Italy ace Alessandro Diamanti enjoyed his debut for China's Guangzhou Evergrande.
The former Bologna midfielder played his first friendly for the Chinese giants on Friday.
"I only played a friendly, but the team is very strong, runs hard and has an attacking idea of football," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It is a very tactical and technically-gifted approach, which is thanks to the Coach Marcello Lippi. I hadn't met him before, but it feels as if I've known him forever. Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo told me great things about Lippi and his winning mentality."
Diamanti admitted he turned down an offer from Juventus, but could not resist the lure of a spell in China.
"Yes, Juve did push the most, but there were other proposals too. I was and am close to Bologna, but always said I'd consider proposals from abroad. I didn't decide the timing of the sale and always trained in a very professional manner.
"I'm sure Bologna will survive the drop even without me, as they have strong players who work with passion. I have fond memories of Bologna and tried to repay all the city gave me."
