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Milan - Xherdan Shaqiri's move to Inter Milan has given the impish Swiss player the chance to relaunch a career which has not quite lived up to its early promise.
Shaqiri could make his Serie A debut at Empoli on Saturday (1700 GMT) following his move from Bayern Munich, where he showed flashes of brilliance during his two-and-a-half year stay but never won a regular place in the team.
Bayern was always seen as a risky move for Shaqiri who showed enormous potential when he made his international debut as a 18-year-old and was a teenager when he was voted Switzerland's Player of the Year in 2011.
After a promising first season when he helped Bayern win the treble under Jupp Heynckes, Kosovo-born Shaqiri fell out of favour under Pep Guardiola and has started just three Bundesliga games this season.
He has now moved to a club, which, like himself, needs a shot in the arm after finishing ninth and fifth in the last two seasons.
"I wasn't completely happy at Bayern," the 23-year-old, who scored a hat-trick against Honduras at the World Cup, told reporters. "I need to play because that's the only way I can show what I'm worth.
"I'm hungry for success and I'll do whatever it takes to win something for this club. I feel really confident about the relationship that's taking shape with the coach and the squad."
Shaqiri said that Inter coach Roberto Mancini had been fundamental in persuading him to make the move.
"I received other offers from England and Germany, but I always knew what I wanted to do," he said. "I spoke with Mancini on the phone, he explained his plans to me and I didn't look back from there.
"The first thing that struck me was the fans who were waiting for me at the airport. It was unique and I'll never forget it.
"It's Mancini's job to decide where I play," he added. "I feel most comfortable as a number 10, where I can roam across the attack and have the chance to both shoot and pass."
Inter are a modest ninth in Serie A, although they are only six points behind Lazio (31 points) who are third and in the Champions League playoff spot.
The championship, which reaches the halfway mark at the weekend, has developed into a two-horse race between leaders Juventus (43) and AS Roma (40).
Juventus host Verona on Sunday (1945), three days after playing them in the Coppa Italia, while Roma visit Palermo on Saturday (1945) and Lazio are at home to Napoli (Sunday 1130), who are joint fifth with Sampdoria (30).
