Ailton adds to Hamburg hopes
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Article summary
Hamburger SV will hope their addition of Brazilian Ailton to a stellar multinational forward line can propel them towards a first German title since 1983.
Article body
Short-term deal
The 32-year-old will move to the title chasers on loan until the end of the season after the payment of an alleged €450,000 fee to his Turkish club, Beşiktaş JK. The side from the north of Germany will then have the option of signing the former Werder Bremen and FC Schalke 04 man on a permanent basis. "He will arrive in Hamburg tonight and start training with his new team-mates tomorrow," Hamburg spokesman Joern Wolf told uefa.com yesterday as he looked forward to unveiling a player whose 28 goals helped Bremen to title glory in 2003/04.
Schalke criticism
Ailton scored 14 times the following season for Schalke, but following criticism of his easy-going lifestyle, he elected to go to Beşiktaş last summer. However, unable to forge a good working relationship with the Superleague team's French coach Jean Tigana, he was soon pining for Germany. In 13 games this autumn, Ailton registered just five goals for Beşiktaş and received a red card to boot. He further annoyed Tigana when he scored a hat-trick in a recent friendly against Bremen, with the coach claiming he was playing for a ticket back to Germany.
'Really thirsty'
Whatever Ailton's true intention, German clubs maintained an interest in him and Hamburg sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer was delighted to secure his services. "He is desperate to prove his worth again in the Bundesliga," he said. "I don't think he is too old." Ailton will join Sergej Barbarez and Rafael van der Vaart in a stellar forward line at Hamburg, who are certain they can keep the occasionally wayward attacker in line. "We will definitely handle him and I am sure we will make him adjust to the team," said director Katja Kraus.
Magath wary
However, not everyone in Germany is optimistic about the move. FC Bayern München coach Felix Magath, Ailton's boss at Bremen, was less than convinced, saying: "If they were really certain of his qualities, they would have signed him earlier." Should Ailton manage to silence such dissenting voices, it will be great news for Hamburg as they attempt to overhaul Bayern and win the league for the first time since 1983.
