David Pizarro claims he rejected Juventus for Manchester City because of Roberto Mancini

The 32-year-old says he opted to join the Premier League leaders on loan from Roma because of his work with the Italian coach in the past and praised his boss' leadership

3 Feb 2012 18:17:00

By Miles Chambers

More On :  Juventus, Manchester City, Roma, Roberto Mancini, David Pizarro
David Pizarro - Roma (Getty Images)
Getty Images

David Pizarro has revealed he turned down a move to Serie A leaders Juventus in favour of a loan switch to Manchester City.

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The 32-year-old was announced as a Blues player on transfer deadline day last month and could make his first appearance against Fulham on Saturday.

The attacking midfielder, who will spend the rest of the season on loan at the Etihad Stadium, admitted it was the presence of boss Robert Mancini which swayed his decision and led him to join the Citizens.

“It was a surprise for me because it was done pretty quickly,” the playmaker revealed to reporters via an interpreter on Friday.

“Of course Mr Mancini played a big part in this. I already had quite an advanced agreement with Juventus but when they told me about Manchester City's concrete interest, I liked the idea more.”

Earlier on Friday Mancini admitted that acquiring the former Chile international for the rest of the season could be incredibly helpful as the club target their first ever Premier League title.

“We had this problem with some players away, and now we start to play every three days with the Europa League,” Mancini said.

“We had this chance with David on loan from Roma and it was good for us because I know the player and I think that could be useful for us in the next four months.”

Pizarro played for the Italian coach at Inter and waxed lyrical about his ability to get the best out of players.

He added: “I have worked with him already - I think his personality and his leadership are the main strengths.

“I remember when he arrived at Inter.

“They hadn't won for so many years but with his input we stabilised and from then on Inter went on to trophies.”

The Chilean is one of a number of players who have made the move from Serie A to the Premier League but City will be wary of recent flops in the form of Alberto Aquilani and Andriy Shevchenko.

Pizarro was positive, however, that he will thrive: “I feel ready. The fact Man City are trying to win the league is something I like a lot.

“I know it is a different league and the referees tend to see the game differently, so I know it is 90 minutes full on.

“I am sure that from my years playing at the highest level in Italy and in European competitions give me enough experience to be able to contribute.

“It is a moment where it is important for Manchester City so I need to adapt very quickly, but I think I have got the experience to do that.”

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With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.

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20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!

19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
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Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.

"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.

"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
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Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."

"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."

Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
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