Fiorentina face Pazienza blow
Monday, March 6, 2006
Article summary
News round-up: ACF Fiorentina lost midfielder Michele Pazienza for the season on the day that Garry O'Connor completed a move from Edinburgh to Moscow.
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ACF Fiorentina
Scotland striker Garry O'Connor has completed his €2.3m transfer from Hibernian FC to FC Lokomotiv Moskva. The 22-year-old, who scored eleven goals in 26 Scottish Premier League appearances this season, will join his new team-mates at a pre-season training camp in Spain tomorrow. He becomes the first modern-day British footballer to play for a Russian club.
Chelsea FC midfielder Aleksei Smertin, who is currently on loan at Charlton Athletic FC, is set to return home to join FC Dinamo Moskva. Smertin, 30, wrote on his official website: "Last week, me and my agent had talks with Dinamo which reached a successful conclusion. A pre-contract agreement has been reached between Chelsea, Charlton and Dinamo about my move to Russia. I will go to Moscow in the next few days to sign a contract with Dinamo."
UEFA Cup hopefuls PFC Levski Sofia have signed Bulgarian international forward Georgi Ivanov for a third time after he was released by Turkish side Gaziantepspor. The 29-year-old has agreed an 18-month contract at Levski, where he has made 136 previous appearances, scoring 79 goals. He will be ineligible to face Udinese Calcio in the UEFA Cup Round of 16.
Eintracht Frankfurt captain Jermaine Jones suffered ligament damage in his left foot during Sunday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw against VfL Wolfsburg. The 24-year-old midfielder, who has made 20 league appearances this term, will be sidelined for several weeks.
RSC Anderlecht expect to be without Hungary defender Roland Juhász for the remainder of the season after he broke his foot in Sunday's 3-0 victory against K. Lierse SK. "I do not want to make predictions, but Roland will most likely not play again this season," said the Belgian league leaders' coach Frank Vercauteren. Juhász has played eleven league matches for Anderlecht since arriving from MTK Hungária FC.
The season restart in Slovenia was a washout as snow forced the cancellation of all but one game. NK Ptuj won 2-1 against NK Rudar Velenje on Saturday but almost 50cm of snow ruined Sunday's schedule.
