Two and two

So over the last ... month? there's been plenty of chatter on the potential whereabouts this guy will end up next year. Not trying to break any news but yesterday I was told about one potential destination that really piqued my interest.

Everyone knows of the usual suspects: Benfica, Tottenham, Osasuna, of course Toronto FC, but yesterday I read a small article that listed Espanyol as a possibly suitor. But of course! Not that there was any reason for it to dawn on me but there a few reasons why this could be the place we could see De Guzman next season.

Most of us might have kept an eye on La Liga this past year, if really for one reason and that was Barcelona. But there was also another interesting story happening south of Camp Nou on the '92 Olympic grounds, in Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, where Espanyol were for most of the season in a tough relegation battle. Now normally this wouldn't be a HUGE story, teams with history drop into or stay the second division all the time (Leeds, Newcastle, Genoa, Torino, etc ...) but the reason why this was a bit of a bigger story was that Espanyol are moving into a brand new facility, Estadi Cornellà-El Prat on August 2. Up until the 32nd week of the season, they were all but certain for relegation. Imagine if in their first game, the stadium opening against LIVERPOOL, was in preparation for their 2009/10 season in division 2!!!

So anyway, that little scare is how my brain works at rationalizing that they know that given this is an important season for them, they need to make some moves and significantly improve their roster to ensure they remain not only in La Liga, but are legitimate contenders in their brand spanking new stadium. Well what better way to rebuild/solidify your team then with our very own Julian De Guzman, who was Deportivo's MVP for 07/08. But what about on De Guzman's end? Well some super sleuthing (aka FACEBOOK) recalls a status update along the lines of "I'm happy as long as I get to play Barcelona twice a year". Well what if you played against but also LIVED in Barcelona??? I think the waters are slightly warmer in the Mediterranean than the Atlantic. And the girls are smoking hot. I know the word on how much TFC has splashed out there, but I gotta say if I got 1/3 of that and got to play and live in Barca for a few years - play in La Liga which is clearly making a claim to being the best league in the world ... it's a no brainer.

Sounds like we'll hear what the word is in the next week or so, and how Canada fares in the Gold Cup could also play into how this story wraps up.