Ignacio Scocco and his long path to Al Ain

Ignacio Scocco emerged from the same Newell's Old Boys youth set up as Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta and Maxi Rodriguez, among a plethora of other famous names from Argentine football. Yet while most of those stars have made their way to Europe's biggest leagues, Scocco, a tricky attacking midfielder with a rocket of a shot, has followed a different path, to the UAE, via Greece and Mexico. "Nacho" Scocco rose to prominence as part of the Newell's senior team that won the 2004 Apertura title, along with Ariel Ortega and Fernando Belluschi, his best friend. It was the last time the Rosario club won a trophy. Ortega, best known for butting Edwin van der Sar, the Holland goalkeeper, at the 1998 World Cup, was in the twilight of his career, but the two young stars were just starting out. Belluschi, who was best man at Scocco's wedding, moved to Argentine giants River Plate in 2005 and then to Europe in a US$6.5 million (Dh23.85m) transfer to Greek side Olympiakos. And Scocco, after three seasons at Mexican side Pumas, soon joined his friend in Greece with a move to AEK Athens. His time in Greece was eventful. He netted several long-range goals (making him the subject of video tribute compilations on YouTube) and won the Greek Cup last season. But a low point came after a 6-0 defeat to Olympiakos in March (Belluschi had moved to Porto by then) which handed their rivals the title. After the game, three gas canisters exploded outside Scocco's home in Athens, while he, his model wife Melissa Pochettino, and their newborn daughter Eva were all inside. They were not injured and the club said the perpetrators, reported to be AEK fans, would be "eliminated forever from the AEK family". Scocco signed a three-year, €3.6 million (Dh 19.3m) contract with AEK last November that would have kept him at the club until 2013. However, he also had a €3m buyout clause in the deal. And when Al Ain came calling in the summer, the Argentine, now 26, jumped at the chance. "Any player will gather all information of the club he is about to move to and I have done that before I signed for Al Ain," Scocco said. "They are one of the leading clubs in Asia and I am here to help them win trophies." Scocco was the first piece in the jigsaw as Al Ain, the Pro League's most decorated club, set about rebuilding the side after their worst ever season. The nine-time league champions and Asian Champions League winners in 2003 finished one place above the relegation zone after struggling for the entire season with injuries and the exodus of their foreign players. Marcio Emerson, the Brazilian forward, left half way through his two-year contract. Jorge Valdivia, the Chile international, who was arguably the league's best player in 2009/10, left two weeks before the season began, and Jose Sand, the Argentine striker and the top scorer in 2009/10, followed midway through the campaign. The club's previous administration were accused of not acting in time to replace their stars. They called up Juma Saeed, a 19-year-old Ivorian forward, from their youth team, on the last day of the transfer window. Brahima Keita, an Ivorian midfielder who arrived from Kuwait's Al Qadsiya, suffered an injury in the very first game.