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New Latin American Players to the EPL 08/09Scolari, Dos Santos and Perhaps Robinho Come to the PremiershipLatin America, recognised for being an unquenchable and bottomless talent pool of footballing masters, continues to produce players capable of making it in the EPL.
Last year we were entertained by some class acts and disappointed by others. Quite simply the best addition to the Premier League was the canny acquisition of the Paraguayan international Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich by Mark Hughes then manager of Blackburn Rovers. Santa Cruz did not disappoint and his partnership with Benni McCarthy was one to fear and no one will have raised any eyebrows with the rumours that Mark Hughes now wants to bring the young Paraguayan over to Manchester City. Of the major disappointments was Peru’s Francisco Pizarro. Fans and pundits alike are still puzzling over this acquisition in last year’s off-season, after all, why would you want a player who is not as prolific or fast as he makes out to be, and then of course there was the small incident of the less than salubrious party held by the Peruvian National team in their hotel in Lima. Clearly Pizarro had not been warned about the British tabloid press. New Latin American Players in the Premier LeagueOf the new batch there are arguably seven Brazilians, two Mexicans, one Chilean and one Argentinean. ArsenalCarlos Vela of Mexico has been owned by Arsenal since 2005 but been farmed out on loan with Celta Vigo , UD Salamanca and Osasuna of Spain until his work permit was permitted this year. He looks to be, albeit very young, the finished article having found the net on many occasions in Spain and impressing as top scorer in the under 17 World Cup in Peru. Blackburn RoversIt is hard to imagine that new Blackburn manager Paul Ince had a great deal of say in this signing. This smacks of Mark Hughes and a former Blackburn era, perhaps one of greater days? Paul Ince is a rookie premiership manager and his first real job is to hold on to Roque Santa Cruz who notched up 23 goals in all competitions in his first season in English football. He is trying to offset any ill-feeling and disappointment felt by the fans for the loss of David Bentley to Tottenham by bigging up the loan signing of Chilean Carlos Villanueva. Villanueva is a fast and technical player from the unfashionable Santiago side of Audax Italiano which enjoyed a decent run in the Copa Libertadores (South America’s version of the Champions League). He may find it difficult in the Premiership coming straight from Chile and not making the ubiquitous couple of year connection in Spain or Portugal. ChelseaNever a team to be outdone in spending chatter, Chelsea have brought in three big names. Their new coach, the larger than life, Luiz Felipe Scolari, or Big Phil, has triumphed with the unfashionable Gremio in southern Brazil, with the Brazilian National side and done an admirable job with the Portugal side. He now takes on a far more intriguing prospect of highly paid footballers and some overpaid has-beens. One of the first new signings to come in the Scolari era was Deco. Now, Deco is officially Portuguese and has been a mainstay in the Portugal side, but it was Scolari who encouraged the midfield playmaker to jump ship from his birthplace Brazil when the latter was contracted to the Portugal side as coach. Deco is an interesting capture and while he may make the headlines may be a little old coming from Barcelona at age 31. All summer long there has been talk of Brazil and Real Madrid star Robinho moving across the Chelsea. Figures have exceeded £40 million but a more realistic one is the most recently quoted £19,7 that Chelsea appears content to pay. Robinho was instrumental in Real Madrid’s title success last year but his slight build and stature may not do him any favours in the physical nature of the Premiership. Argentinean youngster Franco Di Santo comes in from Chile’s Audax Italiano with great hopes. LiverpoolLiverpool manager Rafael Benitez has an incredibly chequered history in the transfer market and several high profile flops can be rolled off the tongue in an instant. His purchase of goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri of Brazilian side Palmeiras is one that will likely have the Anfield faithful a little baffled. Manchester UnitedThere have been murmurs of bids for the Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz but as yet nothing has come of it. Last year’s Latinos have made good for Sir Alex Ferguson, with Carlos Tevez and Anderson in particular standing out for some praise. Sir Alex has opted for right back and left back twins Fabio and Rafael da Silva from Rio de Janeiro side and Copa Libertadores finalists Fluminense. TottenhamGiovani Dos Santos, the other Mexican starlet in the Premier league but across town at Tottenham was also a member of the U17 World cup winning side. Snapped up by Barcelona he now finds himself looking to impress the White Hart Lane faithful. Given Tottenham’s search for any keeper that is not Paul Robinson it is not surprising to see that spurs manager Juande Ramos is recruiting left right and centre and has brought in the Brazilian Heurelho Gomes a goalkeeper from PSV Eindhoven.
The copyright of the article New Latin American Players to the EPL 08/09 in Premier/Championship Leagues is owned by Richard McColl. Permission to republish New Latin American Players to the EPL 08/09 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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