Last Saturday saw the Dons give a highly anticipated debut to Florian Kamberi and, in spite of the lousy conditions for constructive football, a highly encouraging 90 minutes it was too.
Kamberi’s signing was subject to the post-Brexit work permit process, not the easiest thing in the world to navigate through at the moment. That meant longer delays than would have been the case, ruling him out of the home game with Livingston and the trip to his former club Hibernian. But his performance against St. Mirren offered plenty of promise as to what will be in store from him across the rest of the campaign.

It was also abundantly clear why Derek McInnes was so keen to get him to the club. The manager explained, “Florian has more experience than the other two lads we brought in. He has know-how of the Premiership and a pedigree. Not having him available for Hibs and Livingston was a blow, but the adjustment and settling into the Scottish league will be much shorter for him.
“He can play in and around a main striker, he can play at the top of the pitch and stretch teams. I see him a lot like Marley Watkins in the type of player he is and how he plays the position. He will chip in with goals, he makes other players better and he links the play well.”

The 25-year-old is Swiss/Albanian: “I grew up in a small village in Switzerland. If I told you the name you won’t have heard of it! It is 40 minutes from Zurich and I still live there with my family.”
Flo, which he is happy to be known, began his professional career at Swiss side Grasshoppers and represented Switzerland at Under 21 level, before joining Scottish Premiership side Hibernian on loan in January 2018. He made his debut that same day and scored in a 2-1 win over Motherwell.

He spent a further two seasons with the Easter Road outfit, which included a loan spell at Rangers from January of last year to the point at which the season was called off. He then moved back to Switzerland, signing for St Gallen last August before his arrival in Scotland last week.

“It is nice to finally be here after all the delays. I was looking forward to coming to Aberdeen. It has been a frustrating time because the move has taken a bit longer than expected because of the visa issues but everything is now done, and I am delighted to be here.

“I went to St Gallen to play football, that was the objective, but I have to respect the decisions of the manager there. He chooses the players and that is his job. But if you don’t play, then it is not the best period for you. I am coming to Aberdeen to show the qualities that I have. I am confident in my ability, I know what I can do and can bring to the team. I’m here to play games, to enjoy my football and to help the team.

“I am contracted at St Gallen until 2023 but that is not my focus for these next three months. My focus is Aberdeen, to be the best I can be here. If I can contribute to help the team to have success, that’s all I want.
“I am already settling in fine. I already know a few of the boys and I know the manager. I know Dylan McGeouch very well. We had a very successful time together at Hibs. I like him as a player, and I am looking forward to playing with him and the rest of the team. I have played against a lot of the players here during my time in Scotland with Hibs and Rangers, so I know the strengths of them. I will get to know them better by training with them every day. The training facilities are very good. I am excited to get to know the boys better and to start playing.
“When the chance to come to Aberdeen came up, I knew that I wanted to come here. It is a very good place, with a very strong manager and a very strong team. I am happy to be here and hopefully I can help the team.

“I heard of the interest from Aberdeen about two or three days before the transfer deadline. The manager called me, and we had a little chat. I have always appreciated him as a manager when I played against him, he has created a very strong team here. Aberdeen were always a hard team to play against. For me it was clear that I wanted to come to Aberdeen and play for the manager and for the club.
“The manager spoke to me about how he wants to play football and what he sees in my as a player and my qualities. It was a very good and honest chat which is what you need to feel the trust from the manager.”

Returning to Scotland is something that Flo clearly welcomes, full of good memories of his time in the SPFL.

“Since the first day that I joined Hibs in January 2018 I have felt very comfortable in Scotland. I like the people in Scotland, the mentality, everyone is very kind, open and friendly. I am like this as a person and that is why I think that I enjoy being in Scotland. I enjoyed my previous two and a half years in Scotland and hopefully I will enjoy it again!

“I know where the goal is, I know I can score goals, but I am not going to say I am going to score 20 goals or something. If I score, that’s great, but only if we win. If the team wins and I didn’t score, it doesn’t matter, the three points are the most important thing. I want to help the team as much as I can, to bring my qualities into the team and to help us win games. We all want to achieve the objectives we have set.”

Flo certainly sets high standards, both for himself and those around him, no surprise when you look at who is his footballing hero is. “As a young boy I always supported Cristiano Ronaldo. Not just the way that he plays football but more about his mentality. He is 36 now but he always does more than everyone else. He looks after his body and looks at what he eats.

“When you are successful it can be difficult to stay humble. In my opinion it is these little details that make the difference from a ‘normal’ professional to a big professional.”

There was lots to admire in Flo’s debut last Saturday, not least his ability to get through the 90 minutes after ten days stuck waiting for the administrative wheels to grind on and give him his clearance to join in training with his new colleagues.

“I was delighted to get 90 minutes against St Mirren because I didn’t have any football training for two weeks until the day before the game, so I was pleased to be able to play the whole game. It will get better day after day, the more I train and play.

“They were difficult conditions to play in, but it is the same for everyone, so you have to accept it and carry on. Now we look to start scoring goals and winning games.

“I am dynamic as a player and with my presence I feel that I can bring something to the team. The players know me as well, so they know my qualities. I don’t want to talk too much about what I will bring to the team, I just want to enjoy my football here and to play a part of the success with the club.

“As a striker you always want to score goals and then you can sleep better! If I can contribute with performances, assists and bring other players into the game then that is also good. All that matters is that we win, it doesn’t matter who scores the goals. The first thing is to win games for the team and to bring the best performances that we can.

“The job as a football player would just be too easy if everything was on the up all the time. Sometimes you have a bit of negativity and the results do not go the way that you want them to. The players here have quality. I hope I can help the team now that I am here. One win can change everything.”