Villarreal land Pizzi on loan

Villarreal CF on Thursday confirmed the loan signing of former FC Barcelona striker Juan Antonio Pizzi from Argentina side Club Atlético Rosario Central, with view to a permanent €1m transfer.

Dual nationality
Pizzi is able to take advantage of his dual-nationality status, meaning he will not occupy a non-EU berth at the Madrigal stadium. Despite being born in Sante Fe, Argentina, he has earned 24 caps for Spain, scoring eight goals, and offers coach Victor Muñoz a proven centre-forward in the true number nine mould to replace long-term injury victim Martín Palermo. The Argentinian is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a double fracture of the tibia in a Copa del Rey tie at Levante Unión Deportiva S.A.D at the end of November.

Leading scorer
Pizzi was the leading scorer in the Primera División in 1995/96 when he struck an incredible 31 goals in 41 Spanish first division games for CD Tenerife and earned a big-money move to the Camp Nou stadium. However, the forward failed to win over the Catalan club's fans and returned to Argentina with Club Atlético for the 1998/99 season before transferring to Rosario Central, where he began his career.

Frantic attempts
The arrival of Pizzi is the culmination of Villarreal's frantic attempts to bolster their attack, with the likes of BV Borussia Dortmund's Fredi Bobic and former Internazionale FC and Real Madrid FC striker Ivan Zamorano being linked with a move to Spain. Fans hope that Pizzi will be able to strike up an understanding with Víctor up front, as the team have slightly lost their way since the injury to Palermo.

Springboard for improvement
The signing of the former Club Atlético Boca Juniors striker was one of the transfer coups of last season. Palermo provided the springboard for Villarreal's impressive performance last term when they narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup berth, falling just two points short of RC Celta de Vigo's sixth-place finish.