Football

play a handful of league matches with Santos before joining Real on Aug 25.

Brazilian forward Robinho believes he will have few problems adapting to European football when he makes his move from Santos to Real Madrid at the end of the month.

"I've always dreamed of playing in Europe, and in particular Spain, because the league there suits my style and is the closest to the type of football played in Brazil," the 21-year-old told Spanish sports daily AS yesterday.

"In Spain, they tend to pass the ball around a lot and play in space and that will be perfect for me."

Robinho signed a five-year contract with Real at the end of last month when Santos finally agreed to accept a US$30 million offer from the Spanish giants.

However, the deal between the two clubs included a clause that allows the slightly built forward to

Robinho believes the presence of former Santos boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo at the Spanish club will also help ease his transition to European football. Luxemburgo took charge of the nine-times European champions at the end of last year immediately after steering Santos to the Brazilian title.

"Luxemburgo knows me perfectly and I know how he works," he said. "I have got a particular style and technique and Luxemburgo has always put me in positions where I'm used to playing.

"We were Brazilian champions together in 2004 and now I hope we can win other trophies together at Real Madrid."

Robinho was also looking forward to linking up with fellow Brazilian internationals Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Julio Baptista at his new club.

"Every time we have played together for the national side, we have got on really well," he said. "I'm delighted that I'm going to be playing with them at Real and believe that we have got a great chance of winning a lot of trophies together."