Official: Colo-Colo loans former Chilean U-20 striker Yashir Pinto to FC Edmonton By Steven Sandor Posted on January 31, 2012 Comments Off on Official: Colo-Colo loans former Chilean U-20 striker Yashir Pinto to FC Edmonton 0 753 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Chilean striker Yashir Pinto has landed in Edmonton. The former Chilean U-20 member will be on loan from South American powerhouse Colo-Colo to FC Edmonton. FCE confirmed the deal Monday. Under a unique deal, while Pinto comes to Edmonton on loan, FCE does reserve the right to sell him. While Colo-Colo would get a large share of the sale price, FCE would also get a percentage. Colo-Colo toured Canada in 2010, which included games against FC Edmonton and TFC Academy. Last season, he was loaned out to Chilean second-divison side Nublense. Yashir Pinto Sources say that Pinto wants a shot to impress in North America. Of course, with Edmonton’s large and tightly knit Chilean community, having a Colo-Colo product on loan gives FCE a marketing boost with that potential fan base. If FCE could mobilize the city’s Chilean population, it could provide a massive spike in ticket sales — and it’s hard to overlook the public-relations value of this deal. With Matt Lam coming back from his loan spell in Japan and Pinto arriving from Chile, coach Harry Sinkgraven will have more options up front — which will make competition tighter for spaces. Incumbent Canadians Michael Cox, Kyle Porter, Kyle Yamada and Paul Craig all play in the front three, as does American Shawn Chin. The team has also signed another central striker, former St. Mary’s University standout Elvir Gigolaj.
