Melbourne Heart
Coach: John Aloisi
Captain: Harry Kewell
Last Season: 9th
For Melbourne Heart ahead of the new season, it’s a case of out with the old and in with the new – but the new players are actually in fact quite old. After a disappointing 2012-13, finishing ninth, Aloisi has bought in a wealth of experience into his squad to replace those moved on at the end of last season. Former captains, Fred and Matt Thompson were both released whilst Simon Colosimo moved to Asia. Last year’s best and fairest Richard Garcia departed for Sydney FC with Clint Bolton calling time on his career all together.
Nevertheless, despite the majority of the squads’ spine leaving, Aloisi took no time to fill the void, opting to include more experience into his team. Acquiring already established players and leaders proved to be Aloisi’s main target during the transfer window, with international former captains signing the dotted line for Heart. 35-year-old centre back Rob Wielaert joins Melbourne having captained FC Twente, with fellow centre back and Socceroo Patrick Kisnorbo returning to Australia from Leeds who he also wore the armband with. All-time Maltese leading goal scorer and captain Michael Mifsud is set to add some much needed quality in the final third along with pacey winger Iain Ramsay.
Key Player
Harry who? Harry Kewell. In case you haven’t heard, Heart signed the former Victory marquee over the winter and the newly appointed skipper is looking to prove himself in the A-League after a much tamed debut season. With the World Cup looming in less than 12 months’ time, this season is Harry’s last chance to pencil a spot in Holger’s squad for Brazil so expect the midfielder to give it all he’s got. Despite only playing three games in the Middle East since he departed Victory, the 35-year-old will still be a crucial cog in the works for Aloisi’s men. He may start out wide where he had the most success for Victory or he may play in the number ten role – only fitting as he is the number ten but his quality on the pitch cannot be overlooked. All eyes will be on Kewell as he debuts for Heart against Victory and fans will be hoping that their new skipper can lead the Red and White’s charge into the finals.
Where to improve:
Finishing ninth you’d want to improve in all areas all over the pitch and Aloisi has done exactly that, bringing in depth from defence to attack. However the centre of the pitch is where Heart would want to make the most gains this season. Melbourne failed to find consistency and rhythm last season throughout the midfield, often finding themselves outplayed and lacking that creative spark when linking with the forwards. Injuries were of course a major contribution to their woes, with Mate Duganzic missing the majority of the season with a knee injury and captain Fred failing to have any impact while struggling with fitness problems. Aloisi will be hoping the additions of Kewell and holding midfielder Massimo Murdocca will provide consistency in the midfield whilst in the wide areas, Ramsay, Duganzic and David Williams can finally provide that creative link going forward. In an unfortunate turn of events for Heart, marquee Orlando Engelaar suffered a broken leg in preseason and won’t be expected to make his debut until 2014. The 34-year-old Dutch international was tipped to solve Heart’s problems in the centre of midfield but hopefully the Dutchman can make a strong impact in the latter part of the season.
The depth and quality introduced by Aloisi appears to be a significant improvement upon last year’s squad and Heart has a realistic chance of booking a finals position. However, Heart are expected to display an almost completely different line up to last year’s round one clash and just like with any new team, the players need time to gel. The worst-case scenario is Aloisi’s squad fail to find any chemistry throughout the whole season and their elder players fail to make the starting line-up due to injury. All will be revealed though if Hearts new look squad have gelled in time on Saturday night and supporters will be hoping to turn their fortunes around for the upcoming campaign.
1. Tando VELAPHI, 2. Jeremy WALKER (youth), 3. Rob WIELAERT, 4. Orlando ENGELAAR (marquee), 5. Sam MITCHINSON (youth), 6. Patrick GERHARDT, 7. Iain RAMSAY, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 9. Dylan MACALLISTER, 10. Harry KEWELL (captain), 11. Michael MIFSUD, 13. Jonatan GERMANO, 14. Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15. David WILLIAMS, 16. Aziz BEHICH, 17. Jason HOFFMAN, 18. David VRANKOVIC (youth), 19. Ben GARUCCIO (youth), 20. Andrew REDMAYNE, 21. Stefan MAUK (youth), 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC, 24. Patrick KISNORBO, 25. Andrea MIGLIORINI (injury replacement), – Luke O’DEA
In
Aziz Behich (Bursaspor – loan), Orlando Engelaar (PSV), Harry Kewell (free), Patrick Kisnorbo (Leeds United), Michael Mifsud (Valletta), Andrea Migliorini (Koper), Massimo Murdocca (Brisbane Roar), Iain Ramsay (Adelaide United), Tando Velaphi (Melbourne Victory), Rob Wielaert (Roda JC), Luke O’Dea (Melbourne Victory)
Out
Eli Babalj (AZ Alkmaar), Clint Bolton (retired), Simon Colosimo (Dempo), Jamie Coyne (released), Cameron Edwards (Perth Glory), Fred (released), Richard Garcia (Sydney FC), Steven Gray (released), Vince Grella (retired), Marcel Meeuwis (FC Eindhoven), Josip Tadic (HNK Rijeka), Matt Thompson (Sydney FC).