Spontaneous flurry of transfers

By: Peter Katsiris | August 4th, 2008

*** Notice name change? It is still me, Takis, I just changed my display name to my actual name — Peter Katsiris — for future career purchases. Thanks for understanding. ***

After a somewhat sombre opening to the transfer window, a buzz of excitement has swooped Piraeus by storm. Fans are no longer agitated by the club’s slow approach to imports, instead the supporters are excited by the names circling the Greek Champions wish list. What excites them more is the money being spent to make these ‘wishes’ a reality. A long list that features several Brazilian starlets includes CSKA Moscow’s Dudu, Portuguesa’s Diogo, and Shakhtar Donestk’s Brandao.

With Liverpool’s Sebastian Leto arriving in Athens late Monday, the club is set to have further arrivals in the coming days. The next summer transfer is said to be Brazilian Dudu Cearense. His club, CSKA Moscow, have reportedly agreed to terms with an Olympiacos offer of approximately € 6 million. The technical director for CSKA, Roman Babaev, was interviewed by a Russian radio station on Monday and Babaev confirmed the Dudu departure. “We have come to terms with Olympiakos. The player will depart tomorrow (8/5/08) for Greece to put pen to paper.” Dudu is expected to arrive in Athens on Tuesday night (17:00 GR). Olympiacos had been chasing Dudu for several months but failed to transfer him to Limani in previous transfer windows.

Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brandao is the next target for the club as the Brazilian himself is keen to a move to Piraeus. The optimism for a move to Greece is fueled by Brandao’s frustration with the Ukrainian club and living in the former Soviet country in general. I am tired of playing in the Ukraine these past six years and I am now ready to continue playing soccer at a higher level,’ Brandao told Brazilian media. “My agent is in Athens holding discussions for a possible transfer to Olympiakos. I know that we have come to an agreement with the Greek club who are offering 5 million euros for my transfer. I am awaiting for my agent to bring back the official offer on Monday (8/4/08) and then for me to move to Greece. Shakhtar is asking for € 10 million but I think that they will work something out. I believe that everything will be set on Tuesday for me to travel to Greece. I cannot wait for that to happen.” It appears the Brazilian has the same mindset as fellow Donetsk teammate and former Olympiacos player Nery Alberto Castillo. The Mexican expressed interest in a move back to Greece after not fitting in with Shakhtar.

The Diogo Santo saga continues with Portuguesa not giving the Greek Champions an answer whether or not the sale of the 21-year old will go through. Recent developments have seen German club Werder Bremen join the race for Diogo. The player recently asked Portuguesa officials to remove him from the roster ahead of an upcoming match with Sporting Recife; all this after an unsettled week at Portuguesa. Brazilian media also reported that Diogo stormed out of the team’s hotel after a heated altercatiion with Portuguesa staff. The ongoing madness between Portuguesa and Diogo, has given Olympiacos optimism that the promising striker will make the move to Piraeus.