Unless you have been living under a rock (or drowning under a wave of unsolicited Sydney FC membership flyers) you would know that the Wanderers have recently announced the marquee signing of Federico Piovaccari.
Here’s what some of the best domestic and international media outlets had to say.
The Daily Telegraph looked at how useful Piovaccari will be in the Wanderers front line and offers he rejected before deciding on the Red & Black.
The Wanderers have confirmed the signing of Italian striker Federico Piovaccari as their marquee player for the season.
It’s understood Piovaccari, who also represented Italy at Under-23 level, rejected an offer from Israeli club Maccabi Haifa to join Western Sydney.
“I’m really happy and can’t wait to start this new challenge in my football career,” Piovaccari said.
“I would like to thank the club and chairman for this opportunity. I’ll do everything in my power to pay back their faith in me … Forza Wanderers!”
The Sydney Morning Herald also discussed the signing of Piovaccari.
Piovaccari signed for Sampdoria for €3.5 million ($5.3 million) on a four-year deal in 2011 after scoring 23 goals in 39 games for Serie B club Cittadella, having previously starred for lower league side Ravanna.
Despite prolific loan spells at Vittoria and San Marino, it wasn’t until his move to Cittadella that Piovaccari’s career gained significant traction.
Although he never made a consistent impact at Sampdoria, he would score freely on loan at clubs such as Brescia, Grosseto, Romanian side Steaua Bucharest and then last season with Eibar, helping the Spanish minnows to starve off relegation.
ESPN reported on the signing moments after the club made the announcement.
“What we have in Federico is a proven goal scorer who has performed consistently at the top level including in the UEFA Champions League, Serie B, Liga 1 and La Liga,” Tsatsimas told the club’s official website.
“At 30-years-of-age and coming off a season in one of the top leagues in world football I believe we have brought in a player who will complement our team and our style with a real attacking threat.”
Piovaccari, who scored six goals for Eibar last season, said that he was relishing the challenge of playing in the A-League.
“I’m really happy and can’t wait to start this new challenge in my football career,” he said. “I know it’s going to be a wonderful experience for me and my family.
ABC shared similar sentiments.
Piovaccari, 30, who has played in Italy, Spain and Romania, will be the Wanderers’ marquee player for the 2015-16 season.
He scored six times last season with Spanish La Liga club SD Eibar, where he was on loan from Italian side Sampdoria.
The season before, Sampdoria loaned him to Romania’s Steaua Bucharest, for which he produced 10 goals in 25 games in a trophy-winning season in which he played in the UEFA Champions League.
He has also had loan stints at several lower division Italian clubs while attached to Sampdoria and Inter Milan.
A scorer is a major priority for Wanderers who notched only 29 goals in 27 A-League games last season.
Goal.com‘s Italian site reported on the acquisition if you can read Italian.
Dopo una carriera tra Serie B, Lega Pro e una stagione all’Inter senza mai scendere in campo (ai tempi della primavera nerazzurra), Piovaccari nel 2013 aveva scelto di confrontarsi con il calcio rumeno, con la gloriosa Steaua.
With the centre forward likely to meet fans at Mt Druitt on Thursday night and be ready for our FFA Cup match against Brisbane Roar, take the time to read the five important things about the latest member of the Red & Black.
