Brisbane Roar head coach Warren Moon revealed he considered signing Hiroshi Ibusuki a couple of years ago as the Japanese striker prepares to face the Isuzu UTE A-League side with Adelaide United on Sunday.
Ibusuki made an instant impact with the Reds after his move to South Australia, scoring the equaliser in his A-League Men debut as a second-half substitute in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Melbourne City.
The 30-year-old will look for similar success in front of goal when Carl Veart’s team face the Roar at Moreton Daily Stadium for the second time this season.
“We’re very much aware of him,” Moon told AAP.
“We had a look at him about two years ago. We know he’s a good player.
“Good size on him and you know he’s obviously going to be a threat but they’ve got lots of attacking talent, so it won’t just be him.”
Reds coach Veart said while his team had benefited from a full week of training in the lead-up to Sunday’s game, it was unlikely Ibusuki would start with George Blackwood likely to again lead the line for the visitors.
“We’re looking to give him a little bit more game time in Brisbane,” Veart said of the former Shimizu S-Pulse frontman.
“We have to be mindful that he hadn’t played for seven weeks before he came here.
“We’ll slowly introduce him to a little bit more game time each week.”
Adelaide will have ex-Roar midfielder Stefan Mauk available with his proposed move to a Japanese club yet to be completed, while Socceroos winger Craig Goodwin is expected to play before joining up with the national team in Melbourne for upcoming AFC World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam and Oman.
The rested Reds will face a Roar team playing their fourth match in 12 days after Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Perth Glory.
Roar skipper Tom Aldred (knee) is not yet fit enough to make his first appearance of the season and Moon admitted he’s contemplating some selection shuffles due to the hectic schedule.
“We have a few sore bodies but that’s to be expected,” Moon said.
“We’ll have to look at the squad.
“We need to manage players, even if they’re going to be available for selection.”
