Shakhtar sign Legia keeper
Saturday, February 23, 2002
Article summary
Legia Warszawa goalkeeper Wojciech Kowalewski has decided to join FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
Article body
Legia Warszawa goalkeeper Wojciech Kowalewski has decided to join FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
€800,000 deal
After talks between the two clubs, Shakhtar have agreed to pay €800,000 for Kowalewski after the goalkeeper impressed coach Nevio Scala when the two teams met in a friendly game in Spanish town Chicana la Frontera which the Polish side won 2-0.
World Cup ambitions
Scala almost signed Polish international goalkeeper Adam Matysek, but his 2002 FIFA World Cup ambitions would have seen him miss vital Ukrainian league games. Kowalewski also played in a 5-0 friendly defeat to Málaga CF but was substituted after conceding just one goal.
International debut
Kowalewski made his international debut for Poland last week against the Faroe Islands and join compatriot Mariusz Lewandowski, at Shakhtar. The two players both played for Groclin-Dyskobolia Grodzisk last season.
Transfer deadline
Legia now need to sign a new goalkeeper before the Ekstraklasa transfer deadline on Thursday. For now their first-choice goalkeeper is Bulgarian Radostin Stanew, signed during the winter break.
