Tuesday 28 August 2007

Dos Santos to be Unleashed?

Whilst the British press have focused on his unlikely looking transfer to Chelsea, the real Ronaldinho news story this week appears to have been glossed over completely in this country.

Yesterday, Ronaldinho was granted dual-citizenship by the Spanish authorities, which essentially means that he is no longer classed as a non-EU player. Each team in Spain are only allowed to register three non-EU players to take part in a matchday squad. The fact that Barcelona had already reached this limit was holding back the introduction of their latest teen prodigy into the squad.

With Ronaldinho now a dual-citizen, the path has been cleared for Barcelona to register teenage Mexican forward Giovani Dos Santos, whether or not his own dual-citizenship application is successful.

Anyone who watched the recent Under 20 World Cup will know what a prodigious talent Dos Santos possesses. A small but deceptively strong player, his inch perfect ball control, great awareness of those around him and ability to strike the ball with both power and accuracy with his left foot, certainly make Dos Santos a menace for any opposition defence to deal with. In a way, words fail to do him justice, so this video may help paint a clearer picture of his talents.



Although Barcelona already have exceptional options in attack, the inclusion of Dos Santos into their matchday squads may just give them that little bit of a suprise factor as Lionel Messi did when he first broke into the first team picture a couple of years ago. After a disappointing 0-0 draw against Racing Santander in their opening Spanish league game, it certainly looks like they need a bit of spark, and Dos Santos might just be the man to give it to them.

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