Stellar Al Jazira winter signing Leonardo is convinced the taste for trophies he picked up at AFC Champions League holders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will be sated in the UAE.
Leonardo, 30, has wasted no time making a positive impression since he was purchased by the Arabian Gulf League’s leaders last month. Coming in off the left wing, the beguiling Brazilian has registered four goals and one assist in six games to help open up a sizeable eight-point gap to second-placed Al Wasl.
Another top-flight title – which would be his new employers’ first since 2010/11 – would add to the continental crown and pair of K-League Classics lifted in South Korea from 2012-16.
When asked about his auspicious early weeks in the UAE, the €3.8 million (Dhs14.8m) buy replied: “I am very happy. Thank you God for this moment.
“I am so happy and I thank everybody; the fans, the players and the coaching staff. I want to make this moment be about us all together, and not just me. In three of my first four games, I scored four goals.
“It is not about the goals, it is about the victories. This is because I have a new shirt. For four-and-a-half years, I played with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Now, I play with Al Jazira and I am so happy.
“I hope the team continues like this for another four months, so that we can celebrate being champions.”
Leonardo scored 57 times in 213 games for Jeonbuk after his July 2012 purchase from AEK Athens.
His winter departure has not been the only tumult to afflict the Green Warriors. A scout’s conviction in September for match-fixing during 2013 has led to the champions being kicked out of this year’s edition of the Asia’s premier club tournament.
Although riddled with hurt about how the situation has damaged his ex-team-mates, the 18-times-capped Brazil youth international was aware about the need of the club to “pay one time” for their misdeeds.
“If you do something no good, then you need to pay one time,” said Leonardo, whose double helped sink Al Ain 3-2 on aggregate in November’s ACL final. “What you do here in this life, you pay here.
“But I am so sad for the players there. I have a lot of friends there. It is a difficult situation. I hope in 2018, Jeonbuk comes back to the AFC Champions League.”
