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Luxemburgo delighted with Elano's impact at Gremio
Jul 16, 2012 11:25:00 PM
The cultured midfielder looked impressive as his new club cruised to victory over Cruzeiro, and his coach believes that his arrival marks the return of beautiful football
Gremio coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo was pleased with the impact made by Elano in his debut for the Porto Alegre side, affirming that the former Santos man would spur the team on to play "pretty" football.The trainer had previously provoked the wrath of Tricolor fans by admitting that they played an ugly game during a Copa do Brasil win over Fortaleza.
And a desire for a more attractive style played a big part in the decision to move for Elano, who arrived in a swap deal for Ezequiel Miralles at the start of July.
The ex-Manchester City midfielder played his first game for Gremio at the weekend in a 3-1 away win against Cruzeiro, which pushed the side up to seventh in the Brasileiro.
Making a light-hearted reference to his previous comments, Luxemburgo made no secret of his admiration for the new signing.
"He came to play football, not because he is a pretty boy. In fact, he's a bit ugly," the coach quipped in an interview with Globoesporte on Monday.
"I was pretty harsh in saying the team was ugly. We knew that a bit of quality was missing. But with Elano teaming up with Ze Roberto, we now have that.
"The quality has increased. If that was not the case, [the result] would have been a robbery!"
Elano won two Paulista Championships and the 2011 Copa Libertadores during his second spell at Santos, adding to the two Brasileirao triumphs achieved before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2004.
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