Western United's new polyglot A-League defender has arrived

Swiss defender Leo Lacroix has joined his new A-League side Western United for his first training session after quarantine.

Western United's new six-foot-six defender Leo Lacroix has finally joined the squad after the arduous task of getting to Australia and then completing the 14-day hotel quarantine upon arrival.

Lacroix was first announced as a new signing by the club last month, joining the A-League Men's side on a one-year deal. The 29 year old brings a wealth of European football experience with him to Australia.

He started his footballing career in his native Switzerland with FC Sion in 2010. He then moved to French Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne in 2016 and remained with the team for four years. During his time there he was loaned to Swiss side FC Basel and Second division Bundesliga side Hamburg. He then returned to his original club of FC Sion.

Lacroix arrives at Western United not only with Champions League experience and some experience with his national team side but also with the ability to speak six languages. Speaking of his new player and his polyglot abilities Western United head coach John Aloisi said:

“We’re really excited to have him here, we obviously watched him play when he was in Sion and in France, and we liked what we saw and it’s great to have him here finally.

“He’s certainly impressed so far and I’m sure he’ll quickly get to know what we’re trying to do as a team.

“He’s going to be great defending in the box but also attacking corners and free kicks. It’s good to have someone so tall.

“He’ll bring a lot of presence obviously but he’s very good with the ball.

"His experience, he’s played Champions League football. So that added experience and having a leader out there and coaching from the back is important for us as well.

“Only six languages, it’s incredible. His Spanish is very good, so I get to practice mine, but he speaks very good English, so I don’t need to speak to him in Spanish but it’s good to practice.”

Lacroix expressed his excitement to be in Australia, especially after the long journey to get there, and his desire to start with his new team:

“I’m happy to be here to start training with the team.

“It was long between the transfer and the travel but now, I’m happy to be here.

“The first day [of travel] was long for my daughter and my kids, but in the end we are happy to be here and begin this new adventure.

“The club is a very good organisation and all the people welcome me with a great heart and smile. All people are positive.

"It’s a good team with qualities and a mix of experienced and young players so I think really, we can do something very good this year. I will give my best to help the team this year.”

Western United kick off their 2021-22 A-League Men's season on November 20, 2021 at the GMHBA stadium in Geelong against Melbourne Victory.