Maritzburg United have announced the signing of German goalkeeper Marcelo Engelhardt.
The 27-year-old has joined the Team of Choice from Eintracht Braunschweig, who are campaigning in the German 2. Bundesliga.
The KwaZulu-Natal outfit released the following statement on Thursday afternoon as they strengthened their goalkeeping department:
"Newly-signed Maritzburg United goalkeeper Marcel Engelhardt is excited to begin a new chapter in his career after joining South Africa's Premier Soccer League with the Team of Choice," a club statement read.
"Engelhardt, who has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal, arrives from Eintracht Braunschweig, a club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, which competes in Germany's 2. Bundesliga division."
Engelhardt is looking forward to making a positive impact at the PSL side and he revealed his compatriot and coach Ernst Middendorp convinced him to move to the Team of Choice.
"I'm happy to be here, my new team-mates seem nice, the weather is quite hot as well - a big difference to Germany, I came here from snow," Engelhardt said.
"I hope to bring quality on and off the field, to get to know the guys well so that we can compete together and achieve something.
"I had a few calls with coach Ernst and he convinced me to take this trip to South Africa to join the Team of Choice. I didn't have to think about it a lot, I just packed my stuff and came here," he added.
"It's very sad there are no fans right now. But I hope that soon it will be possible and we can celebrate some wins together."
Engelhardt has joined Sebastian Mwange, Bongani Mpandle and Jethren Barr in Maritzburg's goalkeeping department and he is seen as a replacement for Richard Ofori.
Maritzburg chairman Farook Kadodia is hopeful that Engelhardt will provide a similar presence to that of Ofori, who moved to Orlando Pirates prior to the start of the current season.
"The coach has done his homework on Marcel and we're expecting a lot from him in stepping into the space that Ofori vacated with his departure," Kadodia said.
"We believe that Marcel has the right character traits, both in terms of his ability and his personality, to fill the gap left by Richard."
Maritzburg will take on Lamontville Golden Arrows in the KwaZulu-Natal Derby clash on Saturday.
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