Daniel Paulista

The latest rumors say that Daniel Paulista, who was sold to Rapid Bucharest in August, might be returning to Sport. Rapid Bucharest had 800,000 Euros to pay Sport, but Daniel alleges that he hasn't received any payment at all from his club since his move. He has petitioned FIFA to nullify his contract, which would free him to return to Sport and play in the Copa dos Libertadores.

Corinthians loaned Daniel to Náutico in 2007, and he was instrumental in Náutico's survival in the Série A. His contract with Corinthians ended at the end of the year, and he signed for Sport for free. He was one of Sport's best players in the Campeonato Pernambucano and in the Copa do Brasil. When Sport received a bid from Rapid Bucharest, Daniel told the directors that he wanted to move on, so the two teams agreed to a fee and off he went.

It looked like a good deal for both teams -- Sport got nearly R$2,000,000 and Daniel got to play in Europe -- but Daniel hasn't been paid, and Sport hasn't managed to replace him. Andrade arrived and looked good for a few games, but has been terrible since then. Daniel's positioning is excellent, and he frees the segundo volante to play more offensively. Andrade has been bad enough that Sandro Goiano's action has been limited -- he can't cover enough territory to make up for Andrade's failures, so he has to spend most of the game on the bench.

When he was with Sport, Daniel was the best primeiro volante in Brazil. Andrade is obviously not the answer, and finding a quality replacement was one of Sport's most pressing needs for the upcoming Libertadores campaign. If Daniel were to return it would make Sport's Libertadores prospects much brighter than they look right now.