Werder Bremen buys Pasanen; Quansah to Heracles
20 July: Ajax has announced Petri Pasanen's fine next career
move. The Finnish defender has joined German Bundesliga
champions Werder Bremen for an unknown transfer fee. He signed
a four year contract with the green and white from northern
Germany. The Finnish international was recently told by
coach Ronald Koeman that there was no future for him
at the Amsterdam club. Last season Pasanen was already loaned
out to English Premiership outfit Portsmouth FC.
Petri Pasanen. [Photo: Ajax.nl,
2003]
Obviously, Pasanen is happy with the move to Bremen: "Werder
Bremen will play in the Champions League. We
might face Ajax!" At Werder Bremen Pasanen will be
re-united with his countryman Pekka Lagerblom, with whom he
played at FC Lahti, the Finnish side where he started his
career.
Petri Pasanen (born Lahti, Finland, 24 September 1980) moved
to Ajax in 2000 at the age of 19. He made his début for
the Amsterdammers under coach Co Adriaanse in the Eredivisie
away game at AZ (3-2). He played 79 official games for
Ajax, including 62 Eredivisie and 12 Champions League fixtures.
In these performances Pasanen scored eight times, almost all of
them with his most powerful weapon: his head. During his
spell at the Amsterdam ArenA Pasanen also became a starter for
the Finnish national team. His current number of caps
is 20.
A few days earlier Ajax announced that striker Kwame Quansah
will be loaned out to Dutch First Division side Heracles Almelo
for the upcoming season. When playing for Ajax A1 and Young
Ajax the 21-year old Ghanese striker was regarded as
a future first tean gem, but he only saw
seventeen minutes of Ajax-1 action (on 01 April 2001 at
NEC). After that he dropped back to Young Ajax and spent
loan spells at Germinal Beerschot Antwerp in Belgium
and (last season) at Swedish side AIK Solna. A return to
Ajax-1 seems highly unlikely. Yet, Quansah's Ajax contract
lasts for another two seasons, until July 2006. (BV)
Sources: Het Parool, Ajax.nl
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