The Boston Breakers will have two Brazilian player in 2015 after all. It just won’t be the two they thought were coming. Thursday the club announced the signings of forward Rafaela De Miranda Travalao (Rafinha) and midfielder Beatriz Vaz e Silva (Bia). Rafinha, 26, and Bia, 29, both played for AFE, the top club side in Brazil.
“We are fortunate to have found two such dynamic players with championship pedigree,” Durkin said as part of a statement. Neither player will be part of Brazil’s 18-month residency camp announced earlier this week. The Breakers had previously agreed to terms with Andressa Alves and Francielle, but those players will be part of residency instead of going to Boston. Ketlen Wiggers will not be part of the camp and is still on course to be a Breaker in 2015.
On the two new players, Durkin will be looking to Rafinha to play in the final third and score goals while Bia will play deeper and “link our defense to our attack nicely and elevate our speed of play.”
The Breakers are looking for a turnaround after a disastrous 2014 season that saw them narrowly miss out on finishing bottom of the table.
