He's here, he's gone, now he's back again! That's the story with Reinaldo, the Brazilian forward who played for Queensland Roar last season. After the last A-League season ended, he left to join a Korean professional football club, Busan I'Park, wanting a taste of football in Asia. Apparently, after 11 weeks, he & Busan mutually agreed to part ways. From what I heard, Reinaldo's wife & child could not settle to life in Korea. So, Reinaldo returned to the Roar just a few days ago, well in time for the upcoming 2008/2009 season. Welcome back, man!I know my good friend TC will not have been excessively impressed with the news - he has been very critical of Reinaldo regularly missing chances & not scoring enough goals in the past couple of seasons. Well, for the 2008/2009 season, I think Reinaldo will be kept on his toes. That's because the Roar have signed a couple of attacking players: Sergio Van Dijk & Charlie Miller. Van Dijk is a Dutchman (who apparently has some Indonesian heritage) who has played in the lower divisions in the Netherlands. He is a forward in the same mould as Reinaldo, & so will be in direct competition with the Brazilian. Miller is a former Scotland international who has played for Glasgow Rangers & Dundee United, & was playing for Belgian club Lierse before signing for the Roar. He was a former teammate of current Roar captain Craig Moore, when Moore was playing his club football for Rangers. Miller plays as an attacking midfielder (I think he can also play as a forward).
Van Dijk & Miller have impressed during pre-season, & they replace Simon Lynch (released) & Ante Milicic (who has gone to play for Malaysian club Shahzan Muda FC). Van Dijk & Miller are said to be better than Lynch & Milicic. Let's hope this is the case.
Other key departures from the Roar include defender Ognenovski (signed for Adelaide United) & Brazilian midfielder Marcinho (released). Ognenovski will be missed, as he has generally played consistently well for the club. But I think the Roar can replace him - they have taken on the youngster Luke DeVere (who I heard is capable), & I believe Ben Griffin can do a job at centre back. Marcinho is not nearly as consistent as Ognenovski, & will not be missed as much. I personally would have kept him at least for 1 more season, as I think he has shown enough to suggest he still has something to offer the club. But nevertheless, he is gone & the attacking midfield replacement is Charlie Miller.
Aside from the players already mentioned above, the squad is pretty settled. They have 2 reliable goalkeepers, Reddy & McMaster. In defence, they still have Seo, McCloughlan & Packer. The flank midfielders, Murdocca (right) & McKay (left) are still there. Tiatto can play left back or left midfield - I would start him at left back, given his defensive qualities. Hopefully, the young wingers will continue to develop - Kruse (right) & Zullo (left). The speedster Minniecon will start the season as a reserve striker, although I think he can also play as a right wing. Qld Roar have also brought in a couple of youngsters, Tommy Oar (left wing) & Tim Smits (striker).
On the whole, I'm happy with the Qld Roar squad. But feel they could & should have also signed a central midfield anchorman, because I feel the Roar are a bit short of established central midfielders. As I blogged in the past, the player I would have liked to fill that spot is Adelaide's Jonas Salley. Salley, who is born in Ivory Coast, recently became an Australian citizen, & desires to play international football with Australia. I believe he could be good enough for that. He played very well against Qld Roar last season, & would be an asset to the Roar midfield. In fact, I cannot remember any opposition midfielder who impressed more against the Roar last season than Salley did. (Oh, by the way, Salley is a Christian - he prays at the sidelines before every match. Good on him).
Qld Roar's pre-season results have been mixed. They beat the visiting reserve team from Brazilian club Palmeiras 3-1 last month in a friendly match at Suncorp Stadium. They also competed in the Pre-Season Challenge Cup (which featured all the A-League teams), playing 3 games without winning any - drew 2, lost 1, therefore finishing last in the group. It would have been nice to have done better, but in the greater scheme of things, it's better to lose some pre-season matches & learn from the mistakes before the season kicks off, than to win pre-season matches & not do so well in the season proper.
Qld Roar finished fourth in the league last season, & in the playoffs, they went as far as the preliminary final, but lost to the eventual A-League champions Newcastle Jets. Hopefully, this season would offer, at the very least, much of the same. For the 2008/2009 season, I think the Roar will finish third in the league behind Sydney FC & Melbourne Victory. And hopefully, the Roar will do better in the playoffs & reach the grand final. Go the Roar!
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