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Dos Santos said that at the time he believed Peiser was out of reach in terms of dollars and he had three goalkeepers already.

He did know he was far more impressed by Peiser than the man he had sat down with in the first place. “The forward didn’t fit the profile of player we are trying to build in Ottawa,” he said. “He never once asked about the MLS, the NASL, our club. He was more interested in how much money and the style of play he liked.”

Little did Dos Santos know that Peiser was ready for a change. “My contract was over and they had offered me two more years,. Some other teams in Portugal had made offers. But I was not really happy. I needed a new challenge. That is what I told my agent.”

Canada was not on the horizon right away. It would be a dramatic change for a 35-year-old who still believes he can play at a high level until he is 40.

But written offers did not arrive and Peiser’s agent raised Canada if he was looking for something totally new.

“I said to him I honestly didn’t know. But speak with Marc and we will see.”

Back in Ottawa Dos Santos was trying to convince his boss of the value of this fourth goalkeeper.

When the call came from Canada Peiser took five minutes to be persuaded to take up the challenge.

“Marc was very honest. He said for sure it was not Portugal level and not the same money. But I would enjoy it because the club is good, ambitious and he wanted to work with me.”

Astonishingly – at least from a delighted Dos Santos’ viewpoint – money was never part of the equation. Peiser really was more intent on a new challenge, a new life. He laughed when asked about the size of the financial drop. “It’s less money, of course,” he said. “Fifty per cent less? More, more. It is a big difference. But I don’t come here for money. Obviously I need money to live but that is not the most important thing.”

After a little more than two months with the Fury Peiser is surprised at the standard of the game.

“I want to play at a good level, you know. I don’t want to be like the old guy but we’ll let him play. I want people to really enjoy that I am playing.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be so high. The players, the team, work hard and want to get better.”

Peiser and his Fury mates are in Texas preparing to play the NASL’s second hottest team San Antonio on Saturday. To keep slim playoff hopes alive, they will have to win.