Ajax confirm purchase of NAC Breda forward Leonardo
19 December: Almost every reliable Dutch news
source announced it one week ago. Today, Ajax confirmed
it: the Amsterdam club have landed Leonardo Vitor
Santiago (23), NAC Breda's skillful enfant
terrible. The Brazilian forward, who started his
professional career as a teenager at Feyenoord, signed a
contract for two and a half years: he will officially be an
Ajacied from 01 January 2007 to 30 June 2009. As usual,
Ajax did not reveal the transfer fee. Everybody else did,
though: NAC Breda received 750,000 euros for the
brilliant-but-fickle dribbler from Rio.
Leonardo toasts his signing with Ajax technical director
Martin van Geel. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Ajax's confirmation comes after a few weeks of speculation
(PSV and Tottenham Hotspur were also after Leonardo's
signature) and one week in which everybody knew that
official confirmation could only be a matter of time: even
Leonardo's agent admitted that the transfer was a done deal.
Ajax, NAC Breda and Leonardo agreed on the transfer on
Monday 11 December. The player underwent his medical at
Amsterdam's V.U. Hospital that same day.
Leonardo Vitor Santiago (born Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, 09 March 1983) was discovered as a child by Dutch
talent scout and 'South America specialist' Piet de Visser and
moved to The Netherlands when he was 11 years old.
His first club was Feyenoord, for whom he he made his
first team début as a 17 year-old in the fall of
2000. Leonardo, often referred to as 'Leo' by the
supporters, only had 55 Eredivisie appearances and scored
only 4 goals for Feyenoord in five and a half seasons, due
to a few persistent injuries and - more
than anything else - his complicated
love-hate relationship with Feyenoord coach Bert van
Marwijk, who loved Leonardo like a father but was
sometimes almost driven insane by the fickle
teenager - emotions that will sound familiar to
every coach to have worked with Leonardo. At De Kuip,
Leonardo was part of the Feyenoord team that won the UEFA Cup
in 2002.
Halfway through the 2005-2006 season Leonardo moved to NAC
Breda, where he became everything one expected him to become: a
dandy, an enfant terrible, a fan favourite and an
annoying little prat at the same time. He continued to drive
his coaches insane every once in a while, but he was also a joy
to watch: a lightning-quick, notoriously unpredictable but
often spectacularly entertaining 'dribble king', who can
score goals and win games all by himself. In 29 Eredivisie
matches for NAC Breda he netted nine times. In total, Leonardo
scored 13 goals in 84 Eredivisie appearances since 2000.
Today, Ajax's technical director Martin van Geel could
finally present his latest purchase to the press at the
Amsterdam ArenA, watch him pen his contract and lift a
glass of champagne. The Brazilian speaks excellent Dutch and
claims that he even thinks in Dutch. "But I still
feel like a Brazilian." Several clubs, including PSV
and Tottenham Hotspur, were after him, but his feelings made
him drift to Amsterdam: "The talks I had were different from
those with the other clubs. The Ajax people gave me a very
good feeling. It's not all about the money; I want to feel good
about a club. Ajax are a top club. I expect a
lot from Ajax and Ajax may also expect a lot from me,
which is how it should be if you want to reach the top. I want
to make Ajax an even stronger team. I want to go for the
championship. And I mean this season, because I feel
we can still overtake PSV in the second half of the
season."
Leonardo will finish the year with NAC Breda. In January he
will join Ajax on their trip to South Africa, where he is
generally expected to make his 'unofficial' Ajax début
in a friendly fixture. The Brazilian, who prefers to play as a
center forward but can be used at every position in the forward
line, will be eligible in the UEFA Cup, as he did not
appear in any UEFA games yet this season. (MP)
Sources: Ajax.nl, de Volkskrant, VI.nl
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