Football: Viktor Lekaj adds fizz to Bay Utd

Viktor Lekaj.

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 who had 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.

"I am very excited to play for Hawke's Bay. We are all training very hard for the new season and we are becoming better as a team."