Now that most of the domestic leagues across the world have wrapped up for the season, many J.League teams are taking advantage of expiring contracts to snap up foreign players who might provide a needed advantage.
FC Tokyo, which has gone nearly half a season without filling the 3rd “foreign player” spot in its roster, has invited several players to participate in team practices and may be close to signing one.
-Brazillian Rafael Bastos, believed to be playing for Vitoria in Brazil, has spent the last couople weeks with the team and participated in practice matches, but as of last Friday team officials had said they were “postponing judgement” as they did not feel that Rafael had been able to properly display his abilities.
-Argentinian Carlos Escudero, 19, has just finished a 2-year contract with Argentinian side Club Athletico Huracan and came to Japan after talking with cousin Sergio Escudero, a forward with Urawa. According to Carlos, “I’ve heard that while Japanese players have speed and ability, the number of players who can dribble effectively and move the ball up the field are relatively small. I’d like to see that sort of play.
-Brazillian David dos Santos, of the Brazillian club Juventus (which as far as I can tell is something like 5th or 6th division if that), will also be participating in team practices.
Escudero and dos Santos are supposed to have participated in a practice match this morning; however it’s raining quite heavily in Kanto at the moment so unless they’ve got an indoor stadium I’m not sure what’s going to happen. If Escudero wants to demonstrate his ball control, a wet pitch may be the best place to do it.
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