Neptunes sign Serbian star Vujasinovic

Neptunes Vodafone, the current Malta champions, have officially announced that their overseas player for next season will be none other than the Serbian star Vladimir Vujasinovic.

The contract was signed recently in Recco, Italy, where Vujasinovic plays for the local star-studded side Pro Recco. Present for the signing of the agreement were Matthew Bonello, the Neptunes president, and assistant coach Karl Izzo, a club statement said.

Due to his commitments with Pro Recco, Vujasinovic will not be able to take part in the preliminary round of the Wilkinson Sword First Division in June. He is expected to join his team-mates at the end of June to prepare for the last two rounds of the league and the Knock-Out.

The Neptunes statement added that team coach Sergio Afric and Vujasinovic himself have a number of contacts which they are following up, before a final decision is made by the committee as to who will be the club's overseas player in the preliminary round.

Afric was instrumental in persuading this renowned player to join the Balluta Bay team.

Vlado, as Vujasinovic is affectionately known, is considered to be one of the best players in the world. He has repeatedly won every honour the game has to offer both at club and international level. Last year, he led Serbia to victory in the European Championships to increase his tally of Euro gold medals to three. A silver medal winner with Serbia in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the 33-year-old Vujasinovic was also in the Serbian team that won the World Championships in Montreal in 2005.