After weeks of speculation and rumours, it’s been confirmed: Adrian Caceres has left Melbourne for the greener grasses of Gosford.

The Central Coast Mariners have added the attacking midfielder to their squad list for next year. Caceres will, however, be available for the group stage of the Asian Champions League.

I’m sad to see him go. Caceres is a player with flair and creativity; a player who proved to be instrumental in the Victory’s late resurgence this season; and a player who deserved more game time than he was given. No doubt many fans will blame Caceres’ move on Ernie Merrick’s refusal to play him more, especially in the early stages of this season.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

When the Melbourne Victory met the Central Coast Mariners at Telstra Dome in Round 4, Ernie Merrick made a rather odd substitution. Adrian Caceres off, Steve Pantelidis on. We were only about 30 minutes in, and Caceres had looked dangerous so far, having come very close to scoring early on.

It’s not the first time that Adrian Caceres has been pulled off rather inexplicably. When he’s on, he generally looks dangerous. What’s more, he adds something that the Victory lacks: width. But Caceres rarely gets a starting berth; Merrick’s favourite use for the Argentinean-born Caceres is to play him as a second-half tactical sub. Melbourne Victory’s Tim Cahill, if you will.

Where Grant Brebner and Kevin Muscat play a passing game, Caceres plays a running game. Like Joe Keenan, he adds width to a Victory side that all too often drives its attack straight down the middle.

When Caceres came over to Melbourne from the Perth Glory, he put a frustrating season behind him. Marred by injury, Caceres never became part of the starting lineup. During his pre-season with Melbourne, Caceres looked impressive and exciting. But throughout the regular reason, it became clear that Caceres’ role at the Victory was not as a starter, but as a fresh pair of legs designed to wreak havoc on tired defences.

Sure, it often works. Caceres was instrumental in the victory over the Queensland Roar and the comeback against the Newcastle Jets the previous week. Both times, he came on in the second half. But notice that the Victory had generally looked uninspired during the preceding halves. Which makes you wonder: Can we really afford to keep Caceres on the bench when the team seems desperately to need his spark?

Read more about Adrian Caceres:

• Adrian Caceres on Wikipedia
• Caceres profile at MelbourneVictory.com.au