NEW Hibs defender Marijan Cabraja believes he will enjoy playing in the Scottish top flight after coming up against Celtic in Europe last season.
The left-back joined the Leith side on a three-year deal from Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday evening as a replacement for Josh Doig, who made the switch to Hellas Verona.
Cabraja was on loan at Ferencvaros at the start of last season when the Hungarian side were beaten both home and away by Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Europa League group stages.
And the 25-year-old former Croatia youth internationalist is confident of adjusting to life in Scotland on and off the pitch.
He said: “Scottish football is really dynamic and Celtic is a really good team, they beat us and I think the league is really dynamic with a lot of fighting and running - it should be fun.
“I’m very excited to play football in Scotland, this is maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity so I didn’t want to miss it.
“Edinburgh is such a nice city; I have read a lot about the city and I can’t wait to explore it.”
Cabraja was a team-mate of Adam Bogdan at Ferencvaros and admits the former Hibs goalkeeper had nothing but good things to say about the club.
He added: “I spoke to Adam and he told me that this club is something that I will maybe not see in my football career because he told me this club was like a family club and with the type of person I am I’m really happy.
“Adam helped me a lot and thank you Adam.”
Cabraja, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Slovenian club NK Olimpija Ljubljana, also believes manager Lee Johnson’s footballing philosophy will suit him.
He added: “To be honest, when I heard what the manager’s plans were and when he told me his idea of football, I was really excited.
“The conversation with Lee helped me a lot, nobody can guarantee that you will play every game if you train badly, but it helped me because I quickly realised that his idea of football is similar to mine.
“When I checked the club it’s a historical club and I’m really glad I got this opportunity.”
New Hibs striker Momodou Bojang, meanwhile, admits he is finally glad to have arrived in Edinburgh after waiting over a month to obtain his work permit.
The Gambian joined up with his new team-mates on Wednesday and could make his debut in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup clash at Bonnyrigg Rose.
He said: “I had to take care of myself. I was in Gambia doing my own training.
“I was working hard, training in the morning and in the afternoon every day, before I finally joined the team.
“I am ready now. I am feeling happy. I can’t wait to start training with my team-mates.”
