Newcastle United player James Perch has hailed the character and quality of Fabricio Coloccini after the defender’s spirited derby performance against Sunderland.
The Argentinian defender found his way back in the first team after struggling with a recurring hamstring strain. The player had picked up the injury during last month’s international break while he was on duty with the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Argentina-c2841 national squad.
Coloccini has been ever present for Newcastle, and is their best defender. As captain and leader, the player leads the team by example, and is a calm and reliable presence in the Magpie starting 11.
His absence from the side was clearly felt when Newcastle failed to start off their Premier League campaign brightly. After having tonnes of expectation heaped on them, the team struggled to get results or make the impact that had helped them finish at 5th
place last season.
The team has only managed 2 victories out of 8 games, and manager http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 Pardew has found himself under pressure after failing to deliver results.
However, last week’s derby display against Sunderland is a positive sign for the club’s supporters as Newcastle grabbed a hard fought point.
After taking the lead through http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Yohan-Cabaye-c37423, they had found themselves a man down when Cheick Tiote was sent off in the opening 20 minutes. Newcastle spent the rest of the game defending their lead, but ended up conceding a late equalizer.
Coloccini was the man of the moment as he put in a solid and impressive performance at the heart of Newcastle’s defence. James Perch, who had come on to after Tiote’s sending off, praised his captain’s quality and performance. Speaking to reporters, he said:
"Collo was unbelievable. He's been out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, that was his first game back, and he was absolutely superb. That shows the character of the man. He is like that every week, to be fair."
"To be fair, he is one of the hardest workers in training and is always out there on the training pitch really early," Perch added. "The guy is a great role model for us all because he does the right things all the time.”
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