Smith Urges O'Brien To Prove Juventus Wrong
Thursday 23rd August 2001
Dundee United believe that Irish winger Ronnie O'Brien can use his year-long loan spell in Scotland to work his way into the Juventus first-team. "We will be providing Ronnie with a platform to show the men who matter at Juventus just what he is capable of," said coach Alex Smith.
Dubliner O'Brien earned himself a shock move to Juventus when he was released by Middlesbrough two years ago and he joined the Turin giants on a lucrative five-year deal.
The Under-21 international has yet to make an impression in the Juve first-team, though he did feature in an InterToto Cup game last season. He has played his football on loan spells in Switzerland, at Lugano, and in Serie C with Crotone and Lecco.
Now Juve have agreed to allow the winger to join Dundee United for the rest of the season, and Smith is confident O'Brien will succeed. "The prospect of watching him try to make the most of his opportunity is an exciting one for us all," Smith told the Courier in Dundee.
It is a mutually beneficial agreement as it adds quality to our squad and allows us to make a permanent move for him later if we see fit. For Juventus, it gives their young player the chance to gain more experience and allows them to assess his progress.
"He is a very good striker of the ball and I would certainly expect him to score his share of goals from outside the box. While he gets through all his defensive duties, his instinct is to attack whenever possible, whether he is playing on the right or through the middle. He can offer us yet more options in midfield and I am happy with the way the squad is developing."
United, who are third in the SPL, could have O'Brien's move complete in time for Sunday's league game against Kilmarnock, but the Dubliner may be forced to bide his time before his debut as Smith will not change a winning team.
"I would want to have Ronnie involved but we had a good win against Dunfermline at the weekend and it is difficult to look too far away from the players who produced the goods then," said Smith.
O'Brien, who won a European Under-18 Championship medal with the Republic of Ireland in 1998 alongside senior stars such as Robbie Keane, Gary Doherty, Stephen McPhail and Richard Dunne, spent three seasons at Boro without making the first team and was released by then-manager Bryan Robson in 1999.
His Boro team-mate Paul Ince recommended O'Brien to agent Steve Kutner, who got the Dubliner a deal with Juve on the back of a video and he moved to Turin on a five-year deal.
Dundee United wanted to make the move permanent but Juve have insisted that O'Brien has a future at the club and they hope he will be ready for first-team action at the start of next season.
