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It is not all good news though, as there are inevitably a number of South American players who are never quite able to adapt to the harsh and bleak weather conditions in the Eastern block. Also, many get frustrated as their employees refuse to allow them to move to a bigger league. A recent example of this is the case of Matuzalem, who stopped turning up for training at Shakhtar Donetsk after they refused to allow him to move and eventually signed a contract with Spanish side Real Zaragoza. Shakhtar have now taken the issue to court as they believe Matuzalem to still be under contract to them, and are claiming $34 million in damages.

International recognition can also be  hard to come by for players that make the switch to these leagues. Maxi Moralez may well note that his fellow Argentines in the Russian League do not have a single senior cap amongst them. This was also an issue for Brazilian players under the previous national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who continually ignored those playing in Russia and the Ukraine. Luckily for them, when Dunga took charge of the national side after their disappointing World Cup, he started to look further afield for his selection, with players such as Elano, Daniel Carvalho, Vagner Love, and most recently Jo, becoming central players in the current national setup.

The final issue is the effect that an influx of South American players will have on the development of young home grown players and ultimately the national sides. Defensively it is unlikely to be a problem, but with the offensive midfield and forward positions increasingly being taken by South American imports, there could end up being a real dearth of talent in these areas in years to come. This is a problem faced by many European leagues, with some UEFA officials keen to restrict the number of foreign players that each club can have on their books.

The signing of South American players by Eastern bloc clubs brings with it a lot of positives and only a very few negatives, which is why so many clubs have jumped on the bandwagon. Although it has improved the quality of football in these leagues and made them a better spectacle, CSKA Moscow aside, it has not yet bought the great success in Europe that many of the clubs would have been hoping for. The closest a side from this region has recently got to winning the Champions League was Dynamo Kiev in the 98/99 season, a feat they achieved with a squad almost entirely comprised of Ukrainian players. That may provide a little food for thought for the clubs thinking that South American imports are the only way forward.