What can Man City fans expect from new boy David Pizarro? Our Serie A expert has the answers

Published 13:12 01/02/12

MirrorFootball has teamed up with some of the blogosphere's best new writers to bring you even more great football reads every single day.

Today it's our Serie A blogger, footballitaliano.co.uk 's Mina Rzouki, with her take on the week's big issues in Italy.

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For Manchester City,the end of the winter transfer market was meant to see the departure of a South American star. Instead it saw the arrival of another.

The Carlos Tevez to Milan saga ended without a resolution and just as Kia Joorabchian was wondering where on earth he was going to place his client, City announced the arrival of Roma’s David Pizarro on loan.

A Chilean maestro and the brains behind Luciano Spalletti’s entertaining Roma side, Pizarro is the creative genius who Roberto Mancini hopes will unlock the stubborn defences from his deep lying midfield role.

Tactically aware, breathtakingly creative and a man capable of adapting to the game, whether that be by playing short passes to those around him or delivering that key penetrative long ball, Pizarro, in many respects is far from being a typical football player.

This was a man born in Chile five years after dictator Augusto Pinochet assumed control of the country after a coup d’etat. Pizarro is a patriot who proudly proclaimed, “Chileans, my parents and all my family fought for freedom” and one who is profoundly appreciative of the fact he lives in a democratic society.

This is no ordinary man. A genius on the field perhaps, and certainly no slough off it either as he dedicates his spare time to reading the works of Pablo Neruda – the writer he calls the ‘Voice of Chile’ and previous winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.

Whilst intelligence has not always been a quality one looks for when scouting a footballer, in the particular role Pizarro plays, his ability to think outside of the box coupled with the artistry involved in dictating both the tempo and style of play makes him a captivating player.

Yet despite his many talents, one can understand the cynics who feel he is not one who could survive the rigours of the Premier League long-term. At 32, he is considered both slow and injury prone.

Having amassed a large number of injuries during his long career, he has lost some of the mobility that allowed him to dominate play in the past. Also, with only seven appearances for Roma this season, two of which came as a substitute, it will take some time before he is up to full match fitness and able to recapture his scintillating form.

Aristotle once said: “No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.” That is certainly true of the little Chilean and he can be a tough character to control

In the World Cup qualifying match between Chile and Colombia in 2005, Pizarro kicked the advertising boards in a fit of rage when the man he loathed, Juvenal Olmos, took him off midway through the match. This is a player who cited the Chilean squad’s indiscipline as one of the reasons behind his decision to retire from the national team. The very same man who dear old Claudio Ranieri admitted “never looked me in the eye” during his time in Roma.

However, in Roberto Mancini, he finds a familiar face and the tactician he played for during his time at Inter. Having stolen all the headlines as the Nerazzurri toured England in the summer of 2005, one newspaper report referred to him as "the beacon that lights up Mancini’s midfield".

“I believe in him blindly, I know he’s a great player,” Mancini once said of him. Yet despite the obvious talent, Pizarro found little space at Inter and was often dropped in favour of Juan Sebastian Veron – a player deemed for suitable for Inter’s style of play at the time.

For Manchester City, Pizarro will hope to offer the type of ingenuity the squad craves from its midfield, looking to initiate attacks from deep within.

For David Pizarro, this is yet another blank canvas for the artist to paint and another experience to add to the collection.

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Follow Mina Rzouki on Twitter @Minarzouki and at footballitaliano.co.uk

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