A replacement for such a personality as Ahmed Abed-Sulaiman was always going to be difficult to find, but Grilled may just have found him in the person of 23 year-old Brazillian ex-U20 international Valdir Dias Paes. There can be no doubts about his experience as he has plied his trade in four countries after leaving his first club Portugal Pequeno. After paying his dues in the middle divisions of established Hattrick nations, Valdir stated that he was finally ready to try and win something big, and that sparked an uncontested $8.6 million move to the Birds.

Though his quality was never in doubt, his $285000 a week paycheck will surely cause Grilled's finance department to break out in a sweat, as Grilled's reserves are once again mostly depleted. Coach Marcus Liehner refused to count out the possibility that Grilled may have to sell some of their squad players to balance their books, but insisted that the purchase was a calculated one given that the average salary of Grilled's ageing side will only go down.

Valdir pronounced Grilled's opening day victory as a good sign, and seemed unpertubed when a reporter suggested that Grilled were actually looking for thirty-something goalies such as American Neil Williams or the famed Spanish penalty stopper Miguel Eslava. "I have no doubt that I am better than them," Valdir smiled. "other than being younger and better looking, of course."

Inside sources suggest that Valdir's attitude has already rubbed several of his seniors the wrong way, but given how it was the same with the his legendary Egyptian predecessor (whom Valdir has already managed to pronounce a has-been), Grilled supporters should not be too concerned.

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