Adelaide United looks set to enter the 2009/10 Hyundai A-League season without a marquee player.
The Reds, who introduced their fifth and final overseas player Inseob Shin to the media on Tuesday, are on the lookout for an Australian to take the high-paid spot.
But with just over three weeks until their Round 1 clash against Perth Glory, and a lack of obvious marquee candidates on offer, United might be forced to go without.
Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar said he wasn’t losing any sleep over the marquee void but admitted it wasn’t an ideal situation.
“At this stage we don’t have a marquee and we probably won’t get a marquee. They are all the little issues we have so we’ll have to make do with the best person available,” he said.
“It’s just a name, a title – marquee player – what does it mean – nothing.”
“Our marquee last year didn’t play so is it such a big deal? No. We’d like to have another person as a marquee player absolutely but at this point it’s difficult.”
The Reds are looking to add one or two more players to its squad with a defender considered a high priority.
But the more pressing challenge is improving the team’s fitness in time for the upcoming season.
In particular, recruit Lloyd Owusu is underdone because VISA delays and illness has curtailed his pre-season thus far.
“We want him in the team but also now, because he doesn’t have that conditioning, we need to be mindful we don’t just chuck him in and get him into sorts of problems in terms of getting injured,” he said.
“It’s going to take a bit of time and there are a few others as well.”
Problems and distractions aside, Vidmar said he was pleased the club had struck a two-year deal with Shin.
It will be the 20-year-old’s first professional contract but Vidmar expects the Korean to hit the ground running.
“We understood he hadn’t been in a professional set up but he was about to go into the draft in Korea anyway so he certainly would’ve been picked by one of the K-League clubs,” he said.
“I think in the week that he was here, he showed he can certainly step up to A-League, certainly someone in the front third that can make things happen and he’s a pretty resilient young boy.”
Shin, who took note of the Reds’ ACL finals campaign last year, is optimistic he can adjust to the long-passing and physicality of the Hyundai A-League.
“I honestly think I can. I try to play creatively, I want to score goals, make assists, that’s the job for me during the game I think,” Shin said.
Similarly to the majority of Brazilian players being known on a one name basis, United’s latest signing will simply be known as Shin.
