Is a Chinese bracelet about to shape Ireland's World Cup destiny? The bracelet in question arrived in Florence last Friday, sent to one Luis Airton Barros Oliveira, Fiorentina's naturalised Belgian striker of Brazilian origin.
Within hours of receiving the bracelet, Oliveira's luck seemed to change. First came the news on Sunday morning that he had been recalled by Belgian coach George Leekens for the vital World Cup play-off return leg against Ireland in Brussels next Saturday.
The recall was expected, but most Belgian observers were surprised by Leekens' decision to leave PSV Eindhoven striker Gilles de Bilde out of his squad, thus implying that Oliveira will start alongside Luc Nilis (also of PSV Eindhoven). Nilis is currently in sparkling form, as underlined by his 33rd minute goal against Shay Given in PSV's 2-0 Champions League win over Newcastle United last week. Given that it is no secret that Nilis prefers to play with his clubmate, De Bilde (also in good form and scorer of the other goal against Newcastle), then Leekens' decision is all the more significant.
Belgian sources suggest that Leekens wasn't impressed by post-match mutterings from De Bilde following the 1-1 draw with Ireland at Lansdowne Road two weeks ago. De Bilde, it seems, didn't appreciate being brought on for the final five minutes of the Dublin game.
Leekens, who once earned himself the nickname, "Mac The Knife", cut De Bilde from the squad, a decision made all the easier by the recall of Oliveira, who was suspended for the first game.
If Leekens had any last minute doubts about his decision, then Oliveira probably dispelled them by leaving some indifferent early season form behind him when scoring two goals for Fiorentina in their 50 romp against Lecce on Sunday. After the game, Oliveira was clearly relieved that an eightmatch goalless run had ended, going on to attribute his change of fortune as much to his newlyacquired Chinese bracelet as to the excellent work of his strike partner, Argentine Gabriel Batistuta.
While Irish fans might have rather different ideas about Oliveira's continuing luck, one thing is sure, the 28-year-old is a talented and experienced player. Now in his sixth season in Italian soccer, following four seasons with Anderlecht, Oliveira has been playing top class soccer for 10 years. When Oliveira arrived in Italy in the summer of 1992 to join Cagliari he was relatively unknown. At the time, newly arrived foreigners such as Paul Gascoigne (Lazio), Faustino Asprilla (Parma), Dejan Savicevic (AC Milan) and Mattias Sammer (Inter Milan) attracted much more attention.
Who exactly was this Brazilian who opted to play for Belgium after marrying his Belgian girlfriend? Why had Caglari made him their most expensive purchase of the summer at around $3 million? He might have been from the land of Pele and he might have won the Belgian title with Anderlecht, but to the Cagliari media it seemed a tremendous gamble.
Four seasons and 41 Serie A goals later, Cagliari had no doubts. What is more, when they came to sell their man, his market value had improved by 150 per cent . . . . Fiorentina splashed out $7.5 million for him last year.
Highlight of Oliveira's time at Cagliari was the prominent part he played in the club's unexpectedly good UEFA Cup run in the 1993-94 season. This climaxed with a victorious quarter-final tie against Juventus, with Oliveira scoring in both the home and away legs, won 10 and 2-1 respectively.
However, Belgian coach Paul Van Himst left him out of the squad for the USA '94 World Cup finals. Oliveira might be Belgian by footballing passport but his instincts are Brazilian. Both quick off the mark and distinctly fast in full flight, Oliveira has often been criticised for being a "head down and run like hell" merchant. There is no doubt that Oliveira is difficult to play with but, if he plays against Ireland, his role will be as much to distract the Irish defence with his direct running (thus creating room for Nilis alongside him) as to score himself. Irish fans will be hoping that Ireland find a way to stop him. Oliveira, meanwhile, will be looking to his magic Chinese bracelet.
