Socceroos legend John Aloisi has warned the Hyundai A-League’s two big off-season signings Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton that they may take some time to adapt to their new surroundings.
Socceroos legend John Aloisi has warned the Hyundai A-League’s two big off-season signings Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton that they may take some time to adapt to their new surroundings.
Aloisi returned from a stellar European career where he played in Spain, England, Italy and Belgium to play for Central Coast Mariners, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart before retiring at the end of last season.
Having embarked in the return journey to the A-League himself, the man who scored Australia’s most famous penalty is in a good position to offer his former Socceroos team-mates, who have signed for Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC respectively, some advice.
He feels that the biggest factor is learning to adapt to the different surroundings and new team-mates.
“They might get frustrated at times with certain things, because our environment still isn’t the same as what they have been used to over there. The set-up, the grounds, that sort of stuff. I’m sure that they will have to cope with that,” Aloisi said.
“Sometimes they might get frustrated with the level some of their team-mates might not be on the same page as them. They may have the help their team-mates get to that level.”
“Emmo was playing with some of the best players in the world, and Harry the same at Galatasaray. It’s not the same level, but the league is getting stronger, and it’s for them to help that even more.”
But Aloisi has backed Emerton and Kewell, who he says have their own world class qualities, to become dominant players in the A-League.
“They can both bring a lot. A lot of people are saying about Harry, what are we going to get from him? But Harry, going back years ago was, if not the best left-sided player in the world, one of the best. I don’t know what position Melbourne Victory are going to end up playing him, but I’m sure he’ll do well for him,” he said.
“Emmo’s the fittest guy I’ve played with. Of course he’s got a great cross on him, which I loved to be on the end of as a striker. For every game that he played in, you knew that he was going to run his opponent into the ground. I’m sure he’ll do that still because he was playing at a top level over in the UK.”
But while the attention has been on those big names, Aloisi, who is now coaching the Heart’s National Youth League side and is an assistant to John Van ‘t Schip, believes the season’s best signing might be their own marquee man.
“Everyone has been talking about the Socceroos which are coming home which is normal, but Fred is one of the biggest signings of the season and just seeing him in the last week, what he can bring to the side is not only his skill, being an experienced player, but he’s a winner. He’ll lift the players around him,” the 55-time Socceroo said.
Aloisi also predicted a big improvement from the Heart this season, with Fred one of several important signings.
“The players that we’ve got into the first team this year are players that we didn’t have last year. I’m talking about the speed, we’ve got someone like Dugandzic, who is lightning, David Williams, who ahs that x-factor,” he said.
“We’ve got Hoffman who has really come into his own, you saw with the Olympic team. Alex Terra will hopefully play a lot more this year. He will be virtually a new signing this year,” he said.
