Occean-to-Frankfurt rumours show just how much of a big deal the Canadian striker has become By Steven Sandor Posted on June 22, 2012 Comments Off on Occean-to-Frankfurt rumours show just how much of a big deal the Canadian striker has become 0 525 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Olivier Occean The German media is reporting that Canada’s Olivier Occean is close to making a move from SpVgg Greuther Furth to Eintracht Frankfurt, a transfer deal that could be worth close to a million Euros. For a 30-year-old striker who played second-division soccer last year — even if he did tie for the Bundesliga 2. scoring lead in 2011-2012 — that’s a heck of a lot of money. And, if Frankfurt do sign him, reports suggest (CLICK HERE) that he could be on for a three-year deal. It’s a fascinating display of money doing the talking in European football. SpVgg Greuther Furth won the Bundesliga 2., while Frankfurt finished second. Both are being promoted, but Furth is the novelty club, a team that will be in rarefied air when it plays the likes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. As for Frankfurt, relegation is a blip on a franchise that is generally considered to be one of the more powerful clubs in German soccer. So, Frankfurt have far more financial reserves than Furth. And, even though both teams are denying a deal is done, the fact that it’s been kicked around so much in the German media shows just how much the Canadian striker’s star has risen in Europe. So far, Occean has Canada’s only goal through its first two matches of Group C second-round CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. And his scoring exploits led to Furth’s shocking second-division championship and subsequent promotion. But, if you had to place bets on which team will remain in the Bundesliga after 2012-2013 — Furth or Frankfurt — you know who you would choose… the traditional power club. It follows the logic of soccer; that a player is judged by how he moves up the ladder from club to club. A player isn’t defined by making a smaller club better, he is expected to move up to a team which has more money, more prestige. LeBron James’ “decision” would have not really made headlines in Europe: What he did would be expected, and soccer fans would wonder why so many basketball fans made a fuss about it. And, in case you are wondering, Occean’s Furth faced Frankfurt twice last season — and Occean didn’t score in either match.
