By: Alan
Soccer City FC
Former and current Brazilian internationals have been a common theme in transfers worldwide as teams look to reinforce their squads in the off-season.
Playmaker Geovanni was quickly signed up by Premiership newcomers Hull City upon his release from Manchester City. The former Barcelona midfielder, who once cost the Catalan side £11 million from Cruzeiro and represented his country 4 times during 2001, signed a two-year deal. His stint in Manchester ended in disappointment despite scoring in the derby against Manchester United and he failed to hold-down a first-team position. He is a welcome addition at the KC Stadium where experience will be vital if they are to secure their position in England’s top flight league. 2006 UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool, meanwhile, received the the signiture of goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri from Palmeiras. The Merseyside outfit are in the market for a backup keeper to Spaniard Jose Reina as Scott Carson looks to make his move to Aston Villa permanent and Charles Itandje is expected to move to Galatasaray for around £2 million. Diego Cavalieri has spent all of his professional career at Palmeiras and the move should be worth around £3 million for the Brazilians.
Another Brazilian joining the Premier League is striker Jo, who has joined Manchester City for a record-fee in the region of £19m from CSKA Moscow. The season for the Eastlands side starts a month earlier than most other club’s as they embark on an UEFA Cup run, starting off in the Faroe Islands on July 17th. However, Jo along with compatriots Anderson of Manchester United and Lucas at Liverpool will miss the opening league games as they have been called up by Dunga to the Olympic squad.
Atletico Madrid have made their fifth signing ahead of their Champions League campaign. Paulo Assuncao has signed from Portuguese champions Porto for an undisclosed fee. The defensive midfielder spoke of the club’s ambitions of regaining the title they won back in 1996 as the reason behind the move. "The Atletico players want to win titles like me. It's a team that has won over many years and now I'm happy to be here.” Assuncao joins Florent Sinama-Pongolle, John Heitinga and Tomas Ujfalusi at Atletico.
Defensive midfielder Amaral, who donned the Brazilian shirt on 31 occasions between 1995 and 1996, has signed with Australian A-League outfit Perth Glory, being described as “a terrific addition to the squad” by manager Dave Mitchell. “Amaral is a wonderful footballer, he's the type of player we've been missing in the last couple of seasons. His interplay with the rest of the team after just a short time is outstanding.” Amaral could prove to be an astute signing for the West Australian team and he heads a list of impressive summer transfers.
Elsewhere, Sammarinese champions Murata have ambitiously revealed that they are hoping to persuade 42-year-old Romario out of retirement. They hope to discuss a short-term contract with the 1994 World Player of the Year in time for their UEFA Champions League campaign, which begins with a first qualifying round draw against Gothenberg of Sweden. Whether the move actually happens is a completely different matter, after Romario announced on his retirement “Officially I'm not playing any more. I've stopped." With or without the veteran, Murata will have to defy all odds if they are to advance any further in the Champions League.
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
IFK Norrköping Notches First League Win
Swedish club IFK Norrköping gained promotion to the Allsvenskan for the 2008 season. The club enjoyed their first league victory this past weekend on May 11th. The match was against Ljungskile SK. Two goals were scored by IFK Norrköping including one from Swedish national team prospect Imad Khalili. The left winger's goal in the 49th minute was his first league goal of the season. With the win, the club now has four points from their last three league matches. Can they avoid relegation? If the club maintains their focus on the two points below, IFK Norrköping might just stay up:
1. Keep Khalili on the pitch. See how the 21 year-old midfielder responds after scoring his goal last weekend. If he truly is one of Sweden's top young players, then his game should reach new heights this season.
2. Keep sending balls into the Nigerian. Kevin Amuneke now has two goals in his last three and three overall in league play. Only 22 years old and polished from his time spent in the Portuguese youth academies of S.L. Benfica and F.C. Porto, the forward looks ready for a huge campaign.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
FC Artmedia Petržalka Going for Historic Double
Slovak football power FC Artmedia Petržalka (FC Artmedia Bratislava) can now claim their first ever league and cup double after taking home the Slovakian Cup (Slovenský Pohár) by defeating FC Spartak Trnava 1-0 in Zilina.
The club remembered mostly for their historic UEFA Champions League run in 2005-2006 are sitting comfortably now six points ahead of second-place side MSK Zilina in the Slovakian League.
If they accomplish the double, it will rank right up there in club history with other great feats including the club's defeat of 2004 UEFA Champions League winners F.C. Porto 3-2 at Porto's Estádio do Dragão. FC Artmedia Petržalka came back to win in that match after going down 2-0 in the first half during UEFA Champions League Group H action.
