By DAN KARELL
In their first incarnation, the New York Cosmos made their biggest splash by signing a Brazilian star. Four decades after Pele carried the flag for the Cosmos, a new Brazilian will be leading the same club.
The Cosmos announced that former Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna had signed for the club pending a medical, and will be ready for the NASL opener on August 3.
“We are delighted to add Marcos Senna to the New York Cosmos,” Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese said in a statement on the club’s website. “His reputation in the game and his achievements over his career on the field speak for themselves – he’s the type of player that makes everyone on his team better and his leadership and experience will be invaluable for us.”
The 36-year-old Brazilian native won the 2008 European Cup with Spain and made 28 caps for La Roja between 2006 and 2010.
During Senna’s 11 years at Villarreal, he played in more than 313 games while scoring 29 goals in all competitions. He helped Villarreal not only achieve promotion this season, but in 2006 he lead them to a semi-final place in the UEFA Champions League, where they eventually bowed out to Arsenal.
“This is a very special moment for me in joining the Cosmos because I face a new challenge, but at the same time it has been a difficult decision to leave Villarreal after 11 seasons,” said Senna in a statement. “I want to thank Giovanni Savarese, Remy Cherin and my agents Ely Coimbra and Hector Peris for helping me make this move possible.”
What do you make of the Senna signing? Surprised that he would sign for an NASL club? Think he can still play at a high level?
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