Hidde Hijacked
31 year-old Dutch wingman
Hidde van Liere was all set for a sentimental move back to his first club, Gaan met die Sjaan, where he came up through the youth ranks, but could not resist a new challenge in the end when Italian Division Five side Will Fly stepped in with a S$4.6 million bid. Hidde will likely don the yellow Number Seven jersey of his new team when they open their new season against F.C.Banditella in the Cup.
Grilled have been closely connected with several top-class wingers with a void to fill on the right, most prominently Dimosthenis Sotiriou of the Cyprus national side. His wage demands of over S$1.6 million a month made Grilled's board nervy, though, and the move was reluctantly shelved.
Up-and-coming Romanian duo Grigore Popovici and Cristian Dutã eventually wandered out of Grilled's price range, and Chilean Rafael Maria Matte was snapped up when Grilled looked the other way. Other stars such as John Quigley and Einar Hansen were briefly considered, and a cheeky S$3 million bid put in for speedy Colombian legend Leider Lagos, but as expected it wasn't nearly enough. The search for Hidde's successor continues.
The club also bid farewell to
Frank Öhmo,
Gao Seng-kar,
Kau Siu-Cheung,
Nor Suhaimi bin Che Lah and
Tomás Semprún Balenciaga this week, as these oldies from a different era look to start their lives outside football. Mostly outside football, anyway.
Hang Bao-Tam was however persuaded to sign a new one-season contract, as cover for Valdir.
