Joao Moutinho: presentation press conference

The press conference for the presentation of Joao Moutinho, the first reinforcement of the winter market, already starring with the white jersey in this 2023 start, was held this morning at the 'Bruno Ferdeghini' Sports Center.
The presentation was introduced by the Club's Chief Football Officer Eduardo Macia: "Joao is our first purchase of the winter market, it was a negotiation carried out well in advance, to improve the proactive characteristics of this team. First of all I want to thank Joao for the choice, convincing a player is never easy and I must say that he believed from the beginning in the project we proposed to him. Then I want to thank the team: we are doing very well, trying to move forward with incredible ambition in our path, also getting results. The thing that pleases me is that our guys are aware that we can still improve, I'm seeing in them an important growth also at the level of mentality.
Coming to the player, Moutinho is a class of 1998, a product of the youth sector of Sporting Lisbon, one of the most prolific in European football, he is a boy who has a proactive, dynamic game and that allowed us to complete the department on the left flank. We are trying to grow, improve, also in the mentality of the team and his purchase also goes in this direction."
The floor was then passed to Joao Moutinho, who immediately recounted his career path before arriving at La Spezia: "After the youth sector with Sporting, I moved to the United States very young, at the age of 19. It was a great opportunity for me, allowing me to grow and complete myself as a player. However, my dream was to return to play in Europe, to land in a big league, so as soon as the opportunity came to me to come to Spezia I decided to accept the project of this club. 
In my career I have always played as a left back, but at times I have also played as a wing back, and I can say that I have been comfortable in both positions. As for the team, I think we are a great group, with a good mentality, and since I arrived I have noticed that we are a formation that is very difficult to play against. In short, I am very happy with the choice I made.
In Orlando I played for two years with Pato, he is a great friend of mine and when I had the opportunity to come to Italy I asked him for his opinion and he immediately supported this choice, telling me that Serie A is a fantastic league in which I could have grown and improved even more. 
The debut at the Picco was very exciting, I realized that I had arrived at a moment in my career that I dreamed of, for me it is a great emotion to play and take the field for this jersey, especially in our stadium which is really fantastic. 

I had received other offers, even from other countries, but when I learned about the Spezia project it was easy for me to choose and so I repeat, I am really happy to have arrived here." 
In closing the presentation, the floor was finally passed to director Stefano Melissano who took stock of the market strategy the club has adopted so far: "Since the arrival of Eduardo Macía we have started a path that has a precise identity: to bring the team to have a higher level of alternatives, not numerical, but qualitative, to form a team that can determine on the field with excellent performances. Our goal is to be able to play on par with strong teams, as has already happened with Atalanta and Fiorentina. 
So far we have signed Joao, but also Esposito and Zurkowski. Two more players such as Cipot and Krollis are arriving in the immediate future, all elements that fit perfectly into the project we are conducting and that will give both the team and the coach viable alternatives to raise the competitiveness of the staff. The foundations have been laid for the Spezia of the future, so that we will be ready with a competitive staff even from the beginning of next season, as well as in the present."