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DEFENDER OGUCHI Onyewu has joined Italian giants AC Milan on a free transfer from Belgian outfit Standard Liege. The American international signed a three-year contract for the club after impressing in the recent Confederations Cup.

Onyewu, nicknamed Gooch, joins an illustrious list of world-class defenders to play for the Rossoneri such as Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi who, in their primes, were certified world-class defenders. Maldini retired at the end of the last season and Onyewu seems to be an ideal replacement.

The United States shocked everyone in the Confederations Cup by finishing runners-up, narrowly losing in an epic final to five-time World Cup winners Brazil 3-2. Onyewu’s centre back partnership with Watford’s Jay Demerit was pivotal to the States success in the tournament. Even the Spanish strike force of Fernando Torres and David Villa could not penetrate the air-tight defence.

The 27 year old, who had a brief stint at Newcastle United back in 2007, joins a small list of Americans to play in Serie A. The last American to play in Serie A was Alexi Lalas who is probably more well known over these shores as the former manager of L.A Galaxy. Lalas, who played for Padova, spoke about the wisdom of the transfer, saying:

“I think it’s an incredibly smart move by AC Milan. Defence has obviously been a weakness for Milan and from an economic standpoint it was also obvious that they weren’t going to spend lavishly. So they had to be smart with their money.”

Lalas also believed that Onyewu will a force to be reckoned with, adding:

“Most Italian clubs have at least one big forward, an Ibrahimovic, a Iaquinta, or whoever, and I think he’ll match up very well against those big forwards that a lot of these teams have. As a matter of fact, I think he’ll gobble them up.”

Not only is this transfer a great achievement for Onyewu, it also illustrates how far American football, or as they call it, soccer, has developed on a global scale. The likes of Demarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey have all managed to forge successful careers for themselves in the highest echelons of football and Onyewu now deserves to also be added to that list.

The recent exodus of the sides’ fulcrum, Kaka, might have fans in a rage but, with the signing of Onyewu, the San Siro faithful just might have found themselves yet another defensive stalwart.

Published: 27 July 2009
Issue: 0

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