Corluka relishing City challenge
New Manchester City signing Vedran Corluka believes better things
are on the horizon for the Eastlands club.
The Croatian international joined City for an undisclosed fee from
Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday and is one of seven new players manager
Sven-Goran Eriksson has brought to the club as he looks to improve
on last season's 14th place finish under Stuart Pearce. The
21-year-old admitted the Swede's presence was a factor in his
move.
"He was very important, everyone knows who Sven-Goran Eriksson is
and that he is one of the best coaches," said Corluka. "It will be
a big challenge for me to come here and be coached by him, but I am
looking forward to it. I'm really happy to be working for him and I
think I will learn a lot from him.
"I know last season for City was not so good, but I know that we
can do a lot better this year. It's a new start, a new manager and
we'll have a better team."
Favourite game
Corluka was part of the Croatia side that defeated England 2-0 in a
Euro 2008 qualifier last year and the right-sided defender revealed
that the game played an important part in his rise to
prominence.
"That was my favourite game, because it showed to me and to the
Croatian fans that I can play against players as good as (Frank)
Lampard, (Wayne) Rooney and the rest," he told the club's official
website.
Corluka also admitted that his move to City came as something of a
surprise. He added: "It has all happened very quickly. I was
preparing to play for Dinamo in the Champions League, but since
then things have happened very fast and I'm very happy to be
here.
"Every boy in Croatia dreams of playing in the Premier League and
my dream has come true. Dinamo Zagreb are a great club but I have
come to a really big club in Manchester City. I think the Premier
League is in some ways better than the Champions League at
times."