After dumping his new side out of the Europa League qualifiers, the Argentine attacker made the move from Tripolis to join Mainz. Here's what he had to say about..

His new teammates: "They are great, I felt well-received in the changing room. The Spanish-speaking players: Junior Diaz, Elkin Soto and Gonzalo Jara are a great help and have helped me to start immensely. Now I have to learn German, of course - in Tripoli that was easier because there were 10 Argentine and five Spaniards, there the Greek team-mates also spoke Spanish (laughs)."

His new coach: "Even though we've only known each other for a few days, I think that Kasper Hjulmand is a super person. I have gotten a really good first impression of him, and the training is demanding, but also fun."

His new stadium: "The stadium is very large and new. It like it a lot! When I then saw the Coface Arena for the first time, I thought, 'What a dream it would be to play here regularly, before such a backdrop.' Now I'm happy that I'm here."

His favourite position: "I play wherever coach and team need me. I have no favourite position. Whether that's centrally or attacking on the wings, I don't mind - I'm totally flexible."

His first contact with the club: "The first contact I had was not with the club officials, but with a young fan who watched our public training with Asteras Tripolis in the Coface Arena. He spoke down to me from the stands and told me that Mainz is a great club and the atmosphere and the fans in the Coface Arena are always great. Christian Heidel, after the Europa League game, was in contact with me. Asteras wanted me to still play in the second game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, in the Europa League, so therefore only afterwards I could come to Mainz."

His move from Greece to the Bundesliga: "The decision to come to Mainz, was an easy decision. The Bundesliga is better than the Greek Super League. As a young boy, I always dreamed of, someday, playing here or in Spain or the Premier League. Germany have easily one of the strongest leagues in the world. This is evident on the training ground immediately: The game is of a different rhythm and the tempo is much higher. With this move, a childhood dream of mine has come true. I am very happy and now I have prove myself."

His family: "My family lives in Argentina. But they definitely come visit me here. I had a friend in Greece, but we broke up a few months ago. So I am costless to come to Mainz (laughs)."

Argentine football: "Football is very important in Argentina. All Argentine football players want to either play in a big club in your home country or move to Europe. When we lost the World Cup, I was, naturally, very angry. I was watching the game against Germany in Argentina on TV. Now the countries play again - but today the result does not matter, two months ago a victory would have been more important to me (laughs)."

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]