The Hawke's Bay United football franchise has added a Croatian to their 2014-15 squad for the ASB Premiership this summer.
Viktor Lekaj, who was recently preparing for a new season with NK Zagreb in the Croatian first division competition, received a call from Hawke's Bay United coach Brett Angell whohad seen some video footage on him.
"First impressions of Viktor, after watching the footage, was he was a player who was standing out in a game that was of a very high standard and he is a player that you don't see very often in this country," Angell, of Napier, says of the 21-year-old.
"His ability on the ball is very exciting and his understanding of the game is of a very high level."
With other opportunities back in his home country, an excited Lekaj chose New Zealand to boost his career.
"After talking with Brett, my manager and I decided that this will be a very good option for me coming across to Hawke's Bay United and, hopefully, we will see where I can go after this," Lekaj says.
A new city, new people and a different language, the Croatian is finding studying English in school is paying off in plying his trade in this country.
After a week in Napier, Lekaj is adjusting well to training and socialising.
