Josh Brillante says moving to Melbourne City was the right thing for his career as he prepares to face Sydney FC for the first time since leaving the club earlier this year.
Brillante was released by the Sky Blues in May after the end of his contract and although Steve Corica’s side were hopeful of re-signing the five-time capped Australian international decided to move on.
The 26-year-old won two Premierships, two Championships and an FFA Cup with Sydney, earning a standing as one of the Hyundai A-League’s premier midfielders in the process.
It appeared likely that Brillante – who had a mid-season move to Pohang Steelers fall through in May – would be heading to the Korea Republic’s K-League following his Sydney exit.
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But City and new coach Erick Mombaerts moved swiftly to secure Brillante’s services and he has since been a pillar of the Frenchman’s tenure so far.
“I needed a new challenge,” Brillante told a-league.com.au of his move to Melbourne. “We literally won everything at Sydney.
“The change of scenery and a new challenge for myself was a big thing for me and the style of the football the club were projecting was a big part of it as well.”
Brillante is now gearing up to face the team he helped make the competition benchmark as City face the Sky Blues this Sunday evening at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah.
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The gap between the reigning Champions and second-placed City stands at six points and the ex-Serie A man insists Mombaerts’ side will not be taking a backwards step when the action kicks off at 6.30pm AEDT.
“We’ll attack them, get stuck in and be aggressive and be on the front foot,” he said.
Although a defeat could see Sydney enter the new year with a nine-point lead at the summit, Brillante said it is still far too early in the season to declare the Premiership Sydney’s to lose again.
“We’re not even halfway through the season yet,” he said.
“It would be a massive call and a bit silly [to call the Premiership Sydney’s already].
“If you look at the season so far you can see that teams can match it with every other team and each week can have a surprise.”
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Nevertheless, Sunday’s clash with the Sky Blues will still be a huge test of City’s burgeoning Premiership credentials.
Brillante says the underdogs cannot afford to switch off.
“We’ve showed in games that we can create many opportunities and if we can keep that and tighten up our defence, I think we’ll be very exciting to watch. The key will be being switched on.
“We’re second on the table and I think most of our games have been very exciting to watch. It can sometimes be hard when a new coach and new bunch of players come in, but in saying that we’re going really well.”
Click here to buy tickets
Sunday, 29 December 2019
Kick-off: 6.30pm AEDT
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Broadcast: FOX Sports 505
Stream: MyFootball Live App, Kayo Sports
