Leading Sydney FC players believe the club have found the perfect mix in their new-look strike-force to provide the firepower to bring them success in this season’s Hyundai A-League.
It’s been five seasons since the Sky Blues last won the A-League title and the club is desperate to get back to the top under new coach Graham Arnold.
And Arnold has wasted little time in showing his intentions with the Sky Blues, bringing in some exciting attacking players to bolster his squad.
Marquee man Mark Janko headlines the bunch which also includes Sky Blues’ favourite son Alex Brosque, Kiwi international Shane Smeltz and former Mariner Bernie Ibini.
“Plus we have Corey Gamiero as well who has done very well in the pre-season,” Ibini pointed out to www.footballaustralia.com.au .
“There’s a lot of options and a lot of competition. That’s what you want, you want to be able to compete against your team-mates to bring out the best in you.
“It’s Arnie’s problem to figure out how he’s going to fit everyone in but it’s good to have those options.
“We have the ability to be able to change the game. You have Janko whose more of a target man, then you have Smeltzy whose just an out-and-out goal-scorer.
“It’s a good problem to have and is very exciting.”
Gameiro continued his sensational pre-season form with another goal in the Sky Blues 3-1 Westfield FFA Cup win over Melbourne City on Tuesday night.
And while Janko, Brosque and Smeltz missed that clash, midfielder Ali Abbas has also been impressed with the striking talent the Sydney have accrued.
The Iraqi-born flyer, who scored a brace of penalties against City, is confident it will all add up to results on the field and going deeper into the finals after an early exit last season.
“(Graham) Arnold is really good at his job and he knows what he’s doing. That’s why he’s bought all these attacking players and I think we’re going to have success this year,” the Iraqi-born midfielder said.
“We’ve got the biggest striker in the A-League (in Janko), he’s a good finisher left or right plus we’ve got Ibini, Shane (Smeltz) and Alex (Brosque).
“We’ve had some great signings; all the boys are big players which means we’ll have a strong team this year.
“Arnie likes his defensive structure and if we listen to what he wants we will be in the top six and win that (grand) final hopefully.”
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