Man City vs. Atletico Madrid, 8 p.m., Sept. 30 at Upton Park
Leaves Chelsea to join Man City for the new season
English professional soccer's Manchester City transfer Matteo Kovacic, 29, has expressed his excitement for his new team.
Kovacic attended a press conference as a player representative at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Monday, a day ahead of a friendly against Atletico Madrid (Spain).
"I feel very good," he said. I expect to play a very good game tomorrow," he said, adding, "It's really hot in Korea, but that's not an excuse. We will do what we have to do. Nothing will change because of the weather. We will play our best game."
Kovacic, a Croatia international midfielder, joined City from Chelsea in the summer transfer window. City won the Premier League (EPL), the English Football Association (FA) Cup, and the UEFA Champions League last season, completing the triple.
"From the day I arrived, I received a great welcome from the players and staff at City. I am grateful for that. You can see from our training sessions that it's a very good team, a great group of people."
More than 20,000 fans showed up at the Seoul World Cup Stadium to watch City's open training session.
"There are more fans in Korea than I expected. The fan base seems to be growing globally. I'm happy to meet the Korean fans."
Kovacic is seen as a replacement for Guindoan, who left for FC Barcelona (Spain).
"(Gundogan) is a very good, great player. I wish him success. I'm happy to be here too. I think I have a role to play," he said, adding, "I'm going to try to fit into the team as soon as possible. I will try to fit in quickly and prepare to play a great game."
On his new team, which he had been playing against, he said: "I already knew that Man City is a great team. Every time we played them, it was always tough. "After training with them, I understood why they are so good. "I think we're successful because we're all professional and we all give our best. Our club is great. I'm happy to be here and I'm looking forward to it."
"I've only been with the team for two weeks, but (Guardiola) has told me what he expects from me," he added, "I felt that there is a new football. I'm here to learn, too. I think it's perfect timing for me to join City to develop further and grow as a midfielder."
Kovacic, meanwhile, played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last year, helping Croatia reach the quarterfinals. He was joined by fellow K League player Orsic.
"Unfortunately, (Orsic) suffered a major injury this week. "I haven't heard much about Korea, but I know he had a good time while he was here," Kovacic said.
City will host Atletico Madrid in a preseason match at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Sept. 30.