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Nakamura poised to join Reggina Posted: Wednesday July 03, 2002 5:31 AMTOKYO (Reuters) -- Yokohama F-Marinos midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura is poised to join promoted Italian club Reggina, officials of the J-League team said Wednesday. The Japan international, who was dropped from his country's World Cup squad, is expected to sign a three-year deal with the Serie A club after talks between Reggina president Pasquale Foti and F-Marinos officials Tuesday. "There has been no formal announcement of the deal yet but we have covered most of the ground in the negotiations. Once all the terms have been worked out, we will announce it," F-Marinos press officer Jiro Shiozawa told Reuters. Nakamura, who was involved in lengthy discussions with Foti and F-Marinos president Shigeo Hidaritomo in Yokohama, will reportedly cost Reggina around US$3.5 million following a six-month loan period. He will make an estimated $500,000 a year at Reggina, who have returned to Serie A after finishing fourth in the Italian second division last season. The 24-year-old has scored five times in 21 games for Japan since making his international debut in an Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore in February 2000. However, he was left out of the World Cup squad by French coach Philippe Troussier in favor of Kashima Antlers midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara, much to the dismay of the Japanese tabloids. As a result Spanish giant Real Madrid, which had expressed an interest in signing Nakamura after the World Cup, compounded his misery by immediately pulling the plug on a deal. Nakamura, the 2000 J-League player of the year, will become the fourth Japanese player to sign for an Italian club after Kazuyoshi Miura, Hidetoshi Nakata and Hiroshi Nanami. Until now, however, only Nakata has proved a success, winning the Serie A title with AS Roma in 2001 before signing for Parma for US$26 million last summer. Miura broke his nose on his debut for Genoa in 1994 and went on to score just once in 21 appearances, while Nanami also experienced a season of frustration after joining Venezia in 1999.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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