By Luke D’Anello
MELBOURNE Knights’ hopes of heading north on the Victorian Premier League (VPL) ladder have received a boost after the club signed blue chip goal-keeper Martin John for the coming season.
John returns to the Knights after a seven-year stint with Sunshine George Cross, where he claimed consecutive best and fairest awards in 2009/10.
The 30-year-old was a member of the Knights’ team in the defunct National Soccer League for six seasons (1998-2003).
Melbourne finished in ninth position in last year’s VPL competition, but the addition of John has left coach Ivan Duzel confident his team can make an impression on the opposition.
“He’s very good and experienced. He’s come to help us for this season, and hopefully he will stay a little bit longer,” Duzel said of John. “Last year, particularly in the two games I saw him play against us, he was one of the outstanding players on the pitch. The information I got from people who watched more of George Cross than I watched was that he was one of the best players around and he was the best player for George Cross last year. I believe we’ve recruited a good, experienced guy, who knows what he’s doing, and hopefully he will be one of my leaders in defence this year.
He’s a very, very fanatical fitness man. He works very, very hard, and he likes to work hard. He’s very disciplined about his job and the training, and all the rest.”
John, who is on holiday in America, will not be the only new face in the Knights’ line-up in 2011.
Other recruits include Shaun Romein, Craig Sweeney (both Sunshine George Cross), Hrvoje Matkovic, Josip Kozic (both Heidelberg United), Shayan Alinejad (Knox City) and Rivdan Saglam (Fawkner Blues).
Duzel also has high hopes for the Knights’ younger brigade and believes some of them can make a contribution in the top side. “The kids 20 years old and under, they’re good players, competitive players. With a couple of experienced players as well, I believe that we’re going to be competitive this year,” said Duzel.
Meanwhile, former Knight Adrian Zahra has been signed by Melbourne Heart on a two-year deal.
Zahra shot to prominence last season when he claimed the VPL under-21 Player of the Year award. He was initially snapped up by Heart on a four-week contract as an injury replacement.
“I believe he definitely deserves to go to A-League and what he got came from hard work. His attitude, determination and character was shown to the coach of the Melbourne Heart (John van’t Schip) and he gave him a contract, which is fantastic,” Duzel said of Zahra.
