SEBASTIÁN TABORDA RAMOS

Between 2003 and 2005, Deportivo lost much offensive power with the departure of Roy Makaay, Walter Pandiani and Albert Luque. Many names were related to the club when the transfer window of the summer was near its end, when suddenly news reports appeared about the signing of SEBASTIAN TABORDA. As a relatively unknown striker he’ll have the difficult task to the score the goals Deportivo desperately lacked during the previous season. New coach Joaquín Caparrós was very clear when he asked president Lendoiro for reinforcements of the attacking line. In three seasons Diego Tristán never had shown his form again of the period 2002-2005, while Rubén, Xisco and Senel are too inexperienced. “I would like to add a strong player, good in the air”, Caparrós mentioned even before the sale of Luque to Newcastle United. And that’s what he got with Taborda. At the moment of his signature, 31 August 2005, Taborda had nine goals behind his name in fifteen matches in the Uruguayan league and was topscorer of the Copa Sudamericana. Nacional coach Martín Lasarte, a former Deportivo player, was after him too. “He’s very strong, never gives up a fight and has character combined with temperament. Especially his aerial game is good, but we couldn’t really compete with Deportivo for his signature”, he claimed. Legendary Uruguayan striker Rubén Sosa, a former player of Internazionale and Lazio, compares him to Argentinean international forward Martin Palermo. “But Taborda is more intelligent, has a better shot with both feet and, above all, has more determination to succeed. He’s a great striker for the box and ready for a move to Europe”. What Taborda also brings with him is experience, despite being just twenty-four. He has played for four different clubs, in three different countries (Chile, Mexico and Uruguay), in just four years. “And I’m convinced he’ll easily adapt to European football”, ‘Toto’ da Silveira (a well-known journalist in Uruguay) explained. “Besides, he’s a great person, well educated and cultivated. On the pitch he works hard, and he won’t doubt fighting with every Liga defensive he meets. I am sure he will succeed”. Taborda has played with the sub-20 and sub-23 national teams of Uruguayan and has played three matches so far with the A-team. When arriving in La Coruña he explained to be “very satisfied and prepared. I hope to adapt as quickly as possible to the new team, and the next few days will be very important for that. There aren’t Liga matches this weekend and that gives me more time to get to know my colleagues and to be there at the next match”. At Deportivo he’ll encounter a compatriot in goalkeeper Gustavo Munúa and he'll play with other South-American squad members like Coloccini, Duscher, ‘Toro’ Acuña and Lionel Scaloni. “Munúa and I are colleagues from the national team under coach Juan Ramón Carrasco”, Taborda mentioned. “I have a very good relationship with him and I hope he’ll help me much these first days. It’s always difficult to adapt to a new city, to a new team and to new colleagues”. Finally, Taborda said that his transfer wasn’t a complete surprise for him. “Two months ago conversations started, so the only surprise was that the transfer was concluded on the final day. I already have spoken with coach Caparrós and now I’ll have more time to do so”.