Gleb Is Back
Gleb Dorogan became only the second known player to return to Grilled after having represented the club competitively at senior level, the first being
Cheung Huel-sheng, when
Niculae Stanca brought him back into the fold for just S$52000 from Spanish Division Six going Division Five side tabaniscas54. He will adopt 26 as his jersey number, with his original No. 6 taken by
lu Zunwen.
It had been a fruitful stay for the former Moldovan youth international, who joined when tabaniscas54 were still lingering in Division Eight. He didn't take long to become a favourite at the olimpico meixonfrio after his S$2.3 million transfer there, scoring even in his final week with them in a 6-2 friendly win over Audazes FC.
It came as little surprise that other clubs were also after Dorogan, including SAN MARZANO (Italian Division Five), F.C. Creative (Italian Division Ten), FCI islame (Palestinean Division Three) and Wings of God fc (Spanish Division Eight), but there was no doubt in the midfielder's mind where he was heading. "Was it even a question?" the former Grilled captain asked cheekily.
Dorogan, who had 80 appearances for the Birds in his first, five-and-a-half season long stint, stated that he was even more confident about his second one. "I accept that I will be used in a rotation, but this means that I should be able to stretch my career out for a few more seasons - I would love to appear in the S-League before hanging up my boots."
Niculae Stanca took the opportunity to confirm that
Alex Fonseca's contract had been extended for a further season, despite the Portuguese midfielder turning 37 in that period. "He has proven himself priceless as a dependable backup." the head coach said of Fonseca, who filled in as a substitute 12 times in the just-concluded season. "If Gleb does the same for us, that would be excellent."
Stanca however ended by foreshadowing the departures of 39 year-old
Edvaldo Mourão and 37 year-old
Rosendo Chinchay, who officially joined
Walter Ross and young wing wannabe
Sandy Fu on the transfer list yesterday.
