Sinama Pongolle alights at Atlético
Friday, July 4, 2008
Article summary
Club Atlético de Madrid have added to their attacking options with the signature of Florent Sinama Pongolle from RC Recreativo de Huelva for an undisclosed fee.
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Four-year deal
The 23-year-old has signed a contract until 2012, having first arrived in Spain in 2006 on loan from Liverpool FC before Recreativo paid a club record €4m fee to keep him a year later. Former Le Havre AC forward Sinama Pongolle first came to prominence playing at the 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Championship for France when he was top scorer as his side finished runners-up, beaten by a winning goal from Spain's Fernando Torres. He then went on to be both the most prolific striker and player of the tournament when they went one better at the same year's FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Goalscoring form
Ex-U21 international Sinama Pongolle has scored 22 league goals over the last two seasons, enough to earn a B-team appearance for France in March ahead of UEFA EURO 2008™ but did not make the finals cut and is yet to make his senior international debut. He is joining up with fellow Atlético signings John Heitinga and Tomáš Ujfaluši as they prepare for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round in August.
