To see Victory unveil Ricardinho this afternoon...

 

The 26 year-old arrived in Melbourne this morning and after putting pen to paper on a two year deal, he was immediately introduced to his new team mates between training sessions at AAMI Park.

Ricardinho (full name Ricardo Weslei Campelo) enjoyed a successful career in his homeland before moving to South Korea’s Jeju United last year - scoring 5 times - before heading back to Brazil and making 14 appearances for Oeste.

Said by Victory to be "fantastic on the ball and with great speed", his nickname in Brazil is ‘Rei do drible’, or ‘King of the dribble’.

After making a near 40-hour trip to Melbourne with his representative Steve Panopoulos from Stellar Brasi managment, the club' s new number 9 was understandably a little drained.

“Australia is a long way from Brazil, but after I have a sleep I can’t wait to begin training.

“The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the club was all the photos of the many championships Melbourne Victory has won and I look forward to contributing to their further success“ he added.

 Melbourne Victory Coach Ernie Merrick can’t wait to unleash Ricardinho on the A-League “He’s a very quick and very skilful player who will no doubt prove a real handful“.

“It’s been a long process, but we’ve said all along we wouldn’t be rushed into signing just any old striker – and our patience was rewarded when Ricardinho agreed to come”.

“We think he’ll be the perfect fit for us and we look forward to seeing him in action in the next few weeks” Merrick said.

Ricardinho will train with his new team mates for the first time on Saturday morning.

To see Victory unveil Ricardinho this afternoon...

 

Ricardinho (Ricardo Weslei Campelo

Age:                 26.

Height:             1.72m.

Weight:             68 kg’s.

Position:           Striker (right-footed).    

Previous Clubs

2003 / 2004       Atletico-PR

2004 / 2005       Marilia

2006 -               Atlectico-PR

                        Ponte Preta (loan)

                        Marilia (loan)

2007 -               Fortaleza (loan)

2008 -               Vila Nova (loan)

                        Ipatinga (loan)

                        Parana (loan)

2009 / 2010       Jeju United (loan)

2010                 Oeste