Abu Dhabi: Burkinabe winger Jonathan Pitroipa said a visit to the UAE capital helped sway his decision to join Al Jazira from French Ligue 1 side Rennes at his unveiling on Sunday.
Pitroipa, 28, joined the Abu Dhabi club on an undisclosed three-year deal last week with Montenegrin striker Mirko Vucinic from Italian Serie A side Juventus.
The 2013 African Nations Player of the Tournament, formerly of Germany’s Freiburg and Hamburg, said despite initial trepidation over a move to the region he now feels he made the right choice. “I agreed on a deal only after seeing the infrastructure, facilities and learning more about the club and the country’s football,” he said. “I was impressed by my first visit to Abu Dhabi.
“Last year I had an offer from Qatar but I thought it wasn’t the right time for a move. This time, when I received the offer from Al Jazira, I decided to make a visit to the club. It wasn’t a difficult decision.
“There are a lot of good players in the Arabian Gulf League and football is continuing to develop in the country. I believe there are lots of young Emirati players emerging from the academies. I have already had a couple of training sessions and I am enjoying the atmosphere and the company of my teammates.
“It is a new experience and a new life for me, playing for the first time in the region. I am thankful for Al Jazira for providing me with this opportunity and a good deal.
“I think I have the speed, dribbling skills and more importantly I’ll play for the team with the objective of winning trophies.”
Al Jazira’s foreign quartet is now complete. Pitroipa and Vucinic join retained Moroccan and Brazilian midfielders Abdul Aziz Barrada and Jucilei da Silva under new Belgian coach Eric Gerets. Da Silva assumes the Asian allocation left by outgoing South Korean defender Shin Myung-min after obtaining Palestinian citizenship.
