West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of Colombia international Pablo Armero on loan until the end of the 2013/14 season.
Left-back Armero joins the Hammers from Italian Serie A side SSC Napoli, having previously starred for America Cali in his homeland, Brazilian side Palmeiras and Italian club Udinese.
A regular for his country, the 27-year-old has been capped 49 times and featured in all but one of Colombia's 16 qualifiers as the South American nation reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
Born in the port city of Tumaco in south western Colombia, Armero made more than 100 league appearances for America Cali before moving to Palmeiras in 2009.
The 5'9" left-back spent 18 months in Sao Paulo, helping Palmeiras to reach the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals and earning himself a move to Europe in summer 2010.
Armero's first season at Udinese in 2010/11 was hugely successful, with the defender helping The Little Zebras to finish fourth in Serie A and qualify for the UEFA Champions League. He was also voted into the Serie A Team of the Year.
After starting regularly for Udinese throughout the 2011/12 and opening weeks of the 2012/13 seasons, Armero was loaned to Napoli in January 2013 before making the move permanent last summer.
After being used mainly as a substitute last season, the defender has made nine Serie A starts this term. He also started four of Napoli's six UEFA Champions League group-stage fixtures, including the 2-0 home win over Arsenal in December.
At international level, Armero has been a regular starter for Colombia since making his senior debut in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying defeat in Chile in September 2008.
While Colombia narrowly missed out on qualification for South Africa, Armero did feature at the 2011 Copa America, where 'Los Cafeteros' reached the quarter-finals.
The defender was an integral member of Colombia's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, starting 14 of his country's 16 matches as they finished as runners-up to Argentina. Barring injury, he is almost certain to travel to Brazil.
http://www.whufc.com/articles/20140131/hammers-snap-up-armero_2236884_3647309
