Hammers defender Angelo Ogbonna can't wait to welcome former club Juventus to the Club's new Stadium
Hammers defender Angelo Ogbonna revealed his excitement to welcome former club Juventus to London for the Club’s first game in the new Stadium on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The defender played for the Italian giants for two seasons before joining Slaven Bilic’s side last summer and was at the new Stadium when the friendly fixture was announced.
Last season’s Champions League finalists clinched the Serie A title for the fifth consecutive campaign on Monday – their 32nd in total – and will be the Hammers’ first visitors to their new home on Sunday 7 August at 1pm.
Ogbonna, who won two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia while playing for the Old Lady, cannot wait for the occasion.
He said: “I’m really excited. It’s my old team Juventus and everything [here at the Stadium] looks amazing. The pitch is amazing, I think our support will be amazing and I’m so excited.
“It will be a massive crowd and it’s very important for us to have this new place waiting for us and I can’t wait.
“For us, it’s a big game and I hope it will be the first win for us in our new ground as well!”
The 27-year-old played 55 times for Turin-based Juventus from 2013 to 2015 after he had spent the early years of his career playing in the city for neighbours Torino having come through their youth ranks.
Capped by Italy at international level, Ogbonna has experience playing alongside a number of the Juventus squad members, including Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio and Leonardo Bonucci.
On welcoming some of his former teammates to to east London, Ogbonna said: “I’ll be looking forward to seeing some old friends, why not!
“Step by step, hopefully we can play a lot of big clubs at the new Stadium like Juventus very regularly. I wish for this season to end well as it has been really great.
“We of course have to always look ahead to the next game but the Juventus one will be massive so we are looking forward to it.”
Tickets for the mouth-watering visit of Massimiliano Allegri’s star-studded UEFA Champions League regulars went on sale to 2015/16 Season Ticket Holders at 12noon yesterday here.
The defender played for the Italian giants for two seasons before joining Slaven Bilic’s side last summer and was at the new Stadium when the friendly fixture was announced.
Last season’s Champions League finalists clinched the Serie A title for the fifth consecutive campaign on Monday – their 32nd in total – and will be the Hammers’ first visitors to their new home on Sunday 7 August at 1pm.
Ogbonna, who won two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia while playing for the Old Lady, cannot wait for the occasion.
He said: “I’m really excited. It’s my old team Juventus and everything [here at the Stadium] looks amazing. The pitch is amazing, I think our support will be amazing and I’m so excited.
“It will be a massive crowd and it’s very important for us to have this new place waiting for us and I can’t wait.
“For us, it’s a big game and I hope it will be the first win for us in our new ground as well!”
The 27-year-old played 55 times for Turin-based Juventus from 2013 to 2015 after he had spent the early years of his career playing in the city for neighbours Torino having come through their youth ranks.
Capped by Italy at international level, Ogbonna has experience playing alongside a number of the Juventus squad members, including Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio and Leonardo Bonucci.
On welcoming some of his former teammates to to east London, Ogbonna said: “I’ll be looking forward to seeing some old friends, why not!
“Step by step, hopefully we can play a lot of big clubs at the new Stadium like Juventus very regularly. I wish for this season to end well as it has been really great.
“We of course have to always look ahead to the next game but the Juventus one will be massive so we are looking forward to it.”
Tickets for the mouth-watering visit of Massimiliano Allegri’s star-studded UEFA Champions League regulars went on sale to 2015/16 Season Ticket Holders at 12noon yesterday here.