Elia hops on to Hamburg bandwagon
Monday, July 6, 2009
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FC Twente striker Eljero Elia has joined fellow summer signings Zé Roberto and Robert Tesche at Hamburger SV as the Bundesliga side prepare for UEFA Europa League third qualifying round action.
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FC Twente striker Eljero Elia has become Hamburger SV's latest major summer signing as the German side prepare for action in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
'Incredible potential'
The Dutch Under-21 international scored nine goals in 34 league games for Twente last season as the Enschede-based side finished second in the Eredivisie, and commanded a fee rumoured to be around €9m. He has agreed a contract until 2014, with his new coach Bruno Labbadia saying: "Eljero has incredible potential. I am sure we will enjoy having him with us because of his pace, dynamism and great strength in one-on-one situations."
Strong recommendations
"A lot of clubs tried to sign me," added the 22-year-old Elia. "There was an offer from AFC Ajax shortly before I signed for Hamburg, but my decision had been made; I only wanted to join Hamburg. I spoke to [current Hamburg players] Joris Mathijsen, Romeo Castelen, [former Hamburg players] Rafael van der Vaart and Khalid Boulahrouz and they all told me that I had to join HSV." He joins fellow new additions Zé Roberto, who joined from FC Bayern München, and Robert Tesche from DSC Arminia Bielefeld.