John Aloisi has declared Brisbane Roar are “in a very healthy position” as they look ahead to the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season.
Roar’s campaign came to an end on Wednesday night with a 3-2 loss to Ulsan in the AFC Champions League (ACL).
Mixed night for Aussie sides in ACL
Brisbane led 2-1 at half-time thanks to a brace from outgoing striker Jamie Maclaren but conceded twice in the second half to lose to their South Korean visitors.
With Thomas Broich definitely leaving, and Maclaren and Brandon Borrello also expected to depart, it was put to Aloisi whether it was the “end of an era” at Roar.
“We can’t forget the players we’ve got coming through,” Aloisi said post-match.
“We gave, I think, seven players their debut this season. This doesn’t happen many places. Brisbane Roar have always been a team and a club that bring through great young players… and we’re proud of that.
“I see that we’re in a very healthy position.”
Considering how the ACL traditionally hinders Hyundai A-League clubs on the domestic front, Aloisi applauded the performance of his team as they won two continental qualifiers just to play in the group stage and held off Melbourne City and Perth Glory to finish third.
Roar then defeated Western Sydney Wanderers in their Elimination Final, only to lose 1-0 against Melbourne Victory to suffer a second straight Semi-Final exit.
“What was the hardest thing this year was the qualifier against Shanghai Shenhua,” Aloisi said.
“When we won that, we had to come back within essentially two days to play Melbourne City, and from there we copped a lot of injuries, we had two trips to Perth – the FFA know the scheduling was bad. Considering all that, we ended up nearly in a grand final.
“People should be proud of what they’ve achieved and what as a club we’ve achieved.”
