Ex-Squirrels Update

Time for a brief update on another former Squirrel now overseas. Hiroshi Morita lit up Omiya Park and Agent Orange's life up until the end of 2008, when he rejoined former coach and General Manager Satoru Sakuma at Ventforet Kofu. Last year was a disappointment for Kofu and Morita, as he found the net only seven times in what turned out to be a failed promotion bid and not surprisingly the player once again found himself looking round for a new club. But at the age of 31, this can be tough going in a climate where many Japanese teams are reducing the size of their squads.

Ex-Ardija keeper Nobuhisa Kobayashi, for instance, has moved into the JFL with Kyoto-based Sagawa Printing, where he has now sky-rocketed from being fourth choice at Omiya to earning a more or less regular place on the substitutes' bench. Morita, on the other hand, has looked further afield and the early months of this year found him in Thailand, trying to earn a contract via trials with Thai Premier League outfits Chonburi FC and then BEC Tero. The player has, however, ended up signing for another club in the shape of Bangkok's Thai Port FC, who currently lie close to the foot of the table after one win in the first four games of the new season.

Thai Port have recently picked up a sponsorship deal with a Yokohama company called FB Battery and according to supporter Marco have been keen to add a Japanese player or two to their squad. Indeed, Morita has been accompanied to Thai Port by veteran defender Yoshiaki Maruyama, who played for Albirex Niigata and Vegalta Sendai among others before heading to Chonburi last year. Marco, who has kindly provided the photo that accompanies this post, reports that Thai Port will not have a match for another couple of weeks and the hope is that Morita will be able to make a significant impact on the team's fortunes after a poor start to 2010.

*