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34-year-old Championship goalkeeper seeks Premiership club with first team football to offer....doesn’t sound like a promising advert for any lonely hearts column.
I present to you Adriano Basso, a man with unquestionable belief in, well, himself. Having not entered the world of professional football until the darker ages of his career and having only been plucked out of non-league football at the ripe age of 30, many pointed and laughed at Adriano’s childlike belief that he would play in the Premier League. Not even a call to ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ or Cilla Black’s ‘Moment of Truth’ was going to help this Brazilian stopper. Indeed at the age of 28, it was reported that the lonely and clubless goalkeeper kept himself fit and practiced his shot stopping with his wife in the local parks.
However less than two years later, and after numerous unsuccessful trials with league clubs, Basso was given his chance at the Kingfield Stadium, home to Conference side Woking. This was a somewhat short lived stay of just 25 games before he was head hunted by Gary Johnson. Over the last four years Basso has become a firm favourite with the Ashton Gate crowd, much of this is owed to his fantastic shot stopping displays and positive attitude. It was his catchphrase ‘Always Believe’, which was heavily linked to his Christian faith, that became the focus of the Ashton Gate dressing room and helped them to believe in themselves and win promotion to the Championship.
However 164 league games later, Adriano has demanded a move away from a club that has showed nothing but love for him. Gary Johnson who is known for his ruthlessness in contract negotiation (as Dele Adebola found out to his demise (thank goodness)), put a contract offer on the coffee table that would have made the thirty-four year old the highest paid player at the club. This is somewhat significant for an ageing goalkeeper.
Whilst Basso in his four year stay has shown considerable loyalty to the club thus far, the timing of this affair is well short of the expectations of the club and fans alike. If a request was made at the end of last season, people would have been sad to see him go, but perhaps understood his reasons and timing. Johnson’s strength and loyalty towards Adriano has resulted in the release of hotly-tipped and Johnson favourite Chris Weale this summer. This was done safe in the knowledge that Adriano was not going to be dislodged from the number one jersey. Instead Basso has manipulated a scenario whereby his rival for the number one jersey has been released, and if he can’t get a deal elsewhere he can return to Bristol to plug the gap Johnson is sure to find difficult to Polyfill in such a short time frame.
All this aside, the question remains; which Premier League club will want to offer Basso the chance of first team Premiership football? Basso has proven to be a very good goalkeeper at Championship level, but few failed to notice the odd mistake or two that crept into his game last season and at 34 it is unlikely that his game will improve.
Lets be honest it wont be anyone who isn’t in a relegation scrap, which leaves the likes of Burnley, Birmingham, Bolton, Hull, Stoke and Wolves, with the possibility of Pompey sniffing around the bottom three as well. None of these teams require a goalkeeper, in fact two of these teams have England internationals as their number one.
The Mirror today (27/07/09) reported that West Ham are interested in the Brazilian. However as much as any transfer speculation should be taken with a pinch of salt, perhaps this one should be taken with a single grain. West Ham have been linked to numerous Bristol City players in the past without any negotiations even remotely taking place. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if they had conjured up this story from a rumour being spread over two years ago that Basso was on his way to the East London outfit.
The future of Adriano Basso is unclear, and it is unlikely that Johnson will open the door without the latch on should Basso ask to stay. The fans understandably feel let down and dishonoured by a player they took to their hearts.
So then, Premiership bound, I doubt it, but a return to Ashton Gate could be tricky, and the resulting contract offer would undoubtedly be tailored to recognise his untimely miscalculation.
Perhaps Adriano has been led into temptation, and will need delivering from evil, but will Bristol City forgive those who trespass against them?
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