Russian club Kuban sign Ajax's Ozbiliz

Moscow - Russian football side FC Kuban have signed Ajax midfielder Aras Ozbiliz on a four-year deal, the Russian Premier League side said on Thursday.

The 22-year-old playmaker played 26 games during two seasons with the Dutch giants before moving to join Dan Petrescu’s men for a reported fee of one million euros.

The Armenia international, who became famous for scoring both Ajax’s goals in a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Europa League in February, said that there was a big difference between the Dutch and Russian leagues.

“In the Netherlands everyone thinks more about attack, the championship’s more technical with emphasis on fast control of the ball, the training too,” he said on the Kuban website.

“Here it’s clear that a lot of attention is paid to physical conditioning, that teams play in a stronger style.”

Despite the gulf in style, Ozbiliz added that he didn’t “see any special problems adapting”.

At Kuban, Ozbiliz will play alongside his Brazilian-born Armenia teammate Marcos Pizzelli, while Armenia striker Yura Movsisyan turns out for Kuban’s crosstown rivals FC Krasnodar.

He has played once for Armenia, making his debut in a friendly against Canada in February where he scored a goal.