Victory Courts Mysterious Brazilian

The Age

Saturday March 11, 2006

MICHAEL LYNCH

MELBOURNE Victory will take a big step towards boosting its firepower for the next A-League season when it makes a contract offer to a mystery Brazilian striker at the weekend.

Coach Ernie Merrick arrived back in Melbourne on Thursday after a nine-day scouting mission to Rio de Janeiro, where he ran the rule over several potential Brazilian signings who were playing matches in the Rio championship, a state-based tournament that precedes the kick-off of the national league.

Merrick would not reveal the identity of the player - he is loath to court publicity in case there is a hitch - but said he was optimistic that agreement would be reached. "An offer will go out over the weekend and negotiations will go on from there. We are hopeful that it will go through," Merrick said yesterday.

Victory is also negotiating new agreements with two younger players who impressed in their debut season in the A-League - defender Daniel Piorkowski and midfielder Steve Pantelidis. Both were offered one-year contracts at the start of last season, but are set to be rewarded with new deals.

Chairman Geoff Lord said new investors had sunk $500,000 into the club since the end of the season and the appointment of a chief executive was imminent.

© 2006 The Age

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