Having finally sorted out their head coaching position, Melbourne Victory will focus all resources possible on the pursuit of the signature of Socceroos star Harry Kewell.
Caretaker Mehmet Durakovic was confirmed as the permanent replacement for foundation coach Ernie Merrick on Tuesday, ending a three-month global search, while former Socceroos and NSL striker Francis Awaritefe has been recruited into the newly created role of football director.
Having sorted out their top priority, attention now turns to the chase of Kewell, with chairman Anthony Di Pietro admitting that his club is desperate to convince the former Leeds and Liverpool star that Victory is the right fit.
“Harry Kewell is an iconic sports figure in Australia, not just in football. It would be great for the A-League. We would love Harry to come back to Australia,” he said.
“This is the first time we’ve admitted to negotiating with a player. That in itself tells you of the significance of the signing like Harry Kewell.”
“We’re not in a position to say that it is any closer or now. We’re in the mix with everybody else.”
“We’d love him to have these (Melbourne Victory) guernseys on, but we’ll wait and see.”
Durakovic is close to salivating at the prospect of having Kewell at his disposal in his first season in charge.
“I’m very happy with Harry Kewell coming to Melbourne Victory. Who wouldn’t want to have him,” the new coach said.
“I personally and a few of the coaching staff know him quite well. He’s a fantastic player and it would be fantastic for Melbourne victory to have him on board. Whether that happens only time will tell.”
Durakovic feels Kewell would bring a lot more to the club than just pulling power, and would help the club build on their youth development program.
“He brings a wealth of experience. Being a Socceroo and playing for so many years overseas. It would be wonderful to have him on the pitch, week in, week out,” he said.
“The experience he would bring to the youngsters, show them what he has done and teach them is absolutely phenomenal. It would be great to have him on board.”
Awaritefe’s new role sees him in charge of recruiting, but until now he has not been involved in the pursuit of Kewell.
That situation does not concern the new football director, and he said that while the buck will stop with him in terms of the comings and going of players at the club, he expects it to be a collaborative effort.
“We’ll sit down together, we’ll put our brains together,” Awaritefe said.
“We’ll work out what we are going to do, what our plans are and come up with a strategy. Being head of the football department, the buck stops with me.”
“Generally speaking, we are approaching it that we work together as a team and we leverage all the intellect that we’ve got.”
