Napoli’s newly acquired Croatian defender Ivan Strinic has said that he chose the Azzurri as he wanted a ‘different adventure’ and plans to reach the Champions League with them.
The Croatian, who officially joined the Serie A club on Monday, is delighted with the opportunity and has stressed his need to continue to work hard.
“Napoli is a leap in quality for me,” the player told Croatian website Jutarnji.hr.
“This is a great team and I’m not short of incentives to do well.
“I don’t want to make promises, I only want to work hard and reach my objectives step by step. I want to thank Dnipro, I have left the club on good terms.
“I wanted a different adventure in a new league. I spoke at length with [Rafa] Benitez and he knows that I haven’t played for a month-and-a-half due to a rib fracture that kept me away. Now I must think about recovering to my best physical condition.
“I chose Napoli as there is a plan here. I didn’t take me too much time to make my decision. My teammates have welcomed me very well.
“Neither [Gonzalo] Higuain nor the others behave like stars. There’s a great harmony in the dressing room. Our objective is the Champions League, it’s going to be a battle to the end with the other rivals.
“Southern people are very passionate. On Friday we had training until 11am and almost 30,000 people came to see us. It says a lot about how the tifosi live for football and for Napoli.”
The 27 year old Croatia international signed with Napoli after appearing in 112 games in over four years with Ukrainian club Dnipro.
