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After a tug of war between 3 potential suitors, the Zambian attacking midfielder settled for the oil-rich league. Needless to say, the ambitions to play in Europe are still thriving in the blood of the young rising star. “My dream is to eventually break into established European leagues, so please keep in touch with those teams that put offers before I left Africa” said Saith Sakala when Joe spoke to him on the day he was unveiled as a new signing for Al Fateh FC.

The ambitious side that finished eighth in the league last season did not waste time by thrusting their new signing into fray when they fell down 4-1 at home to  Al Taawon. It happened  to be a battle for the mid-table teams that finished 7th and 8th respectively last season as Saith Sakala was introduced in the 46th minute with the home side trailing by a goal to nil.  It’s left to the 21 year old to prove himself , if he can be instrumental to change the fortunes of this team and woe back the interest of Lockeren, Locha FC  and other European sides that are closely monitoring his progress.

It’s now a come and get me game as the tussle for Saith Sakala signature draws to an end. Pirates remain favorites to land the coveted attacking midfielder cum striker. Benny McCarthy an Orlando Pirates legend is believed to have weighed in to support the roping in of this talented youngster. Wydad Casablanca has a bigger budget with the glamour of a vociferous home crowd (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr39XjX37II)  that sang the scare out of Zanaco on their decisive Champions league group stage, where Zanaco finished with ten men to crash out on goal difference.

On the other side of heme-sphere, Sporting Braga has also been spying on the talented 20 year old. “Ideally I would like to play in Europe. Portuguese league is good, but who doesn’t want to play in Spain ? ” said Saith Sakala when we quizzed him about his preferences. It didn’t take us time to find a suitor in Spain as we have direct access to a number of top Spanish sides. We (Joe Mart Sports and Events Mgt) working closely with Aimsport approached Getafe, Deportivo Coruna, Reus and Lorca . The stylish Zambian woed these clubs appetite and Lorca did not waste time to commit themselves. The next few days leaves his representatives with a toll order to convince Zanaco to shun the megabucks in top African sides in preference to a potential successful career in Europe. #TGBTG#

It doesn’t come as surprise for the in-form striker to be coveted by top sides this window. After  putting up an impressive show home and away against Cameroon champions Cotton Sport. Sakala caught the attention of many suitors by scoring the opener in the first leg where he rose high up to nod in a bullet header. Cotton Sport pulled one back before he provided an assist for Zanaco to grab the winner  mid way through the second half. The return leg away proved to be the last bait to big clubs like Al Ahly and Orlando Pirates. In what looked like a game that was heading for a draw. Saith Sakala capitalized on a counter attack in a typical goal poacher instinct fashion. He raced through the defenders to collect a cross from the left before calmly slotting it past the goalkeeper in the bottom corner well into the first minute of injury time to grab a dramatic away win. That left Zanaco topping the group of death featuring the likes of  record winners Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca with 3 wins and a draw.

“We’ve been monitoring this player for a while and we are surely interested in him” said Mr Nkosana Khosa , son of the Club Chairman/Owner Irvine Khosa. The latest  addition to Joe Mart Sports and Events Mgt is the hottest property in the continent at the moment. Another World Cup Quarter finalist Moses Nyondo who featured in every game at the just ended U20 World Cup in Korea comes in with an African champions medal. It’s a wait and see situation as an unnamed Dubai based club and a Turkish second tier team is also vying for his services. One thing for certain is that Zanaco are sweating to loose their top-man as the Champions League draw closer to it’s final and decisive semi-final knock-out stages.

 

 

Just when most European based stars are being woed with astronomical wages and remuneration in China, a modest Chinese league one team Xinjiang Tianshan made a timely move for a double swoop on John Chibuike and Gbolahan Salami. As is the natural case, when players have to sacrifice the natural progression of their careers in Europe for Asia, they would only do that at outrageous demands.  What could have been a dream partnership of the mercurial attacking midfielder and a natural finisher hit a dead end at the 11th hour, simply because Gbolahami Salami’s parent club Kups saw it worth holding on to the man who gave them a club record 14 goals in 31 appearances

On the other end John Chibuike had a successful career when he left Enugu Rangers for Europe through clubs like Bk Hacken, Rosenborg, Gaziantespor and AIK.  “Only a hefty package similar to all other stars that trekked down to CSL is sufficient to land my signature” said John as we caught up with him on his way to Israel to sign for Hapoel Tel Aviv. In an unusual  sudden turn around of events,  the 28 yr old nearly quit his base on  a day before he finally signed for the Israeli side when Joe Mhondiwa put him through on a conference call with the determined Chinese side that was erking for his services. However, Hapoel upped up their  act, knowing very well they were bound to loose and signed him the next day. Xinjiang responded by roping in Yves Ekwalla Herman and Babacar Gueye instead.#ToGodBeTheGlory#

 

Cha Tae Young honed his skills in the likes of Pohang Steelers from  2007 -2010 and Ulsan Hyundai University Youths  from 2010 -2014 . He broke into the  K1 Side Ulsan Hyundai first team in 2014. After struggling to establish himself in the top tier K1 League side,  Cha moved onto sign for Gyeongnam in 2015 where he amassed some valued experience he missed in his former club.

It is with genuine interest that the 25 year old was found very much appealing to the 3rd place finished club in the Myanmar National League. The club was founded in 2009, The club’s owner is Htun Myint Naing, Managing Director of Asia World Co., Ltd. Magwe Football Club was one of eight teams originally participating in the first Myanmar National League in 2009. The team finished second runner-up in the league’s inaugural cup competition, the Myanmar National League Cup 2009. In 2016, they won General Aung San Shield against Yangon United. #GoodluckToGodBeTheGlory#

You guessed right yes. He’s brother to Harrington Shereni who had a distinguished career  in French Ligue 1 with Guingamp and Strasbourg over a period of 10 years.  Patmore moved from Monomotapa United in Zimbabwe to Poland League 2 side Wisla Ustronianka before progressing to League 1 side Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala. Patmore recently plaid for premier side Pembroke  in Malta, where he was 2 times in the team of the week season 2015-2016   and  reached semi finals of the FA Cup. His seven years experience of playing in Europe enticed Ayeyawad FC in Maynmar to give him a lucrative chance in Top flight Myanmar National League.

On the other hand Daniel Williams had start and stop career that started brightly as a Tottenham Hotspurs youth player. He went on to have trials with teams like Westbrom, Westham and Anderlecht.  The desire to try other leagues seem not to be only starting now as he has previously  represented teams like Sydney FC of Australia , Waitakere United (New Zealand ASB League) and Rockdale City Suns (Australian NSW League) . #GOODLUCKTOGODBETHEGLORY#.

It’s a done deal.  As a prominent and accomplished professional, Eidur Gudjohnsen could have chosen to work with plenty agents that were pursuing him. We are grateful to have sustained our flirtation for a prolonged period of time dating back to 3 years ago. It’s a tale of good client relations and negotiating skills. “I just finished training and I will be available in an hours’ time” replied Eidur as Joe Mhondiwa opened the first negotiations for this window before he terminated his contract with Molde FC in Norway.

The 37-year-old striker,  was  part of the Iceland squad which performed admirably in the recently-concluded Euro Championships.  He will be the marquee player for the Hrithik Roshan co-owned franchise.

His career span from big clubs such as Chelsea and Barcelona.  Gudjohnsen has also played for Europe’s top clubs such as PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspur, Bolton Wanderers, Monaco and Club Brugge. He won the Champions League and La Liga titles with Barcelona and has scored over 150 goals in all competitions with his clubs and the national team.

He is also the most capped Icelandic footballer. Having played for  more than 15 clubs in his career, Gudjohnsen will bring a wealth of experience to the Pune side. The team has already roped in one-time ISL winning coach Antonio Habas from Atletico de Kolkata. They are expected to undergo a month long preseason tour in Spain where they will play friendly matches with  top Spanish sides . #ToGodbeTheGlory#

 

 

It looks inevitable that after failing to land their prime target Andrey Arshavin, a better replacement in form of the legendary Icelandic icon is on the way to Pune City. Eidur Gudjohnsen has always been a prime target for most ISL Teams since the inception of this league 3 years ago. We at Joe Mart Sports and Events this time take pride in finally facilitating and convincing him to have a swansong on his career in this ever-growing league.

 

The first time we spoke to Eidur was when we got him offer from Chennai Titans 3 years ago. At that time, he opted to sign for Bolton and eventually China. Chennai moved on to sign Elano who as expected has been pivotal to their success story where they finished top of the league at first attempt and beat Goa FC in final play-off the last season. We kept in contact with him and his agent ever since and maintained good communication relationship up until he declared himself ready to take his last contract before retiring. “Just landed in Iceland now and will text back to confirm in a bit”, said Eidur as he gave his last indication of consent to the offer online with Joe Mhondiwa. This ironically was the very day he sort to  clear himself off the books of the ambitious Molde FC in Norway. His participation in the successful Icelandic side that went to quarter finals of the just ended European championships, saw him fit to be that iconic figure most ISL Teams sort after.

It didn’t take long for us to put him ahead of the line when our negotiations with Arshavin hit some stumbling block. Its left to see if he can get enough quality around him to improve the team from what was a disappointing campaign for Pune City last year.#ToGodbeTheGlory#