Even the most ardent Melbourne Heart supporter would have to admit the team needed to be rebuilt and John Aloisi looks to have started with what might just be a resurrection.
Even the most ardent Melbourne Heart supporter would have to admit the team needed to be rebuilt and John Aloisi looks to have started with what might just be a resurrection.
Harry Kewell is joining the red-and-white brigade for season nine of the Hyundai A-League and if Australia-s one-time golden boy can make good on his talents and stay fit, the Heart will finally have the man they need to give them an identity on and off the pitch.
In return Kewell might just punch that ticket to Brazil he has been dreaming of. A good A-League season would make it almost impossible for national coach Holger Osieck to continue to ignore him – more on that later.
Kewell may have been tried across town at Melbourne Victory, where fans were divided on whether he was a success or not and sadly it seems amongst Australian football fans at least, Kewell has gone from God to pariah.
Kewell-s speed decreased but everything else – that vision, the touch, the ability to create half a yard of space in front of goal – has remained.
We only began to see the best of Kewell during the second half of his season with Victory, and that was enough for Ange Postecoglou to plan his new attacking unit with Kewell – the role he vacated eventually going to Marcos Flores.
But now, with Melbourne Heart both the club and player can win. Heart finally get that big ticket marquee player they have been craving. No disrespect to Fred but injuries have slowed the player who also once made his name across town in blue.
Kewell can also still put bums in seats, something Melbourne Heart desperately needs as they try to increase their fledgling fan base, and if Harry is given the time he needs to gel with the side then he can have a similar impact to that of Shinji Ono at Western Sydney – all he needs is time.
But also Kewell needs to be is a team player and there is a lot of raw talent that would benefit from playing alongside someone of his experience.
While many would argue that-s a role for head coach John Aloisi, there are things Kewell can teach the playing roster that are entirely different to those the coach can, he has a different skill set and one that might just benefit a few of Heart-s midfielders and strikers.
The three who would really blossom under the tutelage of Kewell are Mate Dugandzic, Golgol Mebrahtu and Ben Garrucio. Nick Kalmar could learn quite a bit as well.
Dugandzic looked set for a break-out season last term until injury ruled him out. Before that happened he was Melbourne Heart-s best, his attacking forays setting up many a goal.
Mebrahtu-s biggest fault is he isn-t consistent enough nor smart enough in the runs he makes, here too Harry Kewell can help him to make the right decisions more often.
As for Garuccio, he-s being considered one of the hottest properties in Australian football and regardless of the fact he is just 17 years of age, he-s ready to make an impact.
Kewell more than anyone should understand the weight of expectation and be able to help the youngster cope with it as well as being a personal mentor to him, after all Garuccio is a left-sided midfielder with endless ability – something that sounds eerily familiar.
While Heart need to get all of this out of Kewell, the dynamic of him working with long-time teammate and good friend Aloisi could be interesting.
Even the best of friendships can be sorely tested when one player is managed by a former teammate and friend who is telling them what to do.
For an example in Australian sport go back to when Nathan Brown took over the reins of NRL club St George-Illawarra Dragons and proceeded to get into it with good mate and team captain Trent Barrett, the result he slapped Barrett in the face on the sideline.
I-m not saying anything like that would happen between two of the most important members of Australian football-s golden generation, but to suggest there wouldn-t be any tension at any stage would also be naïve.
Make no mistake this is Kewell-s last chance at grabbing back that golden jersey he craves more than anything else and Melbourne Heart should expect the best of him because, more than anything else, Kewell needs to display the best he is capable of to impress Holger Osieck.
As for those that say Kewell is doing this for selfish reasons, he might well be – but you know what, so what?
Professional athletes are just that because they are driven to be the best, driven to succeed, and if Harry Kewell is using Melbourne Heart to make his way back to where he wants to be (in Brazil for the World Cup) it-s not hurting anyone.
For those who say he might be taking a young players- spot in a Heart side who are known to promote youth, I say he has earned that right and the youngsters who are there are lucky to have him and will learn a lot from him.
Simply promoting youth hasn-t worked for the Heart in the past. Just last season they lacked a true leader on the pitch and it killed them when games got tight, Kewell is the leader they have been looking for and is a player with a bigger point to prove than anyone in Australian football.
This move is a win for club and player; it should be a partnership both can ultimately benefit from.
It-s time to say well done and good luck to Melbourne Heart and Harry Kewell, they both deserve it and need it.
