Melbourne Heart FC has launched its off-season recruitment campaign with the signing of Australian Institute of Sport Captain Curtis Good.
Melbourne Heart FC has launched its off-season recruitment campaign with the signing of Australian Institute of Sport Captain Curtis Good.
A stylish left-sided central defender, Melbourne-born Good has inked a multi-year deal with Heart, continuing the Club-s commitment to promoting elite young talent which was a focal point of the side-s maiden campaign.
The arrival of Good as the first addition to the Heart-s inaugural squad gives the Heart 19 contracted players in advance of the 2011/12 season, including 7 players aged 20 or under.
Having trained with Heart for extended periods over the last six months, including a short term contract as a Replacement Player, Head Coach John van ‘t Schip said the Club is confident Good is capable of making an immediate leap from the institute ranks to become a strong performer at Hyundai A-League level.
“Curtis is very young of course and still has to learn a lot, but we-ve seen he has the potential to develop into a good defender for our team. We are already aware of his qualities as a footballer and we hope he can bring them to our team,” he said.
“It-s up to us and to him now to further develop his skills and hopefully we can help him, but we are very happy he is coming to us.”
General Manager, Football Operations John Didulica said the Club is delighted to be bringing Good into its ranks.
“We feel as if we have picked up the number one draft pick,” he said. “As captain and a key central defender, Curtis was one of the outstanding players at the AIS which in our view makes him one of the most promising players in Australia.
“Long term, our recruiting strategy is to build from the bottom up, so to be able to bring in another exceptionally gifted young player to the team to compliment our core of existing experienced players is exciting.”
Squad Details
Ins: Aziz Behich*, Curtis Good, Adrian Zahra* (*promoted from Replacement Players to the Player Roster)
Outs: John Aloisi, Gerald Sibon, Josip Skoko, Ante Tomic, Peter Zois
