SHILLONG, FEB 13: Years after Baichung Bhutia made the move across two continents to join the England-based club Bury FC, Edon Júnior Viegas do Amaral (popularly known as Edinho Júnior) will be taking the reverse journey when he joins Shillong Lajong FC from Blackburn Rovers, which till last year was in the English Premier League, on a short-term loan beginning February 16, marking the first in the history of Indian football.
The signing of Edinho will add impetus to Shillong Lajong’s campaign for the remainder of the 2012-13 I-League season. It will add an edge to the club’s striking options. Edinho is a Portuguese national of Brazilian origin who moved to Blackburn Rovers from Olhanense. The 18-year -old plays centre-forward and is the son of a former Brazilian international footballer, Edon do Amaral Neto.
The loan move for Edinho signals a consolidated effort to provide a powerful push for football in India. Commenting on this development Balaji Rao, Managing Director of Venky’s, the Indian owners of Blackburn, said: “We are pleased to
be associated with Shillong Lajong FC through the loan of young Edinho. We look forward to opportunities to help develop our players and football in India through strategic partnerships.”
Lajong’s story and place in Indian football is truly historic. It became the first club from north-east to have qualified for the I-League, and have been performing admirably well since then amongst the big boys of Indian football. At the forefront of the development of football in the country, Shillong Lajong recently became thefirst-ever Indian football club to have had a strategic stake taken by Anglian Holdings. The Meghalaya-based club boasts of an impressive youth system as well. With an eye to aid in the development of Indian football, Anglian Holdings has also invested in Danish 1st Division Club FC.
Larsing Ming Sawyan, general secretary Lajong, said: “We are thankful to Blackburn Rovers for providing us with a player of Edinho’s quality. He will be an incisive edge to Lajong’s forward line and will definitely add to the quality of the game on the field.”
Dhruv Ratra, CEO-Sports & Marketing Anglian Holdings, summarized the deal: “This exchange of talent – a first of its kind in Indian football – will set a precedent for future exchanges of knowledge and information which in turn will help drive the game of football forward in India. Edinho is an exciting young player and Indian fans will enjoy his exploits on the field.” -By Our Reporter
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