Stuttgart, Germany – Midfielder Marco Rojas has put pen to paper on a four-year contract with Stuttgart, the club confirmed on Wednesday.
Rojas, a 21-year-old New Zealand native, was named Australian A-League player of the year this season with Melbourne Victory, where he netted 15 goals, but leaves the club on a free transfer to join Stuttgart until 2017.
"Marco has just been voted player of the year in Australia, but that wasn't the only reason he was noticed by us," said Stuttgart's director of sport Fredi Bobic. "He is a player who is well used to attacking wide and has real pace. It will be exciting to see how quickly he gets used to the pace of the game in Germany."
Rojas spent two years at both Wellington Phoenix and Victory in Australia, scoring 17 goals in 72 A-League appearances. Rojas made his debut for New Zealand in March 2011, going on to feature 15 times for his country.
"My father and I have spoken to the key people at Stuttgart and they gave the impression that they would be really happy to have me here," Rojas said. "For a player, it's a great thing when the club lets you know that they definitely want to have you, but it will certainly be a huge challenge."
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