WHUFC.com
Mexico forward Pablo Barrera has expressed his excitement at joining West
Ham United
16.07.2010
West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of Mexico FIFA World
Cup star Pablo Barrera. The winger, who turned 23 on 21 June, has moved to
the Boleyn Ground from Mexican Premier Division side Club Universidad
Nacional (Pumas de la UNAM) on a four-year contract with a one-year option
for fee of £4m. Following the arrival of Barrera, the club hopes to announce
two further signings within the next few hours. Details will be exclusively
announced first on whufc.com Barrrera, who becomes the second new recruit
this summer after Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, was able to
complete his move after passing a medical and having his work permit
application accepted by the Home Office on Thursday. He put pen to paper on
Friday morning before giving his first interview as a Hammers player to
whufc.com "I am very happy to sign for West Ham United and have been really
taken by the reception I have received from the players and the manager," he
said. "I have had a great welcome. "I knew about West Ham when I was in
Mexico. They are a big club and I have heard about the great players they
have had in the past. I have heard a lot more about the club and its
traditions since I have been in London and I am very excited to be here."
A fearless player blessed with great pace and elusive skills, Barrera is
planning to get the fans on their feet. I am very excited about the
opportunity and the possibilities of playing for West Ham. I will do my
best. The fans can expect that I will give 100 per cent to succeed for the
team and to play better than I have ever played before. "I am very fast and
can use both feet. I like the one-on-one situations and to take on my
opponent and beat my rivals. I like to excite the supporters. People have
said that I am the sort of player that the fans want to have the ball as
often as possible because I can make things happen."
Barrera expressed his excitement at playing in the Premier League and said
he has joined West Ham to succeed and to win trophies. "For sure, I think it
is possible for us to win trophies. I want to do my best and to succeed at
this club. It would be great to win some trophies here. I am very excited
about the possibilities with West Ham and excited about working with the new
manager and the team. My goal is to win my place in the team with my skills,
to show the fans that I will do my best for West Ham and to win a title with
West Ham."
Considered to be one of the brightest young prospects in world football,
Barrera appeared three times for his country at the recent World Cup in
South Africa. Before that he turned in an eye-catching 37-minute cameo off
the bench as Mexico lost 3-1 to England at Wembley in May. Blessed with
great pace, two good feet, the ability to beat his marker with ease and an
eye for goal, the Tlalnepantla-born player is nicknamed 'Dynamite' in his
homeland. Domestically, Barrera spent 12 years with Pumas, making his debut
in a 3-1 defeat by Tigres on 19 November 2005. His first league goal would
come in the 2007 Apertura (Opening) championship against Monarcas Morelia.
In July of the same year, Barrera scored twice as Mexico reached the
quarter-finals of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada. A senior debut
would follow a short time later, with 'Dynamite' exploding on to the
international scene in a 3-2 friendly defeat by Guatemala in Los Angeles on
17 October 2007. The lightning-quick wideman's progress was only slowed by a
knee ligament injury suffered during a pre-season fixture with Atlante in
the summer of 2008. However, Barrera quickly returned to full fitness and
was able to make 20 Clausura (Closing) championship appearances in the first
half of 2009, scoring the extra-time goal that secured the title for Pumas
with a 3-2 aggregate win over Pachuca. The 2009 Apertura and 2010
Bicentenario - a special championship held to celebrate the 200th
anniversary of Mexico's independence - saw Barrera continue his fine form,
with the youngster netting eleven goals and tallying five assists in 28
appearances.
At international level, he helped Mexico to lift the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
in the United States before playing his part in El Tri's qualification for
the 2010 World Cup. After scoring in the 5-0 warm-up win over Bolivia in
February 2010, Barrera appeared in three matches in South Africa, being
introduced as a substitute in the Group A meetings with France and Uruguay
and second round defeat by Argentina. He has already seen his new team-mates
in action, as he travelled to watch the 2-1 win at Peterborough United on
Wednesday night.
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Hammers pick up Piquionne
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have completed the signing of France forward Frederic
Piquionne
16.07.2010
West Ham United have completed their second major signing in the space of
three hours with the capture of France international striker Frederic
Piquionne.
The powerful forward has joined from French club Olympique Lyonnais on a
three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, following the arrival earlier on
Friday of Mexico winger Pablo Barrera. Both signings were officially
revealed first on whufc.com, with the announcement further major additions
expected within the next 72 hours. The 31-year-old enjoyed a successful
season on loan at Portsmouth in 2009/10, where he worked under new Hammers
manager Avram Grant. Among the eleven goals he scored in all competitions,
three came in Pompey's run to the FA Cup final. "I'm very happy to sign for
West Ham because my last manager was Avram," he said. "I know Avram and I
like working with him and I think he likes me. I'm coming to work hard for
the squad and I hope we have a good season. "Avram is a very, very good
coach. Last year we had many problems at Portsmouth but we got to the FA Cup
final. He's a very good manager. As a player, it will be good to just
concentrate on my football. When I do that, I play well and play with
passion. We have the players here to have a very good season. "The ambition
here has to be to reach the top ten and maybe to win the League Cup or the
FA Cup. I played at Wembley last season and I scored there and it is an
amazing experience I would like to have again. "I am looking forward to
performing for West Ham now and I hope to score many goals for the club. I
think the fans here are among the best in the world and I am looking forward
to playing for them and for the club."
As well as his new manager, Piquionne will also renew acquaintances with
former AS Saint-Etienne team-mate Herita Ilunga, while also joining forces
with old French league adversaries Manuel da Costas and Julien Faubert. "I
know three of the players here from my time in France - Herita, Manu and
Julien. Herita is someone I know very well because we played together for
Saint-Etienne. "I also like the captain Matthew Upson, because when I played
against him here last season he was very hard and strong. The other players
can also play very well and I don't know why last season was like it was
here."
Piquionne will join the likes of England striker Carlton Cole, South Africa
international Benni McCarthy and promising youngsters Zavon Hines, Freddie
Sears, Frank Nouble and Cristian Montano in Grant's squad. Born in the city
of Noumea, the capital of the French overseas islands of New Caledonia in
the south west Pacific Ocean, Piquionne followed the likes of 1998 FIFA
World Cup winner Christian Karembeu and Paris St-Germain manager Antoine
Kombouare to French football by joining Nimes Olympique in 2000. After
impressing for Nimes and Stade Rennais, Piquionne moved to AS Saint-Etienne,
initially on loan, in 2004, spending three years with Les Verts and scoring
23 goals in 91 league appearances.
The forward, who briefly represented the Caribbean nation of Martinique at
international level in 2002, joined AS Monaco in January 2007, netting 12
times in 46 games before being snapped up by French champions Olympique
Lyonnais in August 2008. Grant moved to bring Piquionne to English football
by signing him on loan for Portsmouth in August 2009. The Frenchman
responded by scoring eleven goals in 45 appearances, 34 of them starts.
Piquionne made his senior debut for France as a substitute in a 1-0 friendly
win over Austria at the Stade de France in Paris on 28 March 2007. He also
appeared for France B in a 1-0 defeat by Slovakia B in August 2007.
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