Koza Trade
Grilled International head coach
Sazwan bin Hj Muhd Salleh announced that the club's exodus was more or less complete, after the S$5 million sale of 29 year-old Turkish star
Umut Koza, to Greek II.3 side WebTrade. Koza had been International's top scorer for the season with eleven goals in seventeen games, and was moreover the club's Player of the Season six seasons ago.
Sazwan admitted that it was hard to retain Koza, after divesting so many of his top teammates. "It won't be a quick rebuild, and we can't fault Umut for wanting to make the most of his prime years. WebTrade will provide him a decent platform for that, having won two straight titles to jump to Division Two; with some more good buys, the A´ Ethniki is not out of the question for them."
Koza got slightly emotional at his final press conference at International, as he bade farewell to the fair-sized mob of fans that had turned up. "So fast?" he managed. "Time is a mystery."
Another International player would leave for a new club today, as 18 year-old midfield trainee Tajuddin Ridwan Danial joined up with Hungarian VI.139 side Kaktusz fc 2.0 on a free transfer. Recommended to Busy Bees scout Adinath Pant by an acquaintance, Tajuddin's all-roundedness and penchant for the pass less taken had not been regarded too highly when he graduated almost a year ago, but his ship finally came in.
"This shows that self-promotion works." Pant remarked. "Taj was putting out two or three Instagram and TikTok videos a week, which got him a few trial invitations. One thing led to another, and he's now a professional!"
