Teenaged Saint Lucian midfielder Zaine Pierre has completed a move to Italian Serie A club Genoa CFC. Zaine will still be four weeks shy of his 19th birthday when the 2012-13 Serie A season kicks off in August.
Born in Dennery, Zaine, joined W Connection in the Trinidad & Tobago Professional Football League through their youth academy at the age of 16 and made his senior team the day before his 17th birthday.
The day after his WCFC debut, Zaine came on as a haltime substitute for Saint Lucia in a 0-3 friendly loss to Trinidad & Tobago. He has since played eight matches and scored two goals in national colours.
2011 saw Zaine turning out three times for the Saint Lucia men's national team in Under-23 Olympic Qualifying and four times in FIFA World Cup Qualifying. Both his goals came against St Kitts-Nevis.
As a young professional, Zaine has had trial stints with English Premier League teams Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Liverpool and Stoke City, before moving on to Italy, and Genoa.
He spent six months on trial at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris before moving permanently for an undisclosed fee, according to a W Connection press release. He is also said to have secured a sponsorship deal with PUMA.
Zaine is the first Saint Lucian to sign with a major Italian club. The Rossoblu have won the Scudetto nine times, making them the fourth most successful Italian club in terms of championships won.
Well done man..I can't wait to see Genoa in action. Good piece Terry.
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