By DPA
Madrid : Four months ago a merry Christmas hardly seemed in the cards for Real Madrid’s Julio Baptista and Ernesto Chevanton.
But the two South Americans are now looking forward to a happy holiday after scoring crucial goals this weekend.
In August, Baptista had just returned to Real Madrid after an unhappy season on loan to Arsenal – to be told by new coach Bernd Schuster that the club was trying to sell him. The same message was given by Sevilla coach Juande Ramos to Chevanton.
Both players received offers from other clubs in summer, but both decided to stay in La Liga and fight to prove Schuster and Ramos wrong.
Baptista, 26, predictably started the season on the bench. But he came on as a late sub in September at home to Betis and impressed Schuster with a handsome overhead kick for a goal.
Baptista has been first-choice for Schuster for a month now and has repaid the German by using his rare combination of muscle and skill to good effect.
On Sunday “The Beast” – as he was affectionately known by the fans of Sao Paulo and Sevilla – turned in his best display for Real, crowned by the only goal of a tight match.
In the 36th minute, Baptista silenced the packed Camp Nou by playing a clever one-two with Ruud Van Nistelrooy and scoring with a fierce right-footed half-volley.
He had made another point to Schuster – and the German was delighted by it. Real are now seven points ahead of Barca and well placed to retain their Liga title.
He is also first-choice for Brazil coach Dunga, after being an important part of the team that won the Copa America in July.
Chevanton is just as happy as Baptista at the moment, after coming off the bench and scoring Saturday in Sevilla’s 4-1 thrashing of Racing Santander.
The Uruguayan striker celebrated the goal like a man possessed, pulling off his shirt and jumping into the crowd. The explosive Chevanton made a poor start last season at Sevilla after joining from AS Monaco, playing in just 17 games and scoring just four goals.
In August, Ramos told him to look for another club. Chevanton refused – and was excluded from the official squad list for both La Liga and the Champions League.
But Ramos jumped ship in October to Tottenham, and replacement Manolo Jimenez decided to give the 27-year-old misfit another chance.
Now, the word in Seville is that Alexander Kherzhakov will be leaving in January, and that Chevanton will be staying as understudy to Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute.
What a difference four months can make in the careers of top-class footballers.