Entries Tagged 'Rumours' ↓

If he looks familiar to you, that’s because you probably saw him play against the Socceroos when they faced Singapore. His name is Indra Sahdan and he is widely regarded as Singapore’s star striker.

He could be coming to Melbourne, according to a report on Today Online. But his services are also being sought by MLS team Real Salt Lake, where he is set to play a trial match. The Victory have also offered Sahdan a trial match.

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An article in the Australian today says that Sydney has won the bid to play David Beckham and Co. (aka. the LA Galaxy). The game’s set to be played at Telstra Stadium on November 27.

Sucks for Melbourne, who had been contending that we should get the game. No doubt we would have been able to pack the Telstra Dome for a game like that. But Sydney has won it.

Even more infuriating than that, though, is what Sydneysiders had to say about it all. George Perry, the CEO of Sydney FC, said:

“Where else would you play the game but in the best city in the world and against the best club in the country?”

Or check this out from NSW Premier Morris Lemma:

“Sydney is now the undisputed home of football in Australia and the fans have responded magnificently in recent times.”

Undisputed home of football? Best club in the country? What enormous boulder have these blokes been hiding under?

The Victory’s game against China on July 4 may be shown on free-to-air television.

Well, we hope so. Victory chairman Geoff Lord has already been in touch with SBS regarding the proposal. From the Age:

“To my knowledge, this is the first time any Australian club side has organised a game like this against a national team like China,” he said. “I think it’s an absolutely outstanding promotional opportunity from the City of Melbourne’s point of view.

“They could do a trade promotion around the game and use it to generate business and advertise Victoria. The game will be shown live throughout China, and the television audience is vast. I would like it to be shown live here too.

“We would hope to make this an annual event and build on the links we establish this year.”

Fingers crossed. If football is to grow in Australia, it’s going to require much better exposure from free-to-air TV.

Rumours are doing the rounds that promising Olyroo Kaz Patafta may be making his way to Melbourne, on a one-year loan deal from Portuguese giant Benfica. Source of this rumour is Record, a Lisbon sports daily. Specifically this article, which loosely translated claims that “midfielder Kaz Patafta, one of the promising players of the youth squad will be loaned to Melbourne, Australia for a fee of 50,000 euros.”

It is important to note that, similarly to the Carlos Hernandez rumours from last week, nothing has been confirmed by the Melbourne Victory camp. Unfortunately it also seems to be becoming a habit for the Melbourne Victory to rely on overseas press to break these stories.

18 year-old Patafta has been on the Benfica squad since January last year, after leading the “Joeys” during the 2005 World Championships in Peru. He has played regularly in their youth team and appeared a few times in Benfica’s 1st team, all in friendly matches. It is certainly conceivable, considering he isn’t a 1st team player, that Benfica would want to loan him to another club. As much was suggested in a recent interview with him on the SBS’s The World Game;

<narrator> “And what might happen is a move to another European club, where the prospect of regular 1st team opportunities seem more likely”

<Patafta> “It’s really hard to tell, you never know. Sometimes when you expect one thing, the other thing happens. I think the main thing for me at the moment is I’m still young and it’s just all about improving my football and where I get my opportunities to play at a senior level and keep improving.”

Here’s hoping he gets the chance to improve his football at the Victory, where he undoubtedly will become an important part of a growingly impressive squad.

June 19 update: The Age has confirmed this morning that Melbourne Victory is in negotiations with Patafta and is aiming to sign him in the next 48 hours. Source: Victory aiming to sign junior star

June  19 update 2: Patafta has himself now confirmed he is considering a deal to play at Melbourne Victory. Source: Patafta in line for Victory

There is growing speculation that Costa Rican international Carlos Hernández will be making a move to the Victory. But who is he and should we be excited by this new prospect?

The original article to start this rumour was published in Nacion, a Costa Rican newspaper. The article claims that Hernández is in talks to join the Victory on a 2 year loan deal from Alajuelense, with an option to purchase. The translated version of that article is an entertaining, read, riddled with inaccuracies. It goes so far as to claim that the Victory has two foreign players, one Danish and the other Swedish. The latest article from Nacion, published yesterday, confirms the two year transfer deal. But still, there has been no mention of the deal from Melbourne Victory.

LD Alajuelense, the club that Hernández currently plays for, is one of the most successful teams in Costa Rica, winning the Primera División 5 out of the last 8 seasons. They have won the CONCACEF Champions’ Cup twice, most recently in 2004 and have finished runner’s up 3 times. Hernández, a 25 year old central midfielder, is a starting player for Alajuelense, reputedly with a reputation for scoring from long distance. In the past season he scored 3 times for his club. He has 19 caps for the Costa Rican national team, and was their second-highest goal scorer in the World Cup 2006 qualifiers behind Paulo Wanchope. He played in the World Cup matches against Ecuador and Poland, coming on as a substitute in both matches. In recent times, he has had to miss the Costa Rican squad for the CONCACEF Gold Cup, due to what seems to be a minor injury.

On ESPN’s Soccernet, Hernandez is described as “A diminutive central midfielder destined for a brilliant career, he is just as happy spraying around passes as striking wickedly swerving right-footed shots from open or set play.”

From the sounds of it, providing his injury is indeed nothing serious, he would be a good addition to Melbourne’s midfield. Now we just need to wait for confirmation from the Victory.