The English Premier League 2007/08 kicked off good and proper last weekend and the opening fixture was nothing short of a roaring success for the league’s South American new-boys with Chelsea’s Peruvian Claudio Pizarro, Blackburn’s Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz and Manchester City’s Brazilian Geovanni all finding the net.
From the recognised, Carlos Tevez, to the unheard of, Claudio Cacapa, South American players have a chequered record in the English league, most usually encountering some difficulty in adapting to the speed and physical nature of the English game not to mention the obvious language barrier.
What makes the hat trick of goals notched up by South Americans in the opening game so unusual is that these players often need some time to become accustomed to the English way of life and their surroundings before finding their footballing feet. Many a coach’s fingers have been burnt in bringing in a young Argentine or Brazilian straight from Latin America, think Luciano Figueroa at Birmingham or Kleberson or Diego Forlan at Manchester United. Failures in the Premier League are then offloaded for a fraction of their original cost only to find their way on the Continent.
Colombia’s Juan Pablo Angel, at the beginning of his six year stint in England before moving to the New York Red Bulls, had a torrid time at Aston Villa, left to his own devices in Birmingham with personal family problems and not speaking the language, something that former Chelsea forward Hernan Crespo will attest to.
For the most part the Premiership’s old hand managers will buy in South American players who have been tried and tested after a few seasons in Europe; of course the major drawback is that once proven in France, Italy, Portugal or Spain their stock has, by this time, risen and English managers are forced into big money signing.
Another issue that is hard to swallow for any Manager is the vast distances that their players have to travel for international games. With more South American players in the Premiership and the South American World Cup Qualifying games starting this October, the Club vs. Country row is set to blaze all the more stronger.
But there is something special about this 2007/08 season, there appear to be more South Americans than usual in the top flight and perhaps the feeling that with a greater understanding and support network about them they can really make a lasting impact. What has become clear is that a South American recruit will feel much more at home if brought in with a compatriot.
In total although set to grow if Seville’s Brazilian Daniel Alves moves to Chelsea, South Americans in the English top flight at present number a record 22 and hail from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.
The Players so far
Argentina
Javier Mascherano – Liverpool
Carlos Tevez – Manchester United
Gabriel Paletta – Liverpool Sold to Boca Juniors 26/8/07
Gabriel Heinze – Manchester United
Julio Arca – Middlesbrough
Sebastien Leto - Liverpool
Brazil
Anderson – Manchester United
Gilberto Silva – Arsenal
Fabio Rochemback – Middlesbrough
Eduardo Da Silva – Arsenal
Denilson – Arsenal
Anderson de Silva – Everton
Fabiano Aurelio – Liverpool
Elano Blumer – Manchester City
Geovanni – Manchester City
Claudio Cacapa – Newcastle United
Lucas Leiva - Liverpool
Alex - Chelsea
Juliano Belletti - Chelsea
Ecuador
Ulises de La Cruz – Reading
Peru
Claudio Pizarro – Chelsea
Norberto Solano – Newcastle
Paraguay
Roque Santa Cruz – Blackburn
Richard McColl - I am a freelance writer from deepest darkest London but for the past 10 years or so I have been maintaining my extended "writing break" in ...
