Adelaide United’s Bruce Djite claimed Joe Marston Medallist Isaias scored a free-kick “David Beckham would be proud of” in the Hyundai A-League Grand Final on Sunday.
Isaias’ curling effort in the 34th minute at the Adelaide Oval was reminiscent of his dead-ball delivery against Melbourne City in the final round of the regular season.
And again on Sunday, with a trophy on the line, the Spaniard bent his free-kick around the wall – this time to find the top corner and send Adelaide into half-time with a 2-0 lead over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Adelaide United win Hyundai A-League Grand Final
The Reds would go on to win 3-1, clinching their first A-League championship and Djite was left in awe of his team-mate’s ability.
“Isaias – unbelievable defensively and scores a free-kick [David] Beckham would be proud of,” the center-forward told reporters.
The Spanish defensive midfielder was judged man of the match.
Adelaide had previously been to two other A-League grand finals but lost both to Melbourne Victory.
Djite was part of the first – coming off the bench in a 6-0 drubbing in 2007 – and the 29-year-old described the emotions after that game and Sunday’s triumph as “polar opposite”.
“I remember the change room after that game – distraught is probably a good word for it and the change room now is pure elation,” he said.
“And these guys they know how to party and we won’t let ourselves down in that department either. We work hard and we can play a bit harder, I think.”
The 2015-16 season started badly for Adelaide with new coach Guillermo Amor overseeing a run of eight games without victory to begin the campaign.
But Amor turned the Reds’ fortunes around.
“I think the competitive advantages this club has are significant,” Djite said.
“Guillermo Amor is probably the most experienced coach in terms of big games as a player. Right? Any other coach in the A-League can’t say ‘Champions League, this is how we did it’ or even tap into that experience, that knowledge that he has.”
