**** Me, It's Weldon Again

Weldon, the player who arrives planning his departure, has signed a one-year contract with Sport. The deal would have been done a few days ago, but Weldon wanted a smaller buy-out clause so that it would be easier for him to move on to the new challenges of Korean or Qatari football. He formed a daunting partnership with Adriano Chuva in 2003, when Sport was in the Série B, and he did little apart from score a nice goal against Corinthians when he played for Sport in 2007.

Weldon announced that he has a "special affection" for Sport's fans, which he will need, because Sport's fans have no special affection for Weldon. His "honeymoon" will last all of 20 minutes or so into his first game, and if he doesn't suit up almost immediately after the CBF clears his contract then it might not even last that long. Last time he played for Sport a reporter asked him if he intended to be the team's leading scorer and he responded, "No, I just want to score a few little goals and then leave for a bigger team."

Was that a sarcastic answer to a stupid question? Possibly. That's the explanation that seemed most plausible to me at the time, and it satisfies Occam's Razor better than presuming the extreme stupidity necessary for that kind of naked honesty. But no matter what Weldon meant by that answer, the fans interpreted it to mean that he wanted to leave, and leave he did just a few months later.

He's an average forward, tall and capable in the area, skillful enough to be useful outside of the area, too. But however well rounded his game is, he is distinctly average, and Sport's fans had hoped for more. Not just hoped, but believed that better was coming.

This morning I stood in line for five hours to guarantee my tickets for the first three matches of the Copa Libertadores. Five hours, because Sport's administration is less competent than it could be. During those five demoralizing hours, Weldon's signing was announced, and we felt all the more demoralized. Ciro is showing himself to be a great player, but the rest of Sport's forwards are below the necessary standard. Sport needed a forward, and still does, because if Weldon is the answer then the question should never have been asked.