Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou has played down talk of any added spice to this weekend’s season opening Melbourne Derby, amid the first return of ex-player Harry Kewell.
Kewell scored eight goals in his 25 appearances for the blue half of Melbourne in 2011/12 following his return from Europe. But after leaving a three-year contract prematurely after just one season (albeit for family reasons), some sections of the Victory fan base had qualms about the loyalty that the Socceroo showed. This was further strained after Kewell signed for bitter rivals Melbourne Heart four months ago.
Postecoglou was quick to dismiss the Kewell factor, stating that he expected the game to be big enough without the need to single out an individual player.
“I think the derby stands on it’s own regardless of who’s playing.
“It’ll be a great way to start the season, so from our perspective we want to make sure we please our fans and give a good performance, and get the right result,”
Star striker Archie Thompson had a different view on the Kewell situation, declaring that now he’s at the Heart, the two are forced to be enemies.
“Obviously [Kewell’s] a great player, and look we’d love to have him at the club but unfortunately he’s gone to Heart so we’re enemies.”
Thompson added further fuel to the fire by insinuating that the Victory supporters boo him during Saturday nights match, but not ‘too much’.
“We would’ve obviously loved him to stay at Melbourne Victory but there’s family reasons for that and hopefully everybody knows that. Don’t give him too much of a hard time on Saturday,” Thompson said, addressing the fans after Saturday morning’s open house intra-club match.
When his comment was matched with a chorus of boos from the Victory supporters, he cheekily quipped,
“Exactly, that’s what I’m saying, do it!”
Postecoglou expects a massive 40,000 plus crowd for the Saturday night opener against the Heart, and is hopeful of his side starting the season with three points.