The tale of Edgar Davids is part of Catalan folklore. In 2004, Barcelona were languishing in La Liga. They found themselves stuck in seventh place, 15 points behind Real Madrid, and all-but out of the title race. Enter the Netherlands midfielder.
Davids was 30 at the time, and surplus to requirements at Juventus. Barcelona swooped in, securing his signature on a six-month loan deal — one of the first acts of Joan Laporta's first tenure as Barca president. Davids galvanised a stalling project, as Barca won nine of their next 10 games. And although they fell just short of catching eventual champions Valencia, his arrival is regarded as the inception of the new era of the Blaugrana — one that started with the brilliance of Ronaldinho and ended with the departure of Lionel Messi.
Nineteen years on, and Laporta has called for a similar signing this January. He publicly announced that his team are on the hunt for a temporary addition to their engine room. "It would be a loan until the end of the season, like we did years ago with Edgar Davids, for example," he said in late December.
Barca certainly could do with some extra thrust as they aim to fight their way back into the title race, but the problems at the club lie deeper, with Xavi's broken, misfiring squad not able to be fixed alone by a good-value injection of quality.