Arema Released Sasaki Eimei

Arema Malang finally decided not to sign Japanese Sasaki Eimei. He returned to his home country today, Wednesday (2/14), morning. This decision was taken after the club's officials and coaches evaluate him and decided that he's not suitable for Arema's playing style, even after he's been training with Arema for the last month.

"He's actually a good player. But even until the last practice, he still couldn't get rid of his style and adapt to Arema's style," said Iwan Budiarto, Arema's chairman.

The coaches and club's officials, he continued, really wanted to see how he would perform in friendlies against local clubs. But that idea had to be scraped because Sasaki still had difficulty adapting.

"I'm worried that if he cannot adapt well, his presence will ruin the team's harmony," said Iwan. "Because if we sign a foreign player with an expensive contract, we must play him. Otherwise, it'll be a waste of money. So we want a player who truly can give the best of everything to the club."

In many practices, it was reported that many miscommunications occur between Sasaki and his teammates. Coaches saw this, and they didn't really like what they saw.

"He returned to Japan today with a paid ticket, and we also gave him some pocket money," said Iwan, who refused to say how much the pocket money was.

Asked if Arema is going o look for another foreign player, Iwan cannot give a definite answer just yet. That's because with the current local roster, Arema is able to sit on the top four of the Eastern Conference. Everything is still in consideration, however, and the board will analyze the team's performances closely.

from: Jawa Pos Online