Melbourne Signs Brazilian Duo

Following Ernie Merrick's recruitment mission to Brazil, Melbourne Victory have signed two Brazilian forwards for next season.

Guarani's 26 year-old Helbert Frederico 'FRED' Carreiro da Silva and Atlético Paranaense's 24 year-old Claudio 'CLAUDINHO' Andre Santos Assis become the third and fourth Brazilians to join the A-League after Queensland's REINALDO Elias da Costa and Adelaide's Fernando RECH. There does remain some doubt about the actual match quality of the new pair, given that the press release fails to mention, for instance, that Claudinho has recently been out on loan away from his top flight team. Many will also be dubious about the claim that Claudinho is worth more than $2 million on the open transfer market. (How did Melbourne arrive at this figure? Surely a player is only worth what someone is willing to pay for him. So who wants to buy him and why wasn't he sold?) However, the signings are sure to generate excitement and anticipation in Melbourne and we can hope that each is a talented individual who will inject some much needed flair into the league.

Melbourne still has four more positions in its squad available (five if Archie Thompson doesn't return), with the most pressing requirements a holding midfielder and a starting left back. Given the unveiling of a new (Brazilian-like) 4-2-2-2 formation in a recent trial match, it seems that Merrick is aiming for more attacking options and flexibility in his side next season.

Meanwhile, Roar's Miron Bleiberg is also thinking of heading over to Brazil in order to have a look at a couple of prospects in the flesh.