Aberdeen new boy Dante Polvara admitted he could easily have been playing for Hibs rather than against them this afternoon.
The 21-year-old is gearing up for his Pittodrie bow after making his Dons debut last time out against Rangers.
Polvara is American men’s college player of the year and confirmed that Hibs were the first Scottish side to express an interest in him when he was at Georgetown but he decided to take his chances at Aberdeen.
Polvara confirmed: “Yes, they (Hibs) also have American ownership. Obviously, the relationship is a lot easier to spark in that sense.
“That just got me excited about Scottish football. From last September I have been looking at Scottish football and following it.
“It helped me because it gave me a good feeling for the football and what it was going to be like when I came to making a decision. “For me, the culture of the club, we expect to be winning and be competing for trophies.
“We expect to be competing for Europe and we have a passionate fanbase. At the same time, everybody cares about each other and looks after each other. That is important when you are leaving everything behind.”
The American arrived in January but his Pittodrie stay has been a pretty turbulent time as he needed a double hernia operation and then manager Stephen Glass, who signed him, was replaced by Jim Goodwin.
He confirmed: “It’s always a shock when there is a change of management and style.
“I felt a bit horrible for that, to be honest. Any player would want to play for the manager who has brought them in.”
The good thing for him is that Goodwin has kept faith in him and given him his first top-team appearance at Ibrox.
Polvara added: “Unfortunately football is a fickle sport and things move quickly. You just have to take those things on the chin. Regardless, I have a clean slate.
“I learned a lot even when the old gaffer was here and I was able to watch training and speak to him multiple times.
“Now we’ve got a new gaffer and for me the objectives are still the same. It changes some things but for me specifically it doesn’t change too much.”
He is hoping to get his first taste of Pittodrie today.
He excitedly said: “It would be brilliant if it was Saturday but if not then the next few weeks, I can’t wait.
“I’ve been up in the box watching and it’s the worst. I’ve sat up there with some of the other guys who have been out injured.
“We all agreed we are more nervous sitting up there and having to watch because there is nothing you can do about it.
“Especially the feeling when scoring goals, it would be amazing to be out on the field with the boys. I can’t wait to be out there in front of the fans.”
The one area where everybody at Aberdeen wants changes is in results. Manager Jim Goodwin has already said he wants maximum points before the split because he knows that would keep their top six and European dream alive.
Polvara acknowledged: “I think the last two weeks have been really important for us to finally have that opportunity to spend a bit of time out on the pitch and not have to worry about a game every three days and give the manager an opportunity to instil his ideas and us as players to absorb that information.
“I don’t think it should be much of a surprise that maybe the results haven’t come straight away, we’ve also had hard fixtures.
“Nobody is shying away from the challenge. We’re gelling together at the moment.”
Aberdeen welcome back Andrew Considine, Marley Watkins but Jay Emmanuel Thomas, Mikey Devlin, Adam Montgomery and Matty Kennedy all miss out.
