Daniele De Rossi completes transfer to Boca Juniors after 18 years in Rome | Soccer

Boca Juniors confirmed the signing of Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi, who left Roma after 18 years at the club and joined Argentina in free transfer.

De Rossi was received early in the morning at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires and transported immediately for treatment. He is expected to join the team for the first trials on Friday morning and officially run on Monday.

At 36, many suspects thought the midfielder would retire as a man from a club, while Rom did not renew his contract this summer. But rumors began to circulate in May when at a press conference he said: "I still want to play football, it would be unfair to me if I decided to stop now."

Twitter fueled this speculation after a photo of De Rossi brandishing a Boca kit with his name and number went around. And Boca fans started dreaming when De Rossi reportedly said, "I do not want to stop playing with regret that I can not wear Boca's t-shirt."

It will be Boca's signature for the current transfer window. It is likely that De Rossi's relationship with Boca's sports director, Nicolás Burdisso, helped the club seal the deal. Burdisso played as central defender of Roma between 2009 and 2014. Boca also recruited Benfica winger Eduardo Salvio last week.

Club director Gustavo Alfaro praised De Rossi and said, "He will add his experience and quality". De Rossi will be one of the oldest players on the team, but despite his age, his severe style will fit in the Argentine league. He is one year older than Carlos Tevez, who left Juventus at his peak to join his childhood club in 2014 after playing in the Champions League final.

Argentine teams are only entitled to five places for international players in each team, but the future exit of Uruguayan midfielder Nahitan Nández to Cagliari and the granting of Argentine nationality to Frank Fabra have freed up space for De Rossi.

Some remain skeptical about the ability and willingness of the Italian to perform at its peak, recalling the overly mediatized and disappointing loan period of Dani Osvaldo in 2015 from Southampton via Internazionale.

Under Alfaro, the formation of Boca Juniors has varied, but with Tevez mainly marginalized and Cristian Pavón linked to an MLS move, Alfaro should stick to the 4-4-1-1 they had used against Athlético Paranaense on Wednesday .

The training leaves West Ham's former playmaker Mauro Zárate in a position of advanced creation, with two central midfielders behind him. Iván Marcone is the first choice. De Rossi should be in rotation with the highly esteemed 19-year-old Agustín Almendra, which will give depth to a team looking to qualify for the Copa Libertadores.

Boca lost the last edition dramatically to the detriment of River Plate after two polemical legs and a final played in Madrid. After the victory in Curitiba mid-week, Alfaro said he hoped De Rossi would eventually play alongside Marcone, but confessed that he "should see about [De Rossi’s] fitness level ".

The Argentine Superliga will start this weekend. Boca will face Huracán in his first match. De Rossi will have his first taste of a superclásico September 1st, when Boca goes to River, his fierce rival.