Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Wizards new signing seen at practice?

So it appears that the Wizards have a new player out at training. According to posts on bigsoccer, the player is practicing with the Wizards. Who is this mystery player that the Wizards have out there? According to pictures and first hand accounts from an anonymous viewer, who I'll call Belly Ball, the player is Carlos Marinelli. Carlos is apparently a product of the Boca Juniors system. He transfered from Boca Juniors to EPL side Middlesbrough FC in 1999 for 1.5 million pounds when he was only 17 years old. According to this site, from 1999 through the 2002-2003 season, he played 42 matches for 'Boro scoring twice, before being sent out on loan to Torino. He returned to 'Boro for the 2003-2004 season appearing in one game and scoring in that game. He transfered back to Boca in Jan. of 2004. Here is a link to a picture of him at practice today taken by Belly Ball.

Here's a 'Boro fan's look at how he did with the team. He was apparently heralded as the next Maradona when he arrived at 'Boro. While he may not have panned out at 'Boro, that coulda been seen as having more to do with his lack of adjustment to the English game then anything else. There are plenty of high quality players who have struggled to adjust to the style of play in the EPL.

According to his wiki entry, he was last playing in Portugal for SC Braga and seems to have done pretty well. Although he does not appear to currently be on Braga's roster.

He's still young, at only 25, this could very well turn out to be a great signing for the Wizards. Depending how he gels with the rest of the team and how he acclimates to the league. This could turn into a fantastic move for the Wizards. If this truely is who is out at practice for the Wizards, this could very well be the long rumored Argentinian signing.

As of this moment I'm planning on heading out to practice tomorrow to see for myself.

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