Nuno Santos à Rochester

[Bxl Boy]

Pendant que l'Impact parle de Portugais, Rochester en fait venir un


Rochester Raging Rhinos Executive Vice President Matthew Ford announced today that the team has signed former Benfica and Leeds United goalkeeper Nuno Santos.

“Nuno is a significant signing,” said Ford. “We expect that he will bring the experience that we are looking for and will make an immediate impact with our team.”

The Portuguese keeper has spent his last three seasons (2004-07) with C.D. Santa Clara in his home country of Portugal. He won the Portuguese Division 2 League with Santa Clara during his first stint with the team in 2000-01.

Santos made his splash in the professional European football scene 13 years ago. He spent his first four seasons, from 1994 to 1998, with V.F.C Setubal in Portugal, before landing in the English FA Premier League with Leeds United. Leeds advanced to the second round of the UEFA Cup in Santos’s one season with the team.

After one season with Leeds, Santos moved back to his home country where he played two seasons with Benfica. After joining Santa Clara in 2001, he returned to Benfica for a three-season stint. He played in the UEFA Cup for both Leeds (1998-99) and Benfica (1999-00). In all, Santos played in more than 200 matches in the top European Leagues.

Benfica, a 31-time Portuguese League champion and 24-time Portuguese Cup winner, was brought to prominence in the soccer world by African striker and FIFA International Football Hall of Champions member Eusebio who played with the team from 1960 to 1974. The club won two European Champions Cups in 1961 and 1962.

“We are happy to be able to acquire a player of Nuno’s status,” said Rhinos Head Coach Laurie Calloway. “He has played at the highest level in his country and the experience that he will bring to our team will be enormous. His ability to lead is exceptional and he will be a huge asset as we continue to set our sights on winning a championship.”

Santos is also thrilled to be making the move to the United States, a country that he had previously only played friendly matches in. Santos could arrive in Rochester as early as Sunday, July 8th.

“I’m prepared for this. I’ve been training hard everyday,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for me, to play for Rochester. I’ve wanted to come to the U.S. for a long time. I love the country and can’t wait to get there.”

The Rhinos will take on the Carolina RailHawks on Friday, July 6th at PAETEC Park. The 8:05 p.m. match will be broadcast live on WYSL 1040AM, wysl1040.com and USL Live. It will also be televised live on the Fox Soccer Channel.