[#29] Ahmed Apimah Barusso:

[LaVecchiaSignora]

Seems like roma wants to co own everyone lol...just buy him..he cant cost that much coming from serie C

[Forza_Roma]

They do it so they don't have to pay much up front, and if he doesn't pan out, they are only out half of what they would pay for him.

[D-Kin]

Originally Posted by LaVecchiaSignora

Have you guys ever seen a serie C matchup? I mean are they any good..is it like watching ametures play or is it still very pro? Will this kid be able to compete in A or will he drowned?

PS. These are no rhetorical questions...please answer them haha

Well he made the step up from Serie C to Serie B without any problems.

I see no reason why he won't be a success in Serie A.

[LaVecchiaSignora]

Ya i just wasnt sure if its a huge step or not...like its difficult to stick a minor leaguer from the MLB into the big show with a seamless transition you know, wondering if its the same for this guy

[D-Kin]

It's not quite official yet but you've effectively got him.

Roma have secured the co-ownership signing of Ahmed Apimah Barusso from Serie B side Rimini.

The Ghanaian, known as Ciro to his friends, has agreed a five-year contract with the Giallorossi worth £200,000 a season, while Roma will pay Rimini £1.4m.

The 22-year-old fractured his tibia and fibula in October, but is close to a complete recovery and has already passed his medical.

However, some smaller details still need to be finalised and the transfer will only be officially announced on July 2.

The midfielder, who caught the eye of Milan and Inter last season, as well as Arsenal and Tottenham, is renowned for his long-range shooting.

He was also decisive in helping Manfredonia win triple promotion from the amateur Leagues to Serie C1 and impressed with Rimini last term before his serious injury.

channel4.com - Football Italia

[dukeofdavinci]

for god sake he is young we need to buy him out right or else when he really performs and another club come with a better offer they will just sweep him from us

after years now i really have doubts on the way the sensi family's way of handling things.

[Forza_Roma]

Let's hope "Ciro" can perform well and earn a spot on the squad or Roma can loan him out to another club in hopes to land someone else.

[LaVecchiaSignora]

I think out of every "signing" we have had this offseason this is one of my favourites..Because like ive been saying all along...we need young talent...and this guys is just that...undiscoverd..young..talent...it just goes to show you how good he is when some of the best sides in the world showed interest in him..and im glad we got him! Next up Quagliarella!

[Forza_Roma]

A mixture of youth and experience. But experience always wins in the end. Ex Milan/Spurs/Ducks. Every sport has its veterans that lead the team. And at the end of the day, i rather have a few vets then a few rookies.

[dukeofdavinci]

A mixture of youth and experience. But experience always wins in the end. Ex Milan/Spurs/Ducks. Every sport has its veterans that lead the team. And at the end of the day, i rather have a few vets then a few rookies.

we already have vets on our team, no need to add more of them or else after they retire there will be a hole and it would take more time to create another winning team.young players these days develop very quickly.

[Forza_Roma]

Only the select few at the age of 22 can be starters. An age of 23-26 is the perfect age to sign players. Adding one or two vets that don't hold primary roles on the club won't make a difference when they retire. They will just be replaced. No big deal.

[LaVecchiaSignora]

Ya but i think hes saying they are focusing to much on those vets...and not realizing the necesity of the youngsters on our side...if we get Quag thats great if not...i think we are F'd this season...

[Forza_Roma]

We won't be that bad even if we don't sign Quag. It will be difficult and we can forget about the title. We can finish anywhere from 1st-5th depending on how comnpetitive the league is. With Quag playing every week...i think Roma can definitel earn a CL spot and possible win the league with other players like Grosso, Juan, Pizarro, Corini, Quag, Wilhelmsson. We need to have quality reserves to compete with the big clubs. We can't be making subs like Faty, Rosi and Virga. Unacceptable if you want to win the Scudetto.

[LaVecchiaSignora]

Thats what i mean by F'd my goal is to win the scudetto next season, its only the next logical step after taking 2nd place and the CI i want to compete in CL too but i want a scudetto as well...and without another quality striker...we cant compete...we cant expect totti to as good or better then he was this season...which means we finish prolly lower then we did this season because Serie A is going to be more competitive this season for sure

[bludhaven]

Just a little info on Barusso from Wikipedia:

Ahmed Barusso - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ahmed Barusso
Ahmed Apimah Barusso (born December 26, 1984 in Accra) is a Ghanaian football central midfielder, currently with AS Roma [1] of Italian Serie A.

Ahmed Barusso
Personal information
Full name: Ahmed Apimah Barusso
Date of birth: December 26, 1984 (1984-12-26) (age 22)
Place of birth: Accra, Ghana
Height: 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position: Central Midfielder

Club information
Current club: AS Roma
Number: TBA
Senior clubs: 1

Club Appearances (Goals)
2003-2006 Manfredonia 61 apps (9 goals)
2006-2007 Rimini 8 apps (2 goals)



Professional Career
A rising star midfielder known as Ciro to his friends, the 1984-born starlet is making an impact after helping Manfredonia win triple promotion from the amateur Leagues to Serie C1. The Ghanaian is a ball-winning defensive midfielder who comes equipped with a deadly shot from long distance. His powerful, physical and technical style of play has been compared to other Ghana-born players. In particular a more technical Desailly, a physical Muntari and a powerful Michael Essien.

The 1.84m tall, bulky Ghanaian midfielder is earning rare reviews in the Italian Serie B. This former FC Nania of Accra Youth team player, was recommended by Ghanaian Football Legend Abedi Pele to his Italian friend Franco Janich, who took Barusso to the amateur side Manfredonia.

With the Manfredonia side he played 18 games and scored a lone goal in Serie D that season. The next season he turned up for Manfredonia in the Serie C2 where he played 19 games and scored three times. In the 2005/2006 season he played 24 games (5 goals) in the Serie C1. Unfortunately Manfredonia couldn’t qualify for the Serie B and it became harder to hold onto their most prized asset. A whole load of Serie B clubs came calling. He snubbed clubs like Modena F.C. and Piacenza and settled for modest side Rimini. 8 games into this season, and the midfielder has been gaining rave reviews from newspapers all over the Italy including La Gazzetta dello Sport. He was voted the best player in the games versus Juventus and Bologna. He scored a wonderful long range strike against Bologna in September 2006. During the pre-season with Rimini, he scored from distance against Ascoli and Cagliari Calcio and his goals in Serie C were predominated by long range strikes.



Rimini's Outright Signing
Rimini sporting director Walter Muratori said of Barusso "We bought him for about 300,000 Euros and we’re confident in his abilities, even if we are also finding out now how much he can improve. “Now his future is in his own hands. He has great potential, but it will be up to him to realise it,” added the official. On November 30, 2006, Rimini moved to complete the outright signing of the Ghanaian sensation. His registration had been shared with little club Manfredonia, but Rimini confirmed they secured Manfredonia's 50 per cent of Barusso's transfer rights to the tune of £900,000 - a move which opened the way for A.C. Milan to secure the option.



Interest of Elite European Clubs
With his Powerful, physical and outstanding performances in midfield this season, Barusso has attracted the scouts of Fiorentina, Arsenal F.C., Beşiktaş J.K. and Inter Milan. Italian Serie A side, Messina have also expressed interest in the midfielder "We would love to sign Ciro Barusso from Rimini. But the way he is playing I fear there'll be an auction for him in January." Italian and British media reports stated Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is also aware of Barusso's growing reputation and is keeping tabs on the midfielder. English giants Newcastle United is also said to be interested in him, but this has never been confirmed.

British tabloid newspaper, The Mirror headlined "GHANA'S BARUSSO GUNNER BE GOOD". The report said Gunners boss Arsene Wenger's impressive knowledge of world football has led him to also having the £2m-rated ace watched. Barusso is a powerful ball-winner similar to countryman Michael Essien, who Chelsea F.C. signed from Lyon for £24.4m last year. He has four seasons' experience of Italian football, having joined from third division Manfredonia during the summer, and is under contract until 2010. But his club would be unable to resist an Arsenal bid.


Broken leg
On October 28, 2006, during the 9th Week of the 2006/07 season Serie B match between Crotone and Rimini, Crotone player Alfredo Cardinale fractured Barusso's tibia and fibula in a cynical tackle. He was sent to the Rizzoli Hospital in Bologna and recuperated with the help of Professor Marcacci. Doctors revealed that the highly rated player will be out of action for 4 months after surgery on the right leg. Ghana Fans Reaction to the horrible news.

"The surgery was very successful and I will be on the sidelines for at least four months," Barusso told BBC Sport. "But it's still a major injury and a big blow as I have played very well since the season started."

Barusso admitted he was expecting even worse news. "It's better than I feared because in the long term my shin will be sound," he said. He has been in good form since the beginning of the season and has been linked with moves to Inter Milan, Arsenal and A.C. Milan. Despite his broken leg, suffered in action against Serie B rivals Crotone, Milan are pushing through a deal worth around £3 million for the midfielder. Barusso however missed the rest of the 2006/07 Season.



AS Roma Interest
On December 5, 2006, the Italian Press reported that Italian giants A.C. Milan have had an agreement with Rimini to secure the option for the powerful midfielder, Ciro Barusso.

The Serie B club had earlier released a statement, denying any deal with A.C. Milan and other elite European teams for the youngster, with Muratori maintaining that he’s collected no bids for the youngster, but new reports state that A.C. Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has made a personal effort to close the signing. Barusso is said to be on his way to Milan in June 2007 for around £2 million. In Italian Il Milan prende Barusso Barusso's move won't be rubberstamped until he undergoes a medical at Milanello, however Gazzetta dello Sport says Milan are favourites to land the powerful Ghanaian before the end of the season.


But on 31 May 2007, Barusso's Agent Mauro Cevoli said: "The interest of clubs from Serie A for Barusso is concrete, even if we cannot speak about true and serious negotiations. "Roma and Fiorentina have made us aware of their interest. The boy has suffered a serious injury in autumn, but now has fully recovered". On 12 June 2007, La Gazzetta dello Sport and the Italian media reported that the player visited Roma's Medical Clinic Villa Stuart - where one of the Medical staff Professor Mariani (who operated on Francesco Totti after his ankle injury in February 2006) oversaw a medical on behalf of the Italian capital club, in the presence of social doctor Mario Brozzi. The physical condition of the player is just the only obstacle to making his move official and the intention of the club is to acq