Weeks of media speculation were laid to rest on Saturday afternoon when The Amakhosi successfully concluded negotiations with Venezuelan international striker Jose Torrealba. The 27-year-old striker born in Acarigua in Venezuela had spent the past two seasons at Chiefs PSL rivals Mamelodi Sundowns where he won back to back league title.

Torrealba joins Chiefs as a free agent and has signed a two year contract with The Amakhosi which begins on the 1st June 2008. The player is expected to return to Venezuela and spend the next six months on loan to a yet unknown Venezuelan club. Amakhosi Chairman Kaizer Motaung heralded the signing of Torrealba as a key acquisition for the club and described the diminutive Venezuelan as the first piece in the puzzle for Chiefs preparations for the 2008 – 2009 season.

Jose delight

A relieved and ecstatic Torrealba who comes to Chiefs with a sound goal scoring record, and more than fifty games experience in the PSL told kaizerchiefs.com that he was looking forward to beginning life as a Chiefs player. He added “the past couple of months have been very trying and testing times for me and my family, I am extremely pleased to have signed this contract with Chiefs. I will head back to Venezuela to rest and spend some time with my wife and I am hopeful that I will keep fit by finding a loan spell till May 2008 with a team in the Venezuelan league”.

Great tradition

Torrealba whose last piece of competitive football saw him play for Venezuela in the 2007 Copa America in June this year which was hosted by his native country, said that he was attracted to Chiefs by the great history and winning traditions of the club. As he explained “Chiefs are the biggest team in the country and the chance to play for them was a very enticing prospect, my aim is to keep fit until May and come to Chiefs for the pre-season healthy and fit with one thing in mind and that is to score goals. I am joining Chiefs not to just be a squad member but one who wins trophies and titles for the team, right now though having played for one big team in South Africa I am elated to have signed for the biggest team in the country”.

Chairman applauds

Amakhosi chairman Kaizer Motaung spoke highly of Torrealba and believes that he is a prize acquisition for the club, “Jose is an accomplished striker at both club and international level, he knows all about the PSL and has won two league titles here. He has a wealth of experience which will be beneficial to the team, more importantly he fits the mould of the kind of players that we are looking for”. Furthermore he added “as a team and an established football organization you always need to look ahead and plan forward, Jose is the start of our preparations for the 2008 – 2009 season”.