If Adriano's In, Then Is Everton Out?
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| (www.xportsnews.com) |
On Wednesday, it was reported on Twitter (H/T Viva K-League @kleagueno1) that Adriano has signed with Seoul. I am not sure if he was released by Daejeon's new manager or if Seoul bought him. However, Adriano confirmed that he signed with Seoul on his Instagram account. So, which foreigner is out then?
It definitely isn't Osmar, which leaves Molina and Everton. Molina is getting up there in years and at 35, is especially old for a soccer player. However, he is probably still their most creative player right now and if they were to release him, the offense would probably become even more stagnant than it already is.
I suspect it is Everton, who since signing with Seoul, has not exactly lit it up. Also, via Twitter (H/T Viva K-League @kleagueno1), it looks as though Everton will be the one who leaves to make room for Adriano. He was not on the bench for Wednesday's FA Cup game, a massively important contest for Seoul's hopes to participating in the continental competition known as the AFC Asian Champion's League.
If that is the case, it is too bad that it did not work out for Everton and Seoul. In 2012, he was great with Seongnam, knocking in 12 goals. Since then, he has failed to match those numbers in Brazil or Korea.
He had a great debut against Jeju, sliding into score, but has not contributed much afterwards. This year, he has been a bit better, scoring four goals, but has still not been the difference on offense that they expected. Of course, it is unfair to pin it solely on him. It is a team game and there is plenty of blame to go around to all of the team's forwards.
Seoul continue to struggle to score goals, and in some ways, they are much worse this year than last. Everton was signed to rectify this problem, but did not and I guess that is why Choi and the board decided to sign Adriano. With the 3+1 rule, someone has to step aside.
It is too bad that he can't play against Jeju every week, because if he could, he would be the Golden Boot winner. Of the seven goals he scored for Seoul in the league, three of them came against Jeju. No matter what, I always remember April's goal that gave Seoul their first win this year.
Likewise, he may not have been a prolific scorer, but I feel as though he was a hard worker. Much like Escudero, he was under-appreciated somewhat. He always ran hard and I never thought he was dogging it, unlike some Seoul players (I am looking at you Yun Il-lok).
Now, in comes Adriano. He has been Daejeon's best player this season by far, so it is a bit of a surprise that he was let go. I have seen on the rokfootball message board that he fell out with the new coach over his attitude, but it seems as though Daejeon is cutting off their nose to spite their face. However, it is evident that they will be relegated, so the board probably feels it is best to go in another direction.
Adriano destroyed the K-League Challenge last year, scoring 27 goals. He has not reached those lofty heights this year, but I do not think he has been that bad either. He has seven goals in 17 matches, which is slightly better than Park Chu-young's five goals in 16 games and was responsible for almost half of the teams goals.
I remember watching him come on as a sub in June's game against Seoul and being positively frightened of his pace. My friend does not rate him and thinks he is a second division wonder, but I am going to disagree. I am genuinely excited to see what he can do. I am going to quote this website's Daejeon blogger, Paul Neat:
Seoul has lacked pace and movement in their attack. Hopefully, Adriano can add a bit of both and I would like to see him link up with Takahagi. Right now, I am quite excited about the possibilities, especially if Choi decides to deploy a front three of Adriano, Park Chu-young, and Yun Ju-tae/Yun Il-lok. Speed, movement, and the vision of Takahagi and/or Molina to find these players makes me salivate at the possibility that Seoul might score more than one goal a game and not rely so much on set pieces. Good bye Tony Pulis, hello Pep Guardiola? One can only hope.
Most importantly, Adriano's record of scoring against top sides is quite good. He scored against Jeonbuk in a loss and he has three goals against Suwon in the two games they have played this season. That is definitely a good thing. Other than Park Chu-young, who scores goals for Seoul this year?
I do not see Adriano as being the second coming of Rafael Costa. I just think Daejeon is a terrible team and that he will shine from being surrounded by better players. However, the caveat is that it depends on whether or not Choi utilizes him.
If Choi continues to play it safe and not attack, maybe Adriano will become frustrated or bored and begin to tune out his coach. Choi really needs to loosen up the reigns and let the players go for it. It is been awhile since I have said this, but it has been a long time since I have felt genuine excitement about Seoul's prospects. Adriano might be a bust, but at least Choi is trying to break out of the mire.
It definitely isn't Osmar, which leaves Molina and Everton. Molina is getting up there in years and at 35, is especially old for a soccer player. However, he is probably still their most creative player right now and if they were to release him, the offense would probably become even more stagnant than it already is.
I suspect it is Everton, who since signing with Seoul, has not exactly lit it up. Also, via Twitter (H/T Viva K-League @kleagueno1), it looks as though Everton will be the one who leaves to make room for Adriano. He was not on the bench for Wednesday's FA Cup game, a massively important contest for Seoul's hopes to participating in the continental competition known as the AFC Asian Champion's League.
If that is the case, it is too bad that it did not work out for Everton and Seoul. In 2012, he was great with Seongnam, knocking in 12 goals. Since then, he has failed to match those numbers in Brazil or Korea.
He had a great debut against Jeju, sliding into score, but has not contributed much afterwards. This year, he has been a bit better, scoring four goals, but has still not been the difference on offense that they expected. Of course, it is unfair to pin it solely on him. It is a team game and there is plenty of blame to go around to all of the team's forwards.
Seoul continue to struggle to score goals, and in some ways, they are much worse this year than last. Everton was signed to rectify this problem, but did not and I guess that is why Choi and the board decided to sign Adriano. With the 3+1 rule, someone has to step aside.
It is too bad that he can't play against Jeju every week, because if he could, he would be the Golden Boot winner. Of the seven goals he scored for Seoul in the league, three of them came against Jeju. No matter what, I always remember April's goal that gave Seoul their first win this year.
Likewise, he may not have been a prolific scorer, but I feel as though he was a hard worker. Much like Escudero, he was under-appreciated somewhat. He always ran hard and I never thought he was dogging it, unlike some Seoul players (I am looking at you Yun Il-lok).
Now, in comes Adriano. He has been Daejeon's best player this season by far, so it is a bit of a surprise that he was let go. I have seen on the rokfootball message board that he fell out with the new coach over his attitude, but it seems as though Daejeon is cutting off their nose to spite their face. However, it is evident that they will be relegated, so the board probably feels it is best to go in another direction.
Adriano destroyed the K-League Challenge last year, scoring 27 goals. He has not reached those lofty heights this year, but I do not think he has been that bad either. He has seven goals in 17 matches, which is slightly better than Park Chu-young's five goals in 16 games and was responsible for almost half of the teams goals.
I remember watching him come on as a sub in June's game against Seoul and being positively frightened of his pace. My friend does not rate him and thinks he is a second division wonder, but I am going to disagree. I am genuinely excited to see what he can do. I am going to quote this website's Daejeon blogger, Paul Neat:
Was Adriano released? If so, that was a bit foolish. Surely, Daejeon could have gotten some money for him. Adriano leaving is a blow or at least the Adriano from the beginning of the season. He has looked disinterested this campaign. He only re-signed because of Coach Cho. But then when he left, Adriano allegedly took it quite badly and wanted out. The new manager questioned his attitude.
I say good luck to him. If it wasn't for him, Daejeon would still be in the 2nd division. No one should be denied testing themselves at higher level with Champion's League football, etc. He has already been replaced. Whether or not those players are good enough is another matter. Time will tell.
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| (m.futebolinterior.com.br) |
Most importantly, Adriano's record of scoring against top sides is quite good. He scored against Jeonbuk in a loss and he has three goals against Suwon in the two games they have played this season. That is definitely a good thing. Other than Park Chu-young, who scores goals for Seoul this year?
I do not see Adriano as being the second coming of Rafael Costa. I just think Daejeon is a terrible team and that he will shine from being surrounded by better players. However, the caveat is that it depends on whether or not Choi utilizes him.
If Choi continues to play it safe and not attack, maybe Adriano will become frustrated or bored and begin to tune out his coach. Choi really needs to loosen up the reigns and let the players go for it. It is been awhile since I have said this, but it has been a long time since I have felt genuine excitement about Seoul's prospects. Adriano might be a bust, but at least Choi is trying to break out of the mire.
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