It appears that Heidelberg United have acquired one of the NPL’s top marquee signings, encouraging Melbourne Victory fan favourite Archie Thompson to put pen to paper at Olympic Village, with an official announcement set to be made tomorrow morning.
Thompson transfers to the Warriors after eleven years at Melbourne Victory, where he made 224 appearances, scoring 91 goals, which comprises of three A-League premierships and championships, the A-League Golden Boot in the league’s maiden season and a feature in the A-League Team of the Decade.
The 37-year-old brings a long pedigree of talent and experience to Olympic Village which consists of experience overseas at Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven and Belgian side Lierse S.K, as well as countless stints in the Asian Champions League.
Most famously, Archie’s CV includes the world record of 13 goals scored in an international match against American Samoa, where the Socceroos triumphed 31-0.
Additionally, the New Zealand born striker holds national records for most goals scored in the A-League and most goals scored in a game, where he put five past Adelaide United in the 2007 Grand Final.
Even at the ripe age of 36, Archie still proved his worth, playing a crucial role in securing the A-League championship and premiership for the 2014-15 season, where he netted ten times – including one hat-trick.
Manager George Katsakis will be hoping he wields his nationally recognised striker’s touch to add to the Bergers’ already league high 43 goals scored as they push for the top of the table.
Heidelberg already possess a credible attacking option in Kenny Athiu, who is lurking in second place on the NPL golden boot table and would greatly benefit from working around the attacking assets of the 37-year-old.
The people’s club have already been host to a high-profile marquee signing, encouraging Greek international Kostas Katsouranis to sign a one-match contract in their 2015 FFA Cup run.
It is unsure how Katsakis will use Archie to bolster his already heavily attacking outfit, although one thing can be for certain – he is definitely not short of experience to learn off.
Heidelberg currently sit ten points off league leaders and rivals South Melbourne with nine rounds remaining, if anyone hosts the composure for a late surge at top spot – it’ll be Archie.
A number of Heidelberg players hijacked a recent Instagram post made by Thompson, hinting at his imminent arrival with a slew of ‘see you soon’ comments.
The deal was registered with the FFV before the transfer window closed, but the announcement of the deal was held back due to personal circumstances.