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With all the hoo-ha that surrounded Robinho’s unhappy time at Eastlands, it is easy to overlook another Brazilian who has endured a similarly torrid spell in English football. That player is Jo who has so far failed to impress during his 2 years at Manchester City.
However, City boss Roberto Mancini has thrown the former CSKA Moscow player a lifeline by giving the striker one final chance to prove his worth as City chase honours on many different fronts. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mancini said:
“I have seen Jo in the last two months and I think he is a good player. He has a chance. I saw him when he played for CSKA Moscow, I played against him with Inter and he’s a good striker.”
And Mancini gave Jo his chance in Thursday’s Europa League second leg tie against Timisoara and the Brazilian didn’t disappoint. He looked infinitely more lively than his strike partner Emmanuel Adebayor and came close to scoring with a header from a David Silva cross that was tipped over the bar by the Timisoara goalkeeper.
Mancini’s decision to keep Jo on the City books may come as a surprise to many but his preseason form for the club has been impressive. Jo was City’s leading scorer in their preseason exploits, hitting the net 4 times on his return from Galatasaray where the striker spent last season on loan.
He arrived at Eastlands in 2008 from Russian giants CSKA Moscow. During his time in Moscow, Jo made a name for himself as one of Europe’s top young marksmen, scoring an incredible 44 goals in 77 appearances for the Russian side. His goalscoring exploits convinced the then chairman Thaksin Shinawatra to shell out a club record £18 million for the striker’s services.
Unfortunately for City, he has failed to live up to his hefty price tag. He scored only 3 goals for manager Mark Hughes before he decided to ship Jo off on loan to Everton where he suffered a similar fate finding the back of the net 7 times despite spending almost a year with the Merseyside club.
Jo has been dogged by allegations of unprofessional behaviour which has contributed to his faltering club career so far. He was fined by City manager Mark Hughes after it was revealed that the striker went out to a nightclub and missed training the next day. At Everton, Jo was suspended by David Moyes after he failed to return to the club over the Christmas period, choosing instead to stay in Brazil without permission. Trouble even followed him to Istanbul as there were allegations that Jo had a number of late night parties at his house while on loan at Galatasaray last season.
Given his track record of indiscretion, Mancini will no doubt be keeping Jo on a tight leash this season and he needs to convince the Italian that his faith in his ability is justified. He has gotten off to a good start with his performances in preseason and his start in the Europa League.With Emmanuel Adebayor struggling for form, Roque Santa Cruz out of favour and Craig Bellamy on loan at Cardiff, there is an opportunity for Jo to prove himself at Manchester City and to live up to the potential that caused the club to spend a record amount of money for his services.
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A welcome addition the Premier League’s Wag arena – Click on image below to view gallery