Muthyala & Künzler Bye
Grilled Birds bid farewell to two of their longest-serving players today, as
Neeraj Muthyala and
Cyril Künzler left for new challenges. The 35 year-old Muthyala would be the subject of a short tug-of-war between local club Tampines Phoenix F.C. and Romanian fifth division side FC Tei, with the latter eventually prevailing with a S$852000 offer; he departs sixteen-and-a-half seasons after returning from Poland's KS.Bratos, having spent a couple of years there after coming up through Grilled's youth academy.
Moey Xin Seng paid tribute to Muthyala's 245 appearances with Grilled. "He's been my midfield partner more times than I can count, and he's been someone I could depend on whenever that happened. With how he's maintained himself, I think he can still have a big impact for the right club, for a long time."
Muthyala may well qualify at a FC Tei that is currently repositioning themselves under Alexandru Voicu, who has turned over nearly his entire squad towards the end of the latest season. "After collecting the whole set of domestic trophies but the Ruby Challenger Cup, I leave fulfilled." Muthyala noted. "Go Birds!"
Polish winger
Cyril Künzler, on the other hand, would have the Ruby Challenger Cup from Uzbekistan in his collection before even arriving in Singapore, and the 36 year-old Polish Number Eight would go to Italian VI.538 side Tapae706, as he winds down his long career. Konrad Cebula's S$600000 bid was uncontested, which
Eren Serpin however insisted did not reflect the winger's utility.
"Künzler's made Grilled's right wing his own for some twelve seasons." the head coach commented. "Think on what that means, at a club that traditionally loves converted central midfielders to tuck in from out wide. It means he's a gem of a classic winger, and among the best such we have ever had - ninth on our all-time scoring chart, and the only non-striker there!"
As with Muthyala, Künzler thought that he would be able to make a difference, for a time yet. "Honestly, I was disappointed to make only four starts last season, which was part of why I wanted a switch - I don't feel a day over thirty!"
