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Time to bone up on Spanish and Portuguese

— Photo: AP

Brazil’s Andre Santos.

MEXICO CITY: It’s time again to bone up on Spanish and Portuguese, particularly if you’re a fan of the English Premier League or any of the other big — and not so big — leagues across Europe.

Players are coming from leagues in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Nowhere is more flush with talent than Brazil, where in the national football confederation 1,176 Brazilian players signed contract with clubs across the globe in 2008.

Remember this name — Keirrison de Souza Carneiro, or simply Keirrison.

The 20-year-old Brazilian striker is the latest one-name wonder.

He scored 12 goals in his first 14 games with Brazilian club Palmeiras, which prompted him to leave the club in June and start talks with Champions League winner Barcelona.

Luxemburgo’s dismissal

His departure partly caused the dismissal of coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who criticised the player’s attitude for leaving without notifying him.

High profile clubs like Barcelona aren’t alone in tapping into the Latin connection.

Coaches like Steve Bruce at the Premier League club Sunderland and Alex McLeish, the Scot who heads newly promoted Birmingham City, have been working the region in the off-season.

McLeish has signed Ecuadorean forward Christian Benitez from Mexican club Santos for an undisclosed fee thought to be a Birmingham City club record of £6.5 million.

Bruce, in his previous coaching job at Wigan, signed Honduran midfielder Wilson Palicios and sold him earlier this year to Tottenham for a reported £14 million pounds — a tidy profit.

Bruce is now reported set to sign Paraguayan defender Paulo da Silva on a free transfer from Mexican club Toluca.

Few places are further away from Latin America than England’s gritty, northern cities of Wigan or Sunderland, so there are risks. And also rewards.

Getting acclimatised

“It can take them (players) six months to get used to the food, the weather and the way of life over here, never mind the football,” Bruce said.

“But there are some good players out there and I don’t mind a bit of travelling to find them.

Here’s a look at some players who may pop up this year in Europe.

BRAZIL — Having lost Keirrison, Palmeiras also may lose midfielder Diego Souza, who has been the team’s top playmaker since Chile’s Jorge Valdivia left the club last year.

He’s only 17, but Neymar — the full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Junior — is another Brazilian being sought by European clubs. He’s already billed as the next Robinho.

Neymar’s contract with Santos goes until 2014, and it has a $40 million buyout clause, but it has not kept clubs from coming after his skills. Neymar made his professional debut with Santos earlier this year and has been a regular starter since then.

Corinthians, which recently won the traditional Sao Paulo state championship and the Brazilian Cup, could have several of its players leave, including midfielder Elias, defender Chicao, goalkeeper Felipe and left back Andre Santos.

Andre Santos was one of the few players from Brazilian clubs who played for Brazil in last month’s Confederations Cup in South Africa. Most were from European clubs. — AP

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