heinze have lot of owe with fergie..look when he came at first time,at starting season he should play for ManUtd but see what happen He go with National Team (Argentina) to Olympic Game (Argentina Got Gold Medal) and when he return to Old Trafford he got Injured…and thats not happen once but many2 times,For Me He looks like very major on National Duty prefer thank ManUtd Job…WE PAY HIM AND HE SHOULD PLAY FOR US FIRST..EVEN NATIONAL TEAM IS ALSO MAJOR CHOICE…..
And now he very looks want to leave Old Trafford (Thanks God he leaves to Madrid not F****** Liverpool)just because his Position threat by evra…ridiculous…Looks what fergie do to convince him not leave Old Trafford : Fergie put EVRA lo left Wing not Left Back…
But that things not make heinze realize but evenworse,he Go to Arbitrase to Make his way to our Big enemy Club…