Atouba excited by Ajax switch

Timothee Atouba is hoping to make his Ajax debut against Atletico Madrid in the Amsterdam Tournament after finally arriving in the city.

The Cameroon left-back joined the Eredivisie giants two weeks ago from Hamburg but has been waiting for a work permit.

Atouba, 27, has promised to bring the flair that has characterised his spells with Tottenham and Hamburg to the Amsterdam ArenA

He told De Telegraaf: "I want to make everyone happy. By winning and adding a show element to it, bringing something extra like a nice cross or a shot on goal. I love to do such things.

"It took two weeks for me to get my work permit. But that doesn't mean that I sat still. The past 14 days I trained so hard in Germany and Cameroon that I feel fully fit.

"My shape will be visible during training, and the coach decides, but maybe I can make my debut on Friday in the Amsterdam Tournament against Atletico Madrid."

Atouba was surprised Ajax came in for him after Thomas Vermaelen joined Arsenal last month.

"I knew that a nice club would come for me but I was surprised when Ajax called," he continued. "The club have produced such a lot of good players and is a big name in the football world.

"The competition might be less strong but in my eyes Ajax is a bigger club than my previous clubs Tottenham Hotspur and HSV. And the challenge was for me more important than the money.

"After my spells at Neuchatel Xamax and FC Basle I in fact haven't won anything. At Ajax I want to become champions, qualify for the Champions League and win a lot of prizes."

Atouba has followed Martin Jol, who was his manager at Spurs and Hamburg, to Amsterdam, and he is excited to be linking up with the Dutchman for a third time.

"I am glad and fortunate that he is the coach," added Atouba. "Not may people understand how I play football and how I live but he does. He talks a lot, is open and a real communicator.

"He has a strategy that I appreciate. As a defender I play with a lot of risk in my game. The coach finds that good, which means that I don't need to worry.

"But his most important quality are his training sessions, which are on a very high level. I can hardly wait to start."