Could Adelaide United’s reinvigorated striker Cristiano could be headed to new franchise Melbourne Heart?
The Brazillian striker spent eight years in the Dutch Eredivisie with NAC Breda and Roda JC striker and is apparently being targeted by Heart’s Dutch coach John van’t Schip to join the new franchise next season.
van’t Schip watched Friday night’s clash between Sydney and Adelaide and could be targeting Adelaide’s 11 players estimated to be out of contract and while star goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic and Socceroos Robert Cornthwaite, Scott Jamieson and Kristian Sarkies are up for renewal next year, The Advertiser’s Val Migliacco believes that Cristiano’s Dutch experience will attract the former Ajax and Dutch assistant coach’s attention.
Sydney travelled to Hindmarsh after putting champions Melbourne to the sword the week before and facing an Adelaide side decimated by injuries and looking down the barrel of a stuttering season.
After playing his 100th game in the 1-0 loss to Perth, captain Travis Dodd missed only his 5th A-League game, and with the injury to Lucas Pantelis, Eugene Galekovic was handed the captain’s arm-band.
18 year old Matthew Leckie got his debut start and showed why he has been hailed as Adelaide’s next great hope, Paul Reid returned to drive Adelaide’s midfield, while Mark Rudan showed his true colours against his former side.
Hanging on from losing the returning Fabian Barbiero to a 8′ red card, the 10 men Adelaide side went ahead after Cristiano scored twice from Scott Jamieson supplied set-pieces, and held on despite a late John Aloisi goal and facing on having 30% of the 2nd half possession to win 2-1 and hopefully get their season back on track.
Adelaide United FC has once again found itself on the wrong side of the score line against Melbourne Victory, as the Victorians won a tense Grand Final rematch 2-0 in front of 15,038 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
An entertaining return to form saw Adelaide defeat the Central Coast 1-0 after a cheeky Cassio free kick midway through the first half took a deflection off the woodwork.
The Brazillian, along with returning captain Travis Dodd returned to form but looked rusty in front of goal, Lloyd Owusu played his first full game and injected a spark in the Adelaide forward line despite also missing clear opportunities to put United further ahead. Michael Marrone came on just before half-time after Alemão was forced from the field with a suspected broken nose and ably filled in at right back while Scott Jamieson proved a handful for the Mariners midfield.
After going the first six rounds of the 2009/10 season without a major sponsor because of the withdrawal of the Bianco backed Sakai, United is set to make an announcement about a major sponsorship partner which could “significantly improve” the Red’s flagging financial state, potentially re-opening Adelaide’s search for a marquee player to replace the retired Paul Agostino.
While Adelaide’s sponsorship costs are high by local standards, higher than local AFL clubs; exposure to the 2010 Asian Champions League has said to have attracted attention from multi-national companies. The cash-strapped Reds are expected to make an announcement this week.
