Kaka's Chances According to History: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The new Galaticos have arrived, and with them a slew of expectations.

One the players bearing such weight is Brazilian playmaker and 2007 World Player of the Year, Kaka.

The former world record transfer signing (for roughly a week), will head into the 2009 season as a Real Madrid squad member. Players in his mold have made the switch from Serie A to La Liga before.

Some have succeed whereas others have failed.

While the world will compare him to just one of those players in the coming season, here we'll take a look at some of the prominent figures who have made the same move during recent years.

To keep things comparable to Kaka, we'll try to focus on players in similar positions.

Bad: Damiano Tommasi

A solid all-round midfielder in Italy, Tommasi could get the job done at both ends of the field.

He gave AS Roma his best years as he made over 250 appearances while the club won a Scudetto and consistently challenged near the top of the table.

After his time in Italy's capital, he moved to Levante in Spain. While there, Tommasi failed to appear regularly and have the type of impact he had at his former club. He spent just two years with the club and in the latter season, Levante were relegated from the Spanish top flight.

Damiano Tommasi's fall may be more a consequence of injury and age rather than failure to adjust. He suffered a major injury towards the end of his Roma career and never got back to featuring as much as before.

Some fear the same for Kaka in terms of durability, as he had minor knocks during the previous Serie A season.

Good: Olivier Kapo

Though on loan there for just one year, the Ivorian generated a solid amount of success at Levante.

Kapo more so moved from France than he did from Italy, as he only made a handful of appearances for Juventus before being loaned out to AS Monaco.

The avoidance of Italy proved to be a good decision. He enjoyed much better fortunes outside of the country and especially in La Liga. Not highly sought after, Levante signed him to a season-long loan.

He was one of the primary reasons Levante managed to stave off relegation the season he was there.

Ugly: Stefano Fiore

It was difficult finding a photograph of Fiore in a Valencia kit. The primary reason may be that he made such a small impact and was barely on the team for his three contracted years.

In Italy, Fiore was a brilliant player in the center for the likes of Udinese and later Lazio. His creativity along with his fair scoring rate saw him become one of Serie A's best midfielders.

However, upon moving to Valencia he quickly became an afterthought. After a debut season consisting of just 15 starts in all competitions, Fiore was loaned out to Fiorentina back in Italy. It would be the last time he featured for the Spanish side.

The continent once again showed him good fortune. While match-fixing may have had more to do with it than anything, Fiore was an important piece to Fiorentina's qualification for the Champions League by finishing 4th.

He returned to Spain only to be loaned again to Torino and Livorno in the same season. He showed relatively decent form.

Despite his success in Italy, Fiore never panned out in La Liga.

Bad: Cristiano Doni

Cristiano Doni was a relative journeyman before his initial days at Atalanta. It was here that he established himself as a world class attacking mid.

It was his creativity and instinctive ability to score that kept Atalanta afloat during his tenure.
Doni's short venture into Spain saw him join RCD Mallorca.

His performance wasn't terrible and he did feature regularly for the side but much more was expected. He could only assist them in finishing 13th in the table.

He only stayed for one season and subsequently returned to Serie A. He has since gone on to do well for his former club Atalanta.

Good/Bad: Enzo Maresca

Enzo had relatively moderate success in Italy. In seasons which altered with unsuccessful stints with Juventus, Maresca played well with clubs Piacenza and Fiorentina.

Despite this, Piacenza was relegated and Fiorentina barely escaped the same fate while Maresca played for them.

After failing to truly inspire his side to consistent victory, he moved from Italy to La Liga's Sevilla.
He was an influential figure in Sevilla's two consecutive UEFA Cup victories and proved a vital cog in the club's charge up the Spanish league table.

He also aided the club in securing a Copa Del Rey title.

Internal problems involving him and manager Manolo Jimenez led to Maresca being relegated to the bench and making few appearances after the 2006-07 season.

The Italian has finally moved onto Greek club Olympiacos. So while the end of his stay was unimpressive, when given the chance Enzo was an effective player in Spain.

Ugly: Antonio Cassano

While his downfall may have had more to do with his attitude than his actual play, Antonio Cassano could not make it Spain. His time with Real Madrid displays this.

He spent four years with AS Roma playing in support and forming a solid striking partnership with captain Francesco Totti. He managed solid goal-scoring form in netting 40+ goals in all competitions during his time there.

The Italian then went on to Real Madrid, where things quickly turned sour. Cassano only made a handful of appearances in his year and a half stint with Los Blancos.

He also managed just two goals.

During his entire time with them, he failed to make any significant appearances for his national side including at the World Cup.

Only a move back to Italy would see him regain his form with Sampdoria.

Good: Zinedine Zidane

Last but certainly not least, there's the man that Kaka temporarily unseated as the world's most expensive player ever. And that is merely one of the countless comparisons which will be made to the Frenchman.

Immediately upon his arrival to Juventus, Zidane was a talismanic figure in their already ongoing bout of acquiring silverware. Along with the help of several other stars, Juve went on to win two Serie A titles and made two appearances in the UEFA Champions League final.

Zidane also brought in personal accolades such as the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
Zinedine then moved on a world record transfer from Juve to Real Madrid. Again, he would instantly bring his new club silverware. The side won the Champions League in his first season and the league in his second. He would also go on to win yet another World Player of the Year award.

After displaying outstanding form with Juventus, he managed to play just as well, if not on a higher level, with his final club. After spending just five years at the Bernabeu, Zizou is regarded by many as one the greatest Madrid players in their history.

Needless to say, Madridistas will be hoping Kaka can be the Zidane of Galaticos 2.0.

Review, Verdict, and Comments

So while others have traded leagues like Kaka and failed for the most part, none will be on the same scale of the journey he's set to embark upon.

Except for one of course. And it happens to be that "that one" payed off tremendously for no other than Los Merengues.

The consensus appears to be that we all want to see him do well, even if it is for big spending Real. And his detractors who claim he has fallen off of his world-topping form only need to look at the 2009 Confederations Cup.

A Golden Ball performance in leading Brazil to the title only serves as proof that he may be headed back to his very best.

So how do you feel Kaka will do with Real Madrid? Will he be the most influential of the new Galaticos. Can he be a great as Zidane?

Please let me know in your comments.