Skácel ready for Athens test
Friday, July 23, 2004
Article summary
Panathinaikos FC have signed midfielder Rudolf Skácel on loan from Olympique de Marseille.
Article body
Reported fee
The Greek champions have paid a reported €600,000 for Skácel, with the two clubs agreeing that the former SK Slavia Praha player will be able to join Panathinaikos outright at the end of the season for a €1.5m fee should the loan prove successful.
French provenance
The 25-year-old played 29 league games for Marseille last term, scoring one goal, and his arrival in Athens is the latest stage in Panathinaikos's team-building ahead of the forthcoming UEFA Champions League campaign.
Multi-national team
Having released Greek international goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis and sold right-back Giourkas Seitaridis to FC Porto, coach Itzhak Shum has brought in 27-year-old Croatian keeper Mario Galinovic from NK Kamen Ingrad and 28-year-old French defender Alain Raguel from Panionios NFC.
Foreign signings
Other additions are 29-year-old Romanian midfielder Dumitru Mitu from NK Dinamo Zagreb, 24-year-old Croatian defensive midfielder Srdan Andric from HNK Hajduk Split, and 27-year-old Polish striker Maciej Bykowski from OFI Crete FC.
