Chennaiyin FC sign Italian Midfielder Cristian Battocchio

21 Aug 2023 | Written by Shyam Sundar

Chennaiyin FC have announced the addition of Italian midfielder Cristian Battocchio as the club's fourth foreign signing for the upcoming season. The Italian midfielder has already joined the squad in Guwahati and is anticipated to be eligible for the Qarterfinals of the 2023 Durand Cup.

Cristian will be Chennaiyin's second foreign midfielder for the upcoming side alonsgide Rafael Crivellaro. Although there was uncertainity at first, Chennaiyin FC have finally landed their midfield target. Joining the club, Cristian added "I'm very happy. I was waiting for the day that I come to India. I feel really good because the club and the coach wanted me here. The coach spoke to me and showed me that he had a plan for me here. I spoke to a lot of people and they had only good things to say about this club so I'm very happy to be here."

Here are Chennaiyin FC'S possible opponents for the 2023 Durand Cup Qualifiers.

Whom do you guys think will be the ideal opponent!? pic.twitter.com/GcdwrlPJJq

— Chennaiyin Zone (@chennaiyinZone) August 21, 2023

"We're delighted to bring Cristian Battocchio to the club. We've certainly been chasing him for a long time because he had a number of offers. But he understands what we are as a club and everything that is great about this club. We're delighted to have a quality player who has had a fantastic career and we're excited to have him put on the Chennaiyin shirt and make the fans proud" added Owen Coyle.

Player Profile:

Born in Rosario, Argentina, Battocchio started his youth career with Newell's Old Boys before moving to Italian side Udinese at the age of 16. Cristian represented the Azzurrini at various youth levels including U-20's and U-21's. He made six appearances for Udinese before moving to English side Watford on loan, where he signed permanently. He made 59 appearances for Watford in the Championship. He scored his debut goal against Owen Coyle's Wigan Athletic. After Watford, he joined Ligue 2 side Brest where he made a significant influence. He then moved to Israel before returning back to Brest and achieving promotion to the Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. He also scored a hat-trick for the team in 2019, marking Brest's first hat-trick in the top division in over 29 years. In the last few years, he has played in countries like Israel, Japan, Mexico and Greece. Cristian has extensive experience at the European level, and his knowledge will undoubtedly strengthen Chennaiyin's lean midfield.