Lyon win race for Elber
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Article summary
Olympique Lyonnais have fought off stiff competition to sign FC Bayern München striker Giovane Elber.
Article body
Two-year contract
Elber, 31, put pen to paper on a two-year contract with the French champions on Wednesday night and could make his Ligue 1 debut against EA Guingamp on Saturday.
Ideal replacement
Lyon coach Paul Le Guen has been desperate to strengthen his side's attack ahead of their UEFA Champions League campaign and will see Elber as an ideal replacement for Sonny Anderson, who joined Villarreal CF in the summer.
Proven pedigree
The former Brazilian international has a proven pedigree after scoring 92 goals in 169 Bundesliga matches for Bayern and VfB Stuttgart, as well as 24 in 65 Champions League appearances.
Injured Govou
Including Anderson, Lyon sold three established forwards in the summer, with Frédéric Née and Tony Vairelles also leaving the Stade Gerland, and were looking alarmingly short of firepower. French international Sidney Govou has missed the opening weeks of the season with a knee injury, leaving Peguy Luyindula as the club's only recognised striker.