Van den Brink leaves Perth for India

Dutch defender Bas van den Brink has been released by Perth Glory with the 30-year-old set to join Indian club Churchill Brothers.

Dutch defender Bas van den Brink has been released by Perth Glory with the 30-year-old set to join Indian club Churchill Brothers.

Van den Brink and Glory agreed to terminate the final three months of the defender’s contract on Monday with the club admitting they could not guarantee the Dutchman a spot on the roster next season.

Keen to secure his family’s future, van den Brink went looking for other options and after hearing about Churchill Brothers’ interest, the central defender did not hesitate.

“You have to make decisions that are good for yourself,” van den Brink said.

“I left because I didn’t know whether my contract would have been extended or not and the club didn’t really have a clear standpoint on whether they wanted to keep me.

“Based on that, it made the decision a lot easier for me to leave.”

The former Gold Coast United defender said it would still be difficult moving away from Australia after almost four seasons in the A-League, saying it would be hard leaving his friends and the home he had established for himself and his family in Perth.

Van den Brink looks like being a replacement in defence for Lebanon international Bilal Najjarine, but he is yet to sign on the dotted line with Churchill Brothers and has not set a date to leave Australia. However, the Dutchman says the deal is just about done.

“We’re more or less agreed on terms but obviously we still have to do a medical and stuff like that … so that’s where it stands right now,” the Dutchman said.

“Get things sorted in Australia and we’re off.”

Van den Brink played 42 games with Glory having moved to Perth after 50 matches with now-defunct Gold Coast United.

But after almost four seasons in the A-League, van den Brink seems excited about the opportunity to live and play in another country.

Churchill Brothers lead India’s I-League and have qualified for the 2013 AFC Cup, Asia’s second-tier continental club competition.

“They’re top of the table right now,” van den Brink said.

“Playing (AFC) Cup … so from that point of view it’s a really, really nice opportunity to get some experience and see what else is happening out there in Asia.”