DPMM to sign new striker?
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
ARRIVING on the shores of Brunei for the first time on Thursday, 26-year-old Igor Joksimovic just might be the solution to DPMM FC's current striker crisis.
Comfortable playing either as an attacking midfielder or a striker, the Bosnia Herzegovina player who is on trial with Brunei's premier club trained with his potential future teammates for the first time yesterday.
Ever since Paraguayan striker Atilio Cacares injured his knee on his debut against Negri Sembilan nearly a month ago, DPMM have been faced with a lack of firepower in front of goal.
Cacares has yet to recover completely and didn't train yesterday, Fadlin Galawat is nowhere near his full potential because of a knee injury, for which he will undergo a surgery at the end of the season, and Under-21 forward Mohd Azwan Mohd Salleh simply isn't up to Malaysian Super League standards yet.
MSL top scorer Shahrazen Md Said is the only real solution to head coach Buketa Ranko's problem in the strikers department, but if Joksimovic impresses the Croat Shahrazen might just have a new striking partner before the month is over.
Though he took part in a light training session with injured defender Awangku Shahruddin Pengiran Mat Tajuddin and midfielder Yusof Salleh on Friday, a day before DPMM's 3-0 loss to Perak, Joksimovic was not watched by Ranko as he was with the team in Ipoh.
And though Ranko was present when the ex-Zemun Belgrade striker scored two goals and created another for DPMM in their 4-0 win over Majra FC in a friendly on Sunday, the 49-year-old head coach felt that it wasn't enough to rate Joksimovic's performance.
"I couldn't really judge him because he was playing in a team made up of reserve DPMM players and a few other locals I have been keeping an eye on," said Ranko.
"I need to see him play with the first team, and more importantly, against better teams," added the Croat.
But from the looks of Joksimovic's performance during yesterday's training session at the Jerudong Mini Stadium, his vision, pace and control of the ball might win Ranko over.
If Joksimovic signs for the club, it could mean the end of the road for Cacares, who has been injured for nearly his whole DPMM career.
But the Paraguayan striker is not worried and last month stated that it was only normal for clubs to sign other players if they were unsure whether injured players could recover or not.
"I fully understand that the team must make full use of their import quota and I am perfectly alright with this because it is important that DPMM play good football," said Cacares.The Brunei Times
Comfortable playing either as an attacking midfielder or a striker, the Bosnia Herzegovina player who is on trial with Brunei's premier club trained with his potential future teammates for the first time yesterday.
Ever since Paraguayan striker Atilio Cacares injured his knee on his debut against Negri Sembilan nearly a month ago, DPMM have been faced with a lack of firepower in front of goal.
Cacares has yet to recover completely and didn't train yesterday, Fadlin Galawat is nowhere near his full potential because of a knee injury, for which he will undergo a surgery at the end of the season, and Under-21 forward Mohd Azwan Mohd Salleh simply isn't up to Malaysian Super League standards yet.
MSL top scorer Shahrazen Md Said is the only real solution to head coach Buketa Ranko's problem in the strikers department, but if Joksimovic impresses the Croat Shahrazen might just have a new striking partner before the month is over.
Though he took part in a light training session with injured defender Awangku Shahruddin Pengiran Mat Tajuddin and midfielder Yusof Salleh on Friday, a day before DPMM's 3-0 loss to Perak, Joksimovic was not watched by Ranko as he was with the team in Ipoh.
And though Ranko was present when the ex-Zemun Belgrade striker scored two goals and created another for DPMM in their 4-0 win over Majra FC in a friendly on Sunday, the 49-year-old head coach felt that it wasn't enough to rate Joksimovic's performance.
"I couldn't really judge him because he was playing in a team made up of reserve DPMM players and a few other locals I have been keeping an eye on," said Ranko.
"I need to see him play with the first team, and more importantly, against better teams," added the Croat.
But from the looks of Joksimovic's performance during yesterday's training session at the Jerudong Mini Stadium, his vision, pace and control of the ball might win Ranko over.
If Joksimovic signs for the club, it could mean the end of the road for Cacares, who has been injured for nearly his whole DPMM career.
But the Paraguayan striker is not worried and last month stated that it was only normal for clubs to sign other players if they were unsure whether injured players could recover or not.
"I fully understand that the team must make full use of their import quota and I am perfectly alright with this because it is important that DPMM play good football," said Cacares.The Brunei Times
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