Trezeguet follows his heart to River Plate
Reuters - Wednesday 04 January 2012, 22:15
David Trezeguet
realised his dream when he joined a group of top flight players
on Wednesday who have flocked to the cause of restoring
relegated River Plate to the Argentine first division.
Trezeguet, who attended his first practice at the
Monumental, is realising a dream by playing for the club he has
supported since his boyhood in Buenos Aires before embarking on
a successful career as a striker with Monaco, Juventus and
France.
He said his passion for River and Argentine football was at
the heart of his decision to join Fernando Cavenaghi and
Alejandro Dominguez, who both cut short their careers abroad to
return to help the club of their youth recover their top flight
status.
"It was the ideal moment for me to return [to Argentina],"
said the 34-year-old who left Buenos Aires at 17 to seek his
fortune in France, where he was born to an Argentine footballer
father in 1977.
"River are going through a very difficult time... I want to
be part of the history [of their recovery]," he told a news
conference, adding that he had signed a three-year contract.
"For me football is passion and I wasn't getting that in
Arabian football... what better place to experience that than
here?" said Trezeguet, who terminated his contract with
al-Baniyas of the United Arab Emirates to join River as a free
agent.
"The South American [football] mentality is very different
to the European," added Trezeguet, who said that to join River
Plate ranked with winning the World Cup and European Championships with France and league titles with Monaco and
Juventus.
"What I can experience here can be even better than all
that," he said. "Being here is a unique feeling, motivated by
everything that River represents."
JUVE EXAMPLE
Trezeguet said he equated the River's situation with that of
Juventus who were relegated for match-fixing in 2006 and bounced
right back despite starting their Serie B season with a 17-
point deduction - later amended to a nine point deficit - as
part of their punishment.
"At Juventus we showed it could be done with young players
who are now in the [Italian] national team," said Trezeguet, who
spent 10 years at Juventus.
He said the majority of young players in River's squad would
do well to realise they were in a unique position playing for
such a big club in the way that his young team mates had done at
Juventus.
"Our shirt represents a history and the Juventus youngsters
understood that [of theirs]," he said.
River's signing of Trezeguet has put moves involving first
division sides in the mid-season summer recess in the shade.
With each club permitted two signings, they are on the verge
of a second with midfielder Leonardo Ponzio, who has rescinded
his contract with Real Zaragoza in order to return to River in
time for the second half of the Nacional B championship starting
on February 4.