Leandro delight at Porto move
Thursday, November 18, 2004
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FC Porto have completed the €2m signing of Brazilian left-back Leandro, according to the Cruzeiro EC player.
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'Extraordinary thing'
"It was always my wish to play in Europe, and to sign for the European champions is an extraordinary thing," Leandro said. The Cruzeiro president Alvimar de Oliveira Costa confirmed the move. "We have finally closed the deal," he said. "We've received guarantee of payment, and are already working to find a player to replace him."
Successful career
Leandro, 25, has played 145 matches in two years with Cruzeiro, scoring seven goals, including one in his last appearance against AD São Caetano last week. He was born in Rio de Janeiro and started his career with local side América FC in 1995 before moving to EC Vitória then Cruzeiro in 2002.
Problem solved
Leandro, who is expected to join the European champions in January, will solve Porto's problem left-back slot. The speedy defender will fill in for Portuguese international Nuno Valente who has been unable to play so far this season because of injury.
European trouble
It is still uncertain whether Leandro will experience UEFA Champions League football this term. Porto are bottom of Group H and will be eliminated from the competition should they lose away to PFC CSKA Moskva next Wednesday.
