From Hearts News in Barsinghausen, Germany

Ismael Bouzid can't wait to get his new life in Scotland underway, because he's heard rave reviews about how much football means to the country.

Having experienced tremendous top level success with Galatasaray and Kaiserslautern, the 25-year-old is eager to progress once more in Edinburgh.

"They have told me the football culture there is very much like it is in Germany," he said after being unveiled formally yesterday here in Germany. "When you are born you love football and every year you get more and more passionate about it.

"In places like Germany, Turkey and Scotland you choose your team before you learn to walk and you stick with it. It takes over your life and that makes them very passionate when they are in the stands.

"I've been told everyone loves football in Scotland! It's their culture, it's their life.

"I can understand that passion because I love football too and I've seen the same passion in Turkey.

"They've all said great things about the country, about life there and about football. The only thing I've been warned about is that it rains a lot!

"I've been to several different countries in my life and my career and I enjoy travelling. I'm keen to learn new languages and new cultures so that's as exciting for me as the football."

After experiencing the fanaticism of football in Turkey, Ismael is probably prepared for everything, but he confessed he did enjoy the relentless passion of supporters.

"Football fans in Turkey get a bad name but it's unfair," he continued. "They love the teams and only time there are real problems are between rival fans when there are derbies on.

"The fans make a lot of noise during games but you thrive on that. The noise in a Fenerbahce-Galatasaray match is incredible. Every time you touch the ball the noise is deafening.

"If you are playing away from home it can be intimidating but if you want to play at a high level you have to cope. They also respect you when they meet you in the street and I have never had a problem

"I won the league with Galatasaray and it was an incredible feeling. Istanbul is a huge city and the party went on for days and days.

"We went through the city in our bus and there were hundreds of thousands of people there to cheer us on."

On Hearts.TV today - Watch the first of our exclusive two-part interview with Csaba Laszlo. Listen to audio updates from tonight's game at St Pauli at 5.55pm, plus half-time and full-time via the heartsfc.co.uk home page