Entries from July 2007 ↓
July 27th, 2007 — Archie Thompson, Kaz Patafta, Melbourne Victory, Pre-season cup
News on MelbourneVictory.com.au suggests that Archie Thompson won’t be ready for the game against Perth in Darwin tomorrow night. Apparently, his sojourn with the Socceroos camp has left the Melbourne Victory’s marquee man worse off than we’d hoped.
Kaz Patafta will be stepping into his place, partnering Danny Allsopp up the front. It’s a game Melbourne has to win (and preferably with a few goals) if it wants to have a crack at winning the Pre-Season Cup.
Then again, that doesn’t seem to be a huge priority. Adrian Caceres made it clear that the focus lies elsewhere:
We’re going to focus on the first game of the season because that is where it counts.
A-League News
By the way, for those of you after live coverage of the match against Perth, it’s not looking good. The Melbourne Victory site has said the game won’t be covered there. If anyone has tips on how to keep track of the game, please leave a comment.
July 26th, 2007 — Leandro Love, Melbourne Victory, Players, Transfers
Melbourne announced its latest signing, bringing on board Brazilian striker Leandro Rodriguez da Silva, aka Leandro Love, aka Leandro, from J-League’s Kobe Vissel. It’s a one year loan deal, making him the third loaned player on Melbourne’s roster, along with Kaz Patafta and Carlos Hernandez. It is now becoming apparent that this is a preferred way for the Victory to attract quality players while minimising expenses.
While it is not likely that Leandro will feature prominently for the team, he is a much needed addition to the squad, which has been desperately lacking a third striker. With both Thompson and Allsopp now on the Socceroo’s radar, Melbourne would be in deep trouble if schedules conflicted during the season and, if nothing else, Leandro provides some peace of mind. But to write him off as nothing more than a back-up would be underplaying his role. A quality third striker can prove vitally important in dead-locked matches or matches where the team is down by a goal. Who could forget the role James Robinson played in last season’s semi-final?
While we still know very little about this player, Merrick seems to be underplaying his quality with comments like this: “The third striker really has to know he’s a back-up striker, so that’s why we’ve gone for a 21-year-old who’s . . . pretty fit and ready to go.” Certainly not the glowing words that Merrick has reserved for some of the other signings. That said, Leandro does seem a reasonable prospect at least, apparently having scored 4 goals during his stint at Brazilian state team Rio Branco in the Paulista State Championships. Here’s one of his goals (against Palmeiras) I managed to dig up on YouTube. It’s the second goal:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATUF5ZXruzE[/youtube]
July 24th, 2007 — Melbourne Victory, Michael Theoklitos, Players
Known to fans simply as Theo, the big man in goals had a sterling season last year, keeping 10 clean sheets in 21 games. It is fair to say that he probably had the best season of his career thus far, much to the delight of tens of thousands of Victory supporters. His performances were such that Simon Hill picked him as goalkeeper in his “Best 11″ for the season, an outstanding compliment considering the exceptionally high calibre of goal keepers in the A-League.
Theoklitos started his career in the old NSL, playing for the Bulleen Zebras and Football Kingz. A stint in England with Blackbool FC was tainted by injury, leading to his fairly speedy return to play in the VPL first for South Melbourne and then returning to Bulleen. In a most memorable moment, he helped Bulleen win the VPL final in 2005 in a penalty shoot-out by saving 3 of the 4 penalties. Perhaps it was that spectacular performance that helped seal the deal when Melbourne Victory came into the picture.
He had a difficult first year in front of him though as Merrick seemingly remained undecided as to who would be better in goals. With two excellent keepers to choose from, Merrick put them on a rotational system, giving them both ample chance to prove themselves. By the end of the season it had become clear which goalkeeper was most trusted to guard Melbourne’s goal. Season 2 has only helped to solidify his position as the Victory’s no.1 .
Lets hope the sounds of “Theo, Theo” ring from the stands for a long time to come.
More on Michael Theoklitos:
July 24th, 2007 — Adrian Leijer, Melbourne Victory, Players
The Melbourne Victory’s defense has generally been one of the stronger aspects of its game.
We may have finished second last in the inaugural A-League season, but only twice did we lose by more than a goal. We were second best when it came to the number of goals scored against us. In the following season, our defensive record improved: we kept 9 clean sheets and only let through 20 for the regular season.
Since its inception, one of the key players of the excellent Melbourne defence has been Adrian Leijer.
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July 23rd, 2007 — A League, Melbourne Victory, Pre-season cup
The Melbourne Victory lost yesterday to the Newcastle Jets, but put on a good show for the 8,500 fans who turned out at Skillet Stadium in Geelong for the Pre-Season Cup match.
Carlos Hernández made his first appearance for the Victory, coming on 15 minutes into the 2nd half to a welcoming roar of support. But he was unable to help Melbourne come back after Newcastle scored the winning goal several minutes into the 51st minute.
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July 19th, 2007 — Joe Keenan, Melbourne Victory, Players, Transfers
Matthew Kemp’s counterpart on the left side of defense is Joe Keenan, another new recruit set to bid for a regular role in the Victory squad.
Keenan, an Englishman who has enjoyed spells at Chelsea, VC Westerlo and Willem II, has been assigned defensive duties – a role which contrasts with his history as a midfielder, but reflects Melbourne’s strength in midfield. Gary Cole touts him as someone who can “offer creativity as well as the ability to defend.”
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July 16th, 2007 — Melbourne Victory, Pre-season cup
Melbourne’s first Pre-Season Cup match has ended in a draw.
Adelaide were the first to score, with a goal in the first half from Travis Dodd putting United in front for most of the match. It was Danny Allsopp who pulled Melbourne back onto level terms, with an equaliser within the last 15 minutes.
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July 15th, 2007 — Matthew Kemp, Melbourne Victory, Players, Transfers
It’s strange to see Matthew Kemp in Victory garb – stranger than it was to see Adrian Caceres with Melbourne after he came over from Perth. But when it comes to inter-club rivalries, the Melbourne-Perth one pales in comparison to the rivalry between Adelaide United and the Victory. So to have Matthew Kemp – a regular fixture for Adelaide in its past two seasons – sporting the Melbourne Victory outfit, is something that takes a little getting used to.
That said, Melbourne fans should be excited about having Kemp on board. Here’s why:
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July 14th, 2007 — A League, Melbourne Victory, Pre-season cup
The Pre-Season Cup kicks off today with 3 matches to be played:
- Newcastle Jets vs Perth Glory, 2:30 pm, Port Macquarie Regional Stadium
- Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix, 6:00 pm, Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
- Queensland Roar vs Sydney FC, 7:00 pm, Maroochydore SC, Sunshine Coast
Melbourne meets Adelaide tomorrow in Launceston (see the details here).
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July 13th, 2007 — Grant Brebner, Melbourne Victory, Players, videos
Together with captain Kevin Muscat, Grant Brebner makes up Melbourne’s muscle in midfield. Like Muscat, Brebner has age and wisdom on his side, closing in on his thirtieth birthday this year. Since joining Melbourne at the start of last season, he has been a compelling presence, proving a vital lifeline to Victory strikers – one which was painfully lacking in the inaugural A League season.
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