Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jeddah: James Troisi, scorer of Australia’s winning goal in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup final, has signed with Saudi Arabian giants Al Ittihad and took to social media to express his excitement at joining the two-time AFC Champions League champions.
Announcing the signing of the deal on his Twitter account, Troisi said he was excited to official sign with Al Ittihad and looked forward to getting to Jeddah and meeting the fans.
Troisi (pictured) has been something of a footballing nomad since leaving Newcastle Jets in 2008. After spells in Turkey with Genclerbirlig and then Kayserispor the attacking midfielder moved to Italy in 2012 to join Italian powerhouse Juventus, with the 31-time Italian champions entering into a co-ownership deal with Serie A rivals Atalanta.
During his time with Atalanta Troisi only made six appearances four the Bergamo-based club but did enjoy a successful loan spell back in Australia with Melbourne Victory, where he featured in the 2014 AFC Champions League, scoring three times in his six appearances.
Troisi returned to Italy where he rejoined Juventus but couldn’t find his way into Massimiliano Allegri’s side and was sent out on loan again, this time to Belgium where he had an impressive spell with Zulte Waregem.
Troisi, whose extra-time winner saw Australia defeat Korea Republic 2-1 and claim continental glory on home soil back in January, played 70 minutes of the Asian champions’ opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan, but after a performance tempered by recent injuries he was omitted from Ange Postecoglou’s squad for the forthcoming Group B matches against Bangladesh and Tajikistan.
Photo: AFP