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Serbian champions managed to acquire Brazilian forward Ailton and Ecuadorian defender in Belgrade in the middle of the night on Thursday, just a few minutes before the transfer window closed.
Ailton and S. Castillo were introduced to the club at a press conference on Friday and signed two-year contracts with "Crvena Zvezda", currently holding the second place in the Serbian championship and set to face Tom Radzinevičiaus' Liberec "Slovan" team in the first stage of the UEFA Europa League.
“These players should fill the gaps left by the players who have left the team, and I believe they will work well,” said "Crvena Zvezda" president Dragan Stojković at the press conference. “I hope our fans remain happy, and coach Dušan Bajević is eagerly awaiting the debut of the new acquisitions.”
"Red Star" recently lost seven Serbian national team players, and the team president hopes that 33-year-old Ailton will fit in well with the new team.
“We acquired a top-class forward. I hope he will successfully play for our team and raise the level of the squad,” said D. Stojković.
In 2004, Ailton won the double - the German championship and cup - with Werder Bremen and is one of three foreigners to score more than 100 goals in the Bundesliga. He aims to add more trophies to his collection with "Red Star".
“I heard that 'Crvena Zvezda' is a fantastic club. My goal is to win as many trophies as possible here and regain the form I showed in Germany,” said the forward. “I have to start training soon to get back to my form, but I can't promise how many goals I will score this season.”
In 2004, Ailton won the Bundesliga top scorer title with 28 goals. However, he did not show impressive performance after that season.
In the 2004-2005 season, the player moved to Schalke, where he scored 14 times in 28 matches. However, in the next season playing for Besiktas in Istanbul, he only scored four goals, two of which when he returned to Germany on loan to Hamburger SV in January.
Defensive midfielder S. Castillo, who played for the Ecuador national team in the World Cup in Germany, is pleased with the move to the club.
“I want to fulfill the hopes of the people who believe in me and dream of winning many trophies with the 'Crvena Zvezda' team,” said the defender.
Additionally, on Monday, the Belgrade club brought back Serbian Aleksandar Trišović from Ukraine.
