Since David Gold and David Sullivan took over the club in January 2010, the club have made some very strange Latin & South American signings. It seems like one is made every year, with the latest being Argentine playmaker Manuel Lanzini on a season-long loan from Al Jazira in the UAE.
These players have endured indifferent spells at Upton Park, mostly culminating in swift exits from the club and never to be heard from again.
But, have you ever wondered what happened to the likes of Ilan, Wellington Paulista and Brian Montenegro following their brief stints in East London? Well, we take a look at life after West Ham for five Latin & South Americans.
The first of which was brought in during the Gold and Sullivan reign was the very window they took over the club – January 2010. Brazilian striker Ilan was signed on a free transfer on Deadline Day from Ligue 1 side Saint Etienne to help guide West Ham to safety. Only on a six-month deal, Ilan had to impress in order to earn a new contract, and to be fair to him he tried.
Scoring four goals in 11 games was a decent enough return for a player used in a bit-part role on a short-term deal, including that special diving header to salvage a point at Goodison Park against Everton.
However, after our survival, Ilan was deemed surplus to requirements, and was not handed a new contract with the club. So where did he go? Shortly after his release, he returned to Brazil, signing an 18-month deal with Internacional following a six-year stint in European football. Only making four appearances for the club, without scoring, he was released in February 2011.
He spent the rest of the season without a contract, he returned to France and signed a one-year deal with Ligue 1 side Ajaccio in July 2011. He was back in the first-team and scored six times in 26 League appearances, which wasn’t enough to earn an extension, despite being the club’s top scorer.
In July 2012, he moved to SC Bastia on a free transfer, where he scored three goals in 22 games that season. The following year was even less fruitful for the Brazilian, a return of one goal in 30 League games saw him be released at the end of the season. In October 2014, he signed a deal with fourth-tier side Grenoble Foot 38 until the end of last season, and is now currently without a club.
July 2010 saw the £4m arrival of highly-rated Mexican winger Pablo Barrera from Pumas on a four-year contract. Off the back of a very exciting season in the Mexican leagues, where he scored 14 goals and recorded eight assists in 31 games – as well as nailing down a regular place in the Mexican national side, the sky was the limit for Barrera at West Ham.
His one and only season at Upton Park was very disappointing, playing 21 games without scoring, assisting twice, confirming fears that he couldn’t handle the physicality and demands of English football.
The following summer he was sent on a season-long loan to La Liga side Real Zaragoza, hoping that the Spanish style of football would help him rediscover the form he showed in Mexico, teaming up with former national team manager Javier Aguirre.
However, it didn’t pan out that way for him. One goal in 20 La Liga appearances put an end to a very disappointing two-year stint in European football, as in the summer of 2012 West Ham sold him to Liga MX side Cruz Azul, where he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. 52 appearances, four goals and eight assists later, the winger left after the expiry of his contract, and signed with league rivals Monterrey in January 2015, and has two goals in 17 appearances for the club since signing.
Fair to say, Barrera was a complete flop, and has failed to rediscover his 2009 form since earning his big move to Europe.
West Ham’s relegation to the Championship saw them seriously re-shape their squad under Sam Allardyce, which saw the arrival of 12 new players, the most intriguing of which was talented young striker Brian Montenegro. Only 18-years-old at the time, he scored seven goals in 51 appearances for Paraguayan side Tacaury, who offloaded him to second-tier side Deportivo Maldonado, who then in-turn, loaned him to the Hammers, with an option to buy.
Montenegro spent most of his time working with the Development Squad, with first-team opportunities scarce due to the nature of that season – promotion was a must at the first-attempt. He was given a chance off the bench in the FA Cup against Sheffield Wednesday, which we lost 1-0. He failed to make another appearance for the club and left the club that summer.
Deportivo Maldonado sold Montenegro back to Tacaury when he returned to the club, where he scored two goals in 17 games between July 2012 and January 2013.
The young Paraguayan was on the move again that January, as he was sold to Rubio Ñú, where he scored just three goals in 14 games, which wasn’t the return they were looking for, and that summer he was transferred for a fifth time before his 21st birthday to fellow Primeira Division side Libertad.
He finally started to put some performances together, and scored nine goals in 36 games, earning him a move to Nacional Asunción to take part in the latter stages of the Copa Libertadores. He made three appearances in the competition, including a goal in the semi-final. Libertad were the eventual runners up.
Later in the summer, he was sent on loan back to English football with Leeds United. Only making six appearances for the club in all competitions, with just one start and no goals, Montenegro again failed to impress in England, and has now returned to Libertad.
Finally, we have Wellington Paulista – a Brazilian striker who was brought in on a season-long loan from Cruzeiro following our promotion back to the Premier League.
“I think I can do my best here and I am coming to England to prove that I am one of the best strikers in Brazil and to get better and better” he said in his first interview after signing.”
MASSIVE sossy there from Wellington.
He spent his entire season at the club rotting in the Development Squad because of fitness concerns and, well, an overall lack of footballing ability. He did make the bench twice though, but failed to feature.
He returned to Brazil, and was sent out on loan to Criciúma, where he scored 11 goals in 24 games for the club, but didn’t sign permanently. Following his release from Cruzeiro, Paulista signed for Internacional, where he scored three times in 27 appearances for the club, and was again loaned, this time to Coritiba, scoring two goals in six games. Overall, a very unimpressive career to date.
Which of those players was the WORST signing by West Ham? Take the poll below…
