Melbourne Victory defender Georg Niedermeier is desperate to make up for lost time this season – continuing with Saturday evening’s Big Blue against Sydney FC (kick off 7.50pm AEDT).
The former Bayern Munich youth has been plagued by injury misfortune in his debut Hyundai A-League season, which has restricted him to just 13 matches and robbed Victory of a significant figure in their defensive set-up.
However, the 33-year-old, who made more than 150 appearances in Germany’s top-level Bundesliga for the likes of SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart, has proven his undoubted quality when fit and available for Victory boss Kevin Muscat.
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This was especially the case in Victory’s 2-0 win over Perth Glory last weekend, and Niedermeier is ready to make his formidable presence felt once again in Saturday’s clash with Melbourne’s interstate enemy.
“It’s taken quite a while and I had a couple of setbacks this season, but at the moment I’m feeling really good and confident,” Niedermeier said.
“I had two concussions, I rolled my ankle as I came back from that.
“I rushed it a bit so I had calf problems and had an injury there in my first game back.
“After that we took the time, so unfortunately I missed a lot of games, especially in the January phase, but I’m back now.
It’s not easy when you’re in the gym working hard to come back again, and then you’re back in the first game, hoping you can help, but actually have another setback.
“So that was not an easy time – fortunately my family was here and I had a lot of support also from the club, so I want to give back now (in) an important phase.”
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MATCH PREVIEW: Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory
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Victory trail first-placed Glory by seven points ahead of Saturday night’s massive Big Blue at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
And although last season’s Grand Final winners may have to concede defeat to Perth in the Premiership race, Niedermeier believes Victory underlined their championship credentials in Round 23’s win over the Glory.
“We wanted to make a statement in a remarkable way,” Niedermeier said, adding about Saturday’s clash: “We won the last two games against Sydney FC, it’s the Big Blue, it’s always an important game.
“They’re sitting one point ahead of us, we know what’s coming up. They want to turn us over and make a better result.”
