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EXCLUSIVE: Lucas Neill Will Be A Success At Galatsaray - Bruce Djite
The combative centre-back is being backed by his fellow Aussie.
| Bet: | Returns: | Mersin İdman Yurdu £50.00 | Draw £34.00 | Galatasaray £16.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Mersin İdman Yurdu £50.00 | Draw £34.00 | Galatasaray £16.70 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Mersin İdman Yurdu £55.00 | Draw £34.00 | Galatasaray £17.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Mersin İdman Yurdu £45.00 | Draw £33.50 | Galatasaray £17.30 |
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Jan 20, 2010 1:22:00 AM
By Chris Paraskevas
Socceroo Bruce Djite has backed international teammate Lucas Neill to be a success at new club Galatasaray, describing the move as a “perfect fit”.
Djite recently completed a loan move from Genclerbirligi to Diyarbakirspor and said he was “surprised” by Neill’s decision to join a growing number of Australian players based in Turkey.
The former Everton defender will link up with Harry Kewell at his new club and compete with the likes of James Troisi (Kayserispor), Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor) and Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor).
Despite not having expected Neill to choose Turkey as his next place of residence, Djite is confident the move will be a success for the Socceroo captain.
“I think he’ll be more than successful here and he’s going to a great club, he’s a great player and it’s a perfect fit,” Djite told Goal.com.
“Obviously we’ll get in touch once he gets over here over the next couple of days.
“It’s another Australian and hopefully we’ll just keep growing in number here!”
Neill will be faced with the challenge of adapting to a totally new style of football just a few months out of the World Cup finals, having spent the last 15 years of his career playing in England.
It’s an aspect of the move that Djite isn’t concerned about given Neill’s status as a “top class” player and the fact that he will be re-united with former Socceroo assistant manager Johan Neeskens, who has taken up the same role at Galatasaray alongside Frank Rijkaard.
“Will he adapt? Definitely,” Djite continued. “He’s got enough experience and football is a language within itself. It won’t take him so long to adapt to the competition here.
“When you’re talking about the top, top class players they can go anywhere and adapt quickly. It doesn’t happen in every scenario but in Lucas’ case, with Harry being at the club already and having a great manager in Frank Rijkaard and Johan Neeskins, I don’t think there will be any problems about him.”
Asked whether he considered a move away from the illustrious English Premier League as a step down for Neill, Djite was coy in comparing the two competitions but insisted fanatical fan-bases and a “physical” league would keep the 31 year-old occupied.
He continued, “I’m more than sure that the fans here are more fanatical than in England. It’s obviously the national sport in both countries and English supporters are passionate but the Turks are something else.
“It’s [the league] very physical, you get some great technical players coming out of Turkey and I don’t see any disadvantages coming out of a great competition.”
Get all the Australian football coverage you need on the Goal.com Australia homepage!
Djite recently completed a loan move from Genclerbirligi to Diyarbakirspor and said he was “surprised” by Neill’s decision to join a growing number of Australian players based in Turkey.
The former Everton defender will link up with Harry Kewell at his new club and compete with the likes of James Troisi (Kayserispor), Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor) and Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor).
Despite not having expected Neill to choose Turkey as his next place of residence, Djite is confident the move will be a success for the Socceroo captain.
“I think he’ll be more than successful here and he’s going to a great club, he’s a great player and it’s a perfect fit,” Djite told Goal.com.
“Obviously we’ll get in touch once he gets over here over the next couple of days.
“It’s another Australian and hopefully we’ll just keep growing in number here!”
Neill will be faced with the challenge of adapting to a totally new style of football just a few months out of the World Cup finals, having spent the last 15 years of his career playing in England.
It’s an aspect of the move that Djite isn’t concerned about given Neill’s status as a “top class” player and the fact that he will be re-united with former Socceroo assistant manager Johan Neeskens, who has taken up the same role at Galatasaray alongside Frank Rijkaard.
“Will he adapt? Definitely,” Djite continued. “He’s got enough experience and football is a language within itself. It won’t take him so long to adapt to the competition here.
“When you’re talking about the top, top class players they can go anywhere and adapt quickly. It doesn’t happen in every scenario but in Lucas’ case, with Harry being at the club already and having a great manager in Frank Rijkaard and Johan Neeskins, I don’t think there will be any problems about him.”
Asked whether he considered a move away from the illustrious English Premier League as a step down for Neill, Djite was coy in comparing the two competitions but insisted fanatical fan-bases and a “physical” league would keep the 31 year-old occupied.
He continued, “I’m more than sure that the fans here are more fanatical than in England. It’s obviously the national sport in both countries and English supporters are passionate but the Turks are something else.
“It’s [the league] very physical, you get some great technical players coming out of Turkey and I don’t see any disadvantages coming out of a great competition.”
Get all the Australian football coverage you need on the Goal.com Australia homepage!
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