Melbourne Victory head coach Patrick Kisnorbo insisted “things change in football very quickly” after Bruno Fornaroli was left out of the squad again for Saturday’s win over Brisbane Roar.
Fornaroli was not in the matchday squad for the second successive Isuzu UTE A-League fixture as 2023-24 runners-up Victory defeated the Roar 2-0 at AAMI Park.
The 37-year-old set the competition alight last season, scoring 18 goals to lead Victory to the Grand Final and earn a Subway Socceroos recall for the 2024 AFC Asian Cup.
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However, the veteran talisman has found himself on the outer since Kisnorbo replaced Tony Popovic at the end of 2023-24, with the former Troyes boss preferring new Greek signing Nikos Vergos up front, although Fornaroli started the Round 1 draw against reigning champions Central Coast Mariners.
Kisnorbo was quizzed on Fornaroli’s ongoing absence from the squad – before and after Victory snapped a three-year drought against the Roar.
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“I pick what’s best for the game,” the ex-Melbourne City coach told Network 10 pre-game as Vergos was named in the starting XI again, with Jing Reec on the bench.
“Everyone did well last week so we’re unchanged. For me, everyone has competition, regardless of who you are or what age you are. It’s a great problem to have.”
Pressed further, Kisnorbo added: “He started the first game and I decided to go somewhere different the following game, and it paid off.
“At the end of the day, not just him but other players didn’t get themselves in the team. Competition is healthy and we like it like that.”
Fornaroli was also a topic of discussion after Socceroos duo Nishan Velupillay and Jason Geria guided Victory to their first win over Brisbane since November 2021 and to the top of the Isuzu UTE A-League standings amid an unbeaten start to 2024-25.
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“Not really,” Kisnorbo said when asked if it had been difficult to keep Fornaroli “engaged and involved”.
“At the end of the day, players have decisions and they can act how they want. But to be fair, he’s been really good. He’s been engaged and working really hard.
“Unfortunately he was left out today but it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a game and things change.
“In pre-season, we looked at a few things and Bruno started Round 1 so things change in football very quickly.”
On Network 10, former Melbourne Victory star and pundit Archie Thompson also dissected Fornaroli’s situation.
“Its really difficult for Fornaroli,” Thompson said. “We thought the writing was on the wall for him (in the Australia Cup) then he gets thrown into that Central Coast game when you’re not having much game fitness and that was always going to be difficult.
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“We’ve been around the game long enough to know when your time’s up, your time is up and they will come up with any excuse, but you’re on the outer.
“January is when the window opens. I’ve been in the position before when I was overseas and I was out the outer – they sold some players on and I was thrown into the mix again. This is where you have to be really professional and Bruno is that professional type of striker. If he is needed, he will come on.
“But it’s just about showing the player respect and I don’t think they’re showing respect to Bruno.”
A-Leagues great and Network 10 analyst Daniel McBreen added: It’s an interesting one. Bruno’s obviously not going to be happy at his age, after what he did last season to not be included in the squad.
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“Rightly so, any player would be angry they’re not in the squad because you want to be there.
“The difficult thing is for PK, if he was to come out now and go ‘we don’t him’. Then Vergos and Reece were to get injured in the next week and a half, then he all of a sudden goes ‘we need you Bruno’. It’s a pretty delicate situation.
“I think it’s pretty clear, the way he’s taking the club that he thinks Bruno doesn’t fit that way of playing. But he also has to keep him on side a bit because until January, he can’t go anywhere anyway so he is around the boys and he may need him in that time.”
