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"Four Star" Weekend Review: Omotoyossi, Sahar, Prodl, Zelaya
Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 01:30 PM by Breton Bonnette
Updated 09 Sep 2008 at 03:29 PM by Breton Bonnette
Updated 09 Sep 2008 at 03:29 PM by Breton Bonnette
RAZAK OMOTOYOSSI (FW)
Benin/Al-Nasr
A 52nd and 66th minute strike from Razak was what separated Benin from Angola in a hard-fought qualifier this past Sunday. The 22-year old Nigerian-born midfielder (moved to Benin after he was hit with a 5-year ban from soccer in Nigeria) is most known for his impressive goalscoring displays with Helsingborg in the Swedish Allsvenskan where he scored 23 goals in only 38 appearances. In fact, at one point in Helsingborg's UEFA Cup campaign, he was the joint leading scorer of the tournament and formed a formidable partnership with Swedish legend Henrick Larsson. Razak has since moved in a more lucrative direction to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nasr (former club of FC Dallas dud Denilson) even after several Premiership clubs (West Brom, Portsmouth) had taken interest in him, along with Eredivisie side Heerenveen. Pompey were eyeing him up as a replacement for Benjani, but Omotoyossi opted otherwise. The youngster is known for his creativity and has a knack for cracking shots even when it's probably not advisable to do so. Regardless, he was Benin's most effective player at the 2008 African Nations Cup and will spearhead their efforts in a long, arduous road to 2010 World Cup qualification.
BEN SAHAR (FW)
Chelsea/Israel
If you're a Football Manager addict and/or rabid Chelsea fan, you probably know Sahar's name. Israel went down 2-0 early to Switzerland on home soil and the comeback didn't start until Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun was able to latch onto a Sahar cross and make it 2-1. The match wasn't equal until Sahar was able to nod past Diego Benaglio two minutes into injury time. All of this is impressive on its' own, but then you notice he's only 19 years old and providing clutch goals in a nascent international career. Currently, Sahar is on a six-month loan to Portsmouth, who he has yet to play for. At 19, it's still a little to early to say where his club career is going, but he has only been tried in a handful of first-team games with Chelsea and with Scolari taking over, it's still uncertain whether or not Sahar will remain a Blue. Though Israeli, his Polish descent has yielded him the coveted EU citizenship that will allow him added mobility within Europe if his time at Chelsea doesn't work out. Having only been signed in 2006, it's too early to tell, but if he keeps scoring in the international set-up and not impressing during his loan stints, there's a good chance he'll never break into the set-up at Stamford Bridge.
SEBASTIAN PRODL (DF)
Werder Bremen/Austria
New Bremen signing Prodl had a couple good showings (he ended being suspended for the Germany match) at the European Championship this past summer which won him that move to the Bundesliga. His performance this past weekend, however, in a 3-1 Austrian upset of France could earn him his first cap with Bremen as they held Nasri, Govou, Benzema, and Henry to one goal. It was Austria's first victory over the French in 38 years and the 21-year old was directly in the middle of it. His biggest asset is his size - 6'4" - but he has a Parkhurst sense for positioning. As a big central defender, Prodl is normally given the liberty in international and club competition to involve himself in set pieces and move forward in attack. That's precisely what yielded his only 2 international goals - a brace against Holland in a pre-Euro 2008 international friendly that saw Austria go up 3-0 only to lose 4-3. You might also remember Prodl from the U-20 World Cup in Canada where he captained the Austrian side to an upset over the USA. Before his move to Bremen, Prodl was a big reason his Austrian Bundesliga Sturm Graz was able to grab a UEFA Intertoto Cup spot by finishing 4th. As a 21 year old, he has worked his way up and it doesn't seem he has any plans of letting up in the near future.
RODOLFO ZELAYA (FW)
El Salvador/Deportivo Chalatenango
Twenty years old and an incessant knack for scoring goals, many were worried when - after 5 senior national team caps for El Salvador yielded no goals. Zelaya addressed any lingering concerns this past Saturday vs. Haiti. The young pacy striker hit for the first three goals of the game hurting chances any hopes the 2007 Caribbean Champions, Haiti, had for advancing. Haiti didn't help their own cause after seeing defender Pierre Bruny sent off in the 13th minute. Zelaya has the eyes and ears of the region after that game and there's a good chance he'll add more as a match-up with Suriname looms tomorrow (recently 7-0 losers to Group C leaders Costa Rica). With their trouncing of Haiti, El Salvador looks to be overwhelming favorites to advance. La Azul have not seen a potent goalscorer in some time - could Zelaya be the newest? El Salvador has had a go-to man for almost every decade except this past one - Jose Maria Rivas in the 80s, Raul Diaz Arce in the 90s. Could Zelaya be El Salvador's offensive hope for 2008 onward?
Benin/Al-Nasr
A 52nd and 66th minute strike from Razak was what separated Benin from Angola in a hard-fought qualifier this past Sunday. The 22-year old Nigerian-born midfielder (moved to Benin after he was hit with a 5-year ban from soccer in Nigeria) is most known for his impressive goalscoring displays with Helsingborg in the Swedish Allsvenskan where he scored 23 goals in only 38 appearances. In fact, at one point in Helsingborg's UEFA Cup campaign, he was the joint leading scorer of the tournament and formed a formidable partnership with Swedish legend Henrick Larsson. Razak has since moved in a more lucrative direction to the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nasr (former club of FC Dallas dud Denilson) even after several Premiership clubs (West Brom, Portsmouth) had taken interest in him, along with Eredivisie side Heerenveen. Pompey were eyeing him up as a replacement for Benjani, but Omotoyossi opted otherwise. The youngster is known for his creativity and has a knack for cracking shots even when it's probably not advisable to do so. Regardless, he was Benin's most effective player at the 2008 African Nations Cup and will spearhead their efforts in a long, arduous road to 2010 World Cup qualification.
BEN SAHAR (FW)
Chelsea/Israel
If you're a Football Manager addict and/or rabid Chelsea fan, you probably know Sahar's name. Israel went down 2-0 early to Switzerland on home soil and the comeback didn't start until Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun was able to latch onto a Sahar cross and make it 2-1. The match wasn't equal until Sahar was able to nod past Diego Benaglio two minutes into injury time. All of this is impressive on its' own, but then you notice he's only 19 years old and providing clutch goals in a nascent international career. Currently, Sahar is on a six-month loan to Portsmouth, who he has yet to play for. At 19, it's still a little to early to say where his club career is going, but he has only been tried in a handful of first-team games with Chelsea and with Scolari taking over, it's still uncertain whether or not Sahar will remain a Blue. Though Israeli, his Polish descent has yielded him the coveted EU citizenship that will allow him added mobility within Europe if his time at Chelsea doesn't work out. Having only been signed in 2006, it's too early to tell, but if he keeps scoring in the international set-up and not impressing during his loan stints, there's a good chance he'll never break into the set-up at Stamford Bridge.
SEBASTIAN PRODL (DF)
Werder Bremen/Austria
New Bremen signing Prodl had a couple good showings (he ended being suspended for the Germany match) at the European Championship this past summer which won him that move to the Bundesliga. His performance this past weekend, however, in a 3-1 Austrian upset of France could earn him his first cap with Bremen as they held Nasri, Govou, Benzema, and Henry to one goal. It was Austria's first victory over the French in 38 years and the 21-year old was directly in the middle of it. His biggest asset is his size - 6'4" - but he has a Parkhurst sense for positioning. As a big central defender, Prodl is normally given the liberty in international and club competition to involve himself in set pieces and move forward in attack. That's precisely what yielded his only 2 international goals - a brace against Holland in a pre-Euro 2008 international friendly that saw Austria go up 3-0 only to lose 4-3. You might also remember Prodl from the U-20 World Cup in Canada where he captained the Austrian side to an upset over the USA. Before his move to Bremen, Prodl was a big reason his Austrian Bundesliga Sturm Graz was able to grab a UEFA Intertoto Cup spot by finishing 4th. As a 21 year old, he has worked his way up and it doesn't seem he has any plans of letting up in the near future.
RODOLFO ZELAYA (FW)
El Salvador/Deportivo Chalatenango
Twenty years old and an incessant knack for scoring goals, many were worried when - after 5 senior national team caps for El Salvador yielded no goals. Zelaya addressed any lingering concerns this past Saturday vs. Haiti. The young pacy striker hit for the first three goals of the game hurting chances any hopes the 2007 Caribbean Champions, Haiti, had for advancing. Haiti didn't help their own cause after seeing defender Pierre Bruny sent off in the 13th minute. Zelaya has the eyes and ears of the region after that game and there's a good chance he'll add more as a match-up with Suriname looms tomorrow (recently 7-0 losers to Group C leaders Costa Rica). With their trouncing of Haiti, El Salvador looks to be overwhelming favorites to advance. La Azul have not seen a potent goalscorer in some time - could Zelaya be the newest? El Salvador has had a go-to man for almost every decade except this past one - Jose Maria Rivas in the 80s, Raul Diaz Arce in the 90s. Could Zelaya be El Salvador's offensive hope for 2008 onward?
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Total Comments 6
Comments
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I think you should have referred to Sahar being an Israeli, not Jewish (although undoubtedly he is Jewish). What I mean is, his religion (Judaism) is not relevant to his passport status. His nationality - Israeli - is relevant.Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 01:48 PM by gnk 
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holy crap. can someone firewall the ultra p.c. people around here. Should I ask all my Jewish friends whether they'd like to be considered Israeli before I know if they are practicing Jews? Get a life, Sahar is Jewish. Being Jewish doesn't have as much to do with practicing Judaism as it once did. Hell, my roommate last year was a self described Atheist-Jew.
Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 02:42 PM by Tone Capone
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gnk is right; he isn't being PC. I was confused as to why being Jewish would matter WRT being in the EU.
Speaking of FM and Zelaya, I picked him up for DCU, he scored 30-some goals in one season, and I sold him for 10 mil...and he scored maybe 8 the next year for some Mexican team.Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 03:17 PM by Reignking 
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lol Zelaya plays with Alianza now he played with Chalatenango last year. I don't know why but Zelaya reminds me of Diaz Arce a bit, i think of the way he plays reminds me of him but the only thing thats missing from him that he doesn't score like crazy like diaz arce did but anyways he's still young. I wouldn't mind seeing him play in the MLS and I would like to see him play with DC United plus Moreno is old now they should give a new young player a shot.Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 04:02 PM by Futbol E.S. Por Vida
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yea, that's one thing I didn't understand - there are several sources - newspapers and what not - that say he plays for Deportivo Chalatenango still, while others say he plays for Alianza FC. You then go to Alianza FC's website and it looks like they purchased ALL OF CHALATENANGO's players...is it a feeder club? anyone that could shed some light on that? some people I've asked are saying he still is owned by Chalatenango, but plays on loan for Alianza.Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 04:26 PM by Breton Bonnette
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no he's with Alianza i'm sure of it.. i seen him make a goal like a couple of weeks ago
Posted 09 Sep 2008 at 07:15 PM by Futbol E.S. Por Vida
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