Columbus Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter discussed the Black & Gold's recent acquisition of Finland international defender Jukka Raitala. See what Berhalter had to say:
On Jukka’s experience:
Jukka is a very experienced player, both in League play and international play. We think this experience is going to help us. When you’re in tough games and you have a number of different opponents, the skillsets that you’re up against, you’ve seen it all. We’re confident that his experience is going to help us.
On how he can help Crew SC:
He’s been around different playing styles and he understands the playing styles of different countries and he’s able to adapt. When you see a guy that can go from Holland, go to Spain, go to Germany and go to Norway: his game can adapt. This adaptability is going to help us. He’s a very steady and solid player and we think that stability is going to help our group.
On the type of player Jukka is:
We see him competing for a spot at left back, left wing back as well and we’re excited to see how he can adapt. He’s a very balanced player – he brings an equal amount of quality on both offense and defense and he’s a guy that works extremely hard and plays for the team.
