There is a movie on YouTube in which the members of two teams, one in white, one in black, throw balls to eachother. The viewer is asked to count the number of times, the members of the black team are passing the ball to eachother. It goes fast, you have to concentrate. After 30 seconds, the movie stops. A question appears on screen: ‘Did you see the moonwalking bear?’ Than, the movie starts over. And indeed: a huge black bear walks from right to left thru your screen. You completely missed it, the first time. Conclusion: ‘Easy to miss something you’re not looking for.’
In case of the signing of Markus Holgersson it was the same story. Almost. As we where focused on signing a quality central defender, Anorthosis did everything to sign Denis Tonucci, who stole our hearts in the pre-season. Denis however didn’t make his final decision yet. His heart tells him to come to Anorthosis, he loves the club, the team and the fans, but his mind is still not ready yet to abandon his dream of the big leagues of Europe. We had to move on, since the start of the league is coming closer.
Now, the story of the moonwalking bear. In all our efforts for Tonucci, we almost missed the moonwalking bear by the name of Markus Holgersson. And so did many others, since he was available end of August, although he played every game for Helsingborgs IF. He was only there out of loyalty, helping out his old club after a bad start of the season, after being released by Wigan Athletic. So, Marcus didnt have a long term contract in Helsingborg. In fact, he wanted to experience life in another league, another country.
Markus Holgersson is a special person. Open and honest, uncomplicated, and a clear mind. I encountered him once in New York, where he played for Red Bull and he made quite an impression. The Swedish player is an excellent central defender, like many in Scandinavia. They play as they are: simple, straight, honest. The Swedish League Allsvenskan is very similar to the Cyprus 1. Division, tough and better than it looks at first sight.
Markus with 29 is still in his best years as a defender. He is 1.93, a force in the air, trademark is solid defending. When we approached him, he didn’t hesitate a moment. He knew Cyprus. He knew the history of Famagusta. Within a day he took the plane to Larnaca. And we knew: this was the right moment for the right person at the right spot.
We are really happy Markus comes to help us, to achieve the common dream:
Famagusta, Anorthosis will return.
Ted van Leeuwen
Technical director
