Chennaiyin FC have announced yet another signing for the second edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). The Chennai franchise have now roped in former Italian Central Midfielder Manuele Blasi who will be featuring in the navy blue jersey in the ISL 2015.
The former Italian international joined Chennaiyin FC after his contract expired at the Italian Serie B club AS Varese 1910.
Blasi has been a AS Roma youth player and made his debut for the same club 15 years ago. After that he moved to Perugia for a while then he made the big switch to the Italian giants Juventus in 2002.
Blasi made his international debut for Italy in the year 2004 against Iceland but that was a friendly game. He made eight appearances for the Azzuris and also featured for Juventus in the UEFA Champions League 2005-2006 season.
"I am looking forward to play for Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League. Following a discussion with Marco about the club and league in general, it didn't take me long to make my decision. Marco told me about the fantastic environment he gets to work at Chennayin FC with full support from the owners, management and of course the supporters. I am very excited about this venture at this stage of my career. I will try to help the rest of the team with my experience and hopefully we will have a successful season together," Blasi said after he signed for Chennaiyin FC on Monday.
He has played for several other Italian clubs during his stay at Juventus as he was sent out on loan quite often. He featured for clubs like Perugia, Parma and Fiorentina but eventually joined Napoli in 2007. He stayed until 2011 at Napoli and during his stay there, spent a season on loan at Palermo as well. Finally, he joined AS Varese in 2013 and his contract ran out at the end of the last season.
"We are very happy that Manuele has signed for our club. Manuele is a player I know very well, having played with him as well in the Italian national team. He has played for some of the biggest clubs of Italy and in high profile matches for club and country. He will bring plenty of quality and experience to our team. He has all the attributes of a top central midfielder and that is exactly what we were looking for. I am sure the younger players in the team, especially the Indians will get to learn a lot from him and he will definitely make a big difference on the pitch individually also," Chennaiyin FC manager Marco Materazzi told reporters on Monday.
Earlier last week, Chennaiyin FC had made two more Brazilians - Raphael Augusto and Mailson Alves Barreiro Veriato - sign for their franchise for the upcoming season of ISL. At the moment, they five Brazilian players including Elano Blumer, Eder Monteiro, and Bruno Pelissari. It seems they are likely to adapt to the typical Samba style football for the next season of the ISL.
