26 Nov 2009(Thu)

November 25, 2009: Tulio should have plenty of offers now that he has decided to leave Urawa Reds, but will he go for the football or go for the money?

If he goes for the football then I’d really like him to join the English Premier League, with Wigan Athletic thought to be interested. Judging from their most recent result, the 9-1 humiliation at Spurs, they certainly need a new defender or two. The money won’t be bad, either, but don’t forget he’s already on around 100 million yen at Reds.

If he goes simply for the money then he could end up in Qatar, playing in front of empty stadiums but earning tax-free mega-bucks and surrounded by ex-J.League Brazilians.

And then there’s the prospect of the money-no-object lure of Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, where World Cup-winnng Brazilian manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and Rivaldo are earning mind-boggling salaries.

As a free agent, he can bide his time and wait for the offers, as there will be no transfer fee to Urawa and therefore the prospect of a massive signing-on fee to secure his signature, even before the salary is negotiated.

With his Brazilian-Japanese background, and his experience with the former Asian club champions and national team, Tulio will be an attractive target and will bring a lot of media profile and publicity with him.

There will be more interest in the near future, and hopefully that will include other clubs from the English Premier League as he has the game, the character and the personality to make an impact at that high level.

Guido Buchwald used to rate him as the best defender in the J.League, and championed his cause before the 2006 World Cup, to no avail, while Holger Osieck marvelled at his footballing skills as well as his natural leadership qualities.

I remember once asking Osieck if Tulio reminded him of any German defenders, and I was expecting an answer along the lines of Klaus Augenthaler or maybe Bernd Forster, older brother of one of my favourite all-time German players, Karlheinz Forster.

But Osieck picked put the 1990 World Cup-winning left back Andreas Brehme, mainly because Tulio was so comfortable with his right and left foot and could pass the ball with pinpoint precision over a long distance. This is certainly one admirable aspect of Tulio’s game, on top of his aerial ability and the danger he poses in opposition penalty boxes.

After playing at Reds in front of those huge crowds, and enjoying a cult status with the fans, Tulio will have to start all over again to establish himself at a new club – and hopefully his decision will be based on football rather than purely finance.

ends