Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold says new international marquee Bobo can fit right in at Moore Park while the Brazilian striker has vowed to help the Sky Blues deliver a Championship next season with his goal-scoring prowess.
At the unveiling of Deyvison Rogerio da Silva – nicknamed ‘Bobo’ – at Allianz Stadium on Monday, Arnold believes he’s found the man that can give the club a much-needed focus in front of goals.
“We watched a lot of football. We watched a lot of Bobo’s games,” Arnold told reporters on Monday.
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“We went through some contacts in Brazil that knew of Bobo as a player and the recommendations were high.
“We had a few contacts that knew Bobo, knew he was a family man, knew that he was married with three beautiful children and his character was always to win.
“As a character and as a person I don’t think we could’ve got one any closer than Filip Holosko who played with Bobo at Besiktas and knew him very, very well.
“We’ve done our due diligence and we’re very confident that Bobo was the right fit.”
The club has recruited strongly during the off-season – especially in defence – adding the likes of Alex Wilkinson, Michael Zullo and Danny Vukovic to their roster.
However it’s at the other end of the pitch where the Sky Blues really struggled and Arnold believes Bobo, 31, will be the remedy to their scoring woes.
“Last year we showed and we proved we’ve got no problem getting the ball into the areas to score goals and win games,” said Arnold.
“It’s about having someone there who knows how to be in those positions. It’s an instinct that you can’t teach.
“Bobo’s got two great feet, he’s a great finisher and he’s great in the air with his head.
“His qualities of being in the right place at the right time, his calmness under pressure to score goals are his strengths.”
From the player the message was clear: “I’m here to score goals,” Bobo told reporters through an interpreter.
“My career speaks for itself. I’m 31 years old and have been a professional footballer for 11, 12 years of my life.
“As a striker I’m very strong, very fast. I move with patience on the field to get in the right areas.
“The message is sweat a lot. I hope to score a lot of goals and hope to win the Championship this year.”
