What A Chad
Rob Rangers academy graduate
Chad Thach would become Grilled Birds' valentine this year, as
Hilal Bakhtiar pulled out the stops to secure his signature. In the end, it took S$600,000 to prise the 17 year-old away from Costa Rican Division Three side Vizca Barca, whose gaffer Daniel Giuclea seemed every bit as determined to take him to new lands.
An inventive playmaker, Thach has been observed to prefer the assist to the shot, but has managed to come up with some absolute gems, like his bicycle kick against Mistur FC Youth in his last month with the Rangers. "We really liked what we saw." assistant coach Abdul bin Jantan noted, as he posed with the beaming newbie, holding one end of his Number 22 shirt. "Chad's a free spirit, that plays with a - barely - controlled poise. It's not easy to describe, but he has the potential to do great things."
Bakhtiar and bin Jantan were hardly the only ones to see that, with u.s. Cartesio Palermo (Italian Division Six), Laminorul Roman (Danish Division Five) and C. F. Bairro do Liceu (Portuguese Division Five) reportedly having files on him for some time. Belgian VI.174 club Nessie fc were perhaps who he had been linked most closely with, however, but that was before the Birds descended together with Vizca Barca, and perhaps a stray bid from Italian V.136 outfit calcion@poli.
Hilal Bakhtiar would note that the sum paid was coincidentally exactly what the Birds won in prize money from lifting the Emerald Challenger Cup, against RFC themselves. "Fair is fair. I'd like to assure Robbie that there is no favouritism in this club. Chad will get a fair shot against our boys, but I hope they raise each other to loftier heights together in time to come."
