Pisano relishing English opportunity

Tuesday, June 27th 2017

Eros Pisano has spoken of his excitement at being able to test himself in English football with City.

The 30-year-old has become the club’s first summer signing, arriving on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract at Verona.

A right-back by trade, Pisano admits it was always his dream to play in England and says he jumped at the opportunity to come to BS3.

In an exclusive BCTV interview, Pisano said: "I'm really excited. Once I had been shown the project here and met the head coach (Lee Johnson), I felt everything was perfect.

"We spoke a lot about the club and he just made me feel this is the right place for me and that I can do my best here.

"It was an easy decision for me to sign for the club.

"The organisation around the club is the most important. The atmosphere you feel when you get into the stadium and the structure of the place is completely different to what I am used to in Italy.

"I have always followed English football and of course it was a dream to play here. As soon as this opportunity came up I caught the ball and followed it.”

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"From what I've seen of English football, it's very similar to my way of playing. With my shape, my physicality and my quality, I think I can match in the perfect way (with the league).”

New signing Eros Pisano

In the past 12 months Hordur Magnusson and Milan Djuric have both made moves from Serie B to Ashton Gate.

Pisano is hoping to follow in their footsteps in coping with the switch, and having watched on from afar, the defender feels his game will marry up well with the Sky Bet Championship.

He said: "The main difference (in England) is that it’s faster and more physical. In Italy it's more technical, so I think I will find strong football here.

"From what I've seen of English football, it's very similar to my way of playing. With my shape, my physicality and my quality, I think I can match in the perfect way (with the league).”

Magnusson and Djuric’s Italian speaking may help the new man settle in quickly at Ashton Gate, but Pisano doesn’t want to be relying on their multilingual skills for long.

His American, English-speaking wife should also aid Pisano’s move to English shores and he also plans to take language lessons.

"My team-mates will help me to learn, day by day, the English language. That will help me get along with the other players,” he added.

"My wife tries to help me, but definitely now I need to improve because I am here, outside of my country and I have to speak the language."