Murfy1 Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Kuzmanovski has been regarded pretty highly in the Australian football community for a while now, as this Craig Foster article from 2012 illustrates: Craig Foster June 24, 2012 Germany has team spirit. Spain has determination. But it also has that something more - exceptional quality. This is the lesson for Australia from Euro 2012. Go through the list: Mehmet Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo, Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema, Thomas Muller, David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas. To win, we will need these sorts of players with individuality, not just role players. The grassroots need to work towards this by ensuring these types of players are encouraged, nurtured, supported, praised and developed. The National Skill Acquisition program is designed for this purpose, to identify potential match-winning players, place them in an environment in which their abilities can flourish, and let them know that, while they are still countercultural and often fighting against the system, the time is fast coming when they will be valued. Already there are examples of youngsters with these qualities, with under-17 Joey, Steve Kuzmanovski, one example. Playing on the right wing, he has impressed at the Australian Institute of Sport and national junior team and, while a great deal of hard work is ahead of him, he is on the right track. Bravo to the coaches who have nurtured Kuzmanovski and allowed him to express his qualities and personality on the field. Recognition of this is one important step towards producing more of this type of player. Match winners. Special players. We need them. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/stars-are-what-will-make-the-socceroos-shine-20120623-20viz.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Why are we looking at this guy? 18 and never been injured? Must be a mistake, surely we are interested in his father instead? Did his ACL the season before last. Correct. I missed that. He had a whole season out of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlibub Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Never seen him play, Never heard of him. Our new marquee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiro Kompiro Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 It comes down to one thing with this kid, and it will be the difference between him playing at a top European club or him being a state league player. Whether he can develop a greater physical presence. Technically he is great, buit he is very small and will easily get muscled off the ball. If he can bulk up a bit he will overtake Melling and Chapman as our brightest prospect, and will probably be on his way to Europe by the end of the season. Is size *that* important as a winger ? yes and no In the A-League it is. Arguably it is important everywhere in the modern game. Plus I've seen way too many young and technically gifted Australian players end up not even becoming regular A-League players because they couldn't compete physically, despite being technically better than the vast majority of A-League players. And i also hope Australia keeps trying to develop those type of technical players rather than guys who can just work hard, to really take Australian football forward Did you watch Sydneys friendlies. They have several youngsters that showed they have technical ability in spades. Antonis, Naumoff, Gligor, Gersbach, Hoole, even Grant looked very good on the ball. But when playing in the A-league,suddenly their technical ability drops markedly. Why? 1. In the friendlies, the pressing by the opposition was less intense. 2. The A-league rewards thuggery. Opponents don't try to win the ball back by attacking the ball- they do it by bringing the player down. Remember Broxham's last tackle on Mooy? The eventual Champions were involved in several games i watched that averaged a foul (less than) every two minutes for the first 70 minutes. Add the time to re-take the free, ball out of play, back four knocking it about, and how much actual football is being played? And we wonder why no-one bothers to watch on TV. But thats what it takes to win in this League. Thuggery, professional fouls, might is right And its why technical players need to get the hell out of here if they want to make a career for themselves. Until there is a directive to the refs to protect the player on the ball, playing technical football won't win anything here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malloy Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 It comes down to one thing with this kid, and it will be the difference between him playing at a top European club or him being a state league player. Whether he can develop a greater physical presence. Technically he is great, buit he is very small and will easily get muscled off the ball. If he can bulk up a bit he will overtake Melling and Chapman as our brightest prospect, and will probably be on his way to Europe by the end of the season. Is size *that* important as a winger ? yes and no In the A-League it is. Arguably it is important everywhere in the modern game. Plus I've seen way too many young and technically gifted Australian players end up not even becoming regular A-League players because they couldn't compete physically, despite being technically better than the vast majority of A-League players. And i also hope Australia keeps trying to develop those type of technical players rather than guys who can just work hard, to really take Australian football forward Did you watch Sydneys friendlies. They have several youngsters that showed they have technical ability in spades. Antonis, Naumoff, Gligor, Gersbach, Hoole, even Grant looked very good on the ball. But when playing in the A-league,suddenly their technical ability drops markedly. Why? 1. In the friendlies, the pressing by the opposition was less intense. 2. The A-league rewards thuggery. Opponents don't try to win the ball back by attacking the ball- they do it by bringing the player down. Remember Broxham's last tackle on Mooy? The eventual Champions were involved in several games i watched that averaged a foul (less than) every two minutes for the first 70 minutes. Add the time to re-take the free, ball out of play, back four knocking it about, and how much actual football is being played? And we wonder why no-one bothers to watch on TV. But thats what it takes to win in this League. Thuggery, professional fouls, might is right And its why technical players need to get the hell out of here if they want to make a career for themselves. Until there is a directive to the refs to protect the player on the ball, playing technical football won't win anything here. The biggest factor is pressure and perceived pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiro Kompiro Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 It comes down to one thing with this kid, and it will be the difference between him playing at a top European club or him being a state league player. Whether he can develop a greater physical presence. Technically he is great, buit he is very small and will easily get muscled off the ball. If he can bulk up a bit he will overtake Melling and Chapman as our brightest prospect, and will probably be on his way to Europe by the end of the season. Is size *that* important as a winger ? yes and no In the A-League it is. Arguably it is important everywhere in the modern game. Plus I've seen way too many young and technically gifted Australian players end up not even becoming regular A-League players because they couldn't compete physically, despite being technically better than the vast majority of A-League players. And i also hope Australia keeps trying to develop those type of technical players rather than guys who can just work hard, to really take Australian football forward Did you watch Sydneys friendlies. They have several youngsters that showed they have technical ability in spades. Antonis, Naumoff, Gligor, Gersbach, Hoole, even Grant looked very good on the ball. But when playing in the A-league,suddenly their technical ability drops markedly. Why? 1. In the friendlies, the pressing by the opposition was less intense. 2. The A-league rewards thuggery. Opponents don't try to win the ball back by attacking the ball- they do it by bringing the player down. Remember Broxham's last tackle on Mooy? The eventual Champions were involved in several games i watched that averaged a foul (less than) every two minutes for the first 70 minutes. Add the time to re-take the free, ball out of play, back four knocking it about, and how much actual football is being played? And we wonder why no-one bothers to watch on TV. But thats what it takes to win in this League. Thuggery, professional fouls, might is right And its why technical players need to get the hell out of here if they want to make a career for themselves. Until there is a directive to the refs to protect the player on the ball, playing technical football won't win anything here. The biggest factor is pressure and perceived pressure. Well yeah, if you know you're going to get crunched, thats going to put pressure on you. IMO its a real problem in this league that opposition players don't defend the space, or the passing lanes, and their first instinct is go after the man on the ball. I'm actually disappointed with how the league's development has gone since Postecoglou left. Arnold is in a re-building phase at SFC and looks like he is going to raise the bar next season with the young group he has, but with his players on the deck not sure how that will go. We need better coaches, we need a refereeing style that supprts with the national curriculum's prime aim of developing technical Australian players. Muscat football is not where I want the league to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perthheart Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 To me the best players are still able to make space for themselves and hold on to the ball at a-league level. Regardless of physicality. Look at the likes of Engelaar. The Guy looked like he was barely moving but would waltz around opponents. The issue is more what teams do with the ball and their ability to play out of tight situations when pressed. Sure some tackles end up looking agricultural but it's the lack of a cohesive team unit being able to play out of those situations / players of sufficient pedigree to move the ball past an opponent and then exploit space left from the frantic pressing that creates the high amount of fouls and tackles imo. Those who are of that next level still show themselves as better footballers in a-league, I don't buy that the players can't show their pedigree because they get tackled too much. The best players can deal with teams defending in any method. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiro Kompiro Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Those who are of that next level still show themselves as better footballers in a-league, I don't buy that the players can't show their pedigree because they get tackled too much. The best players can deal with teams defending in any method. Both Pele and Maradona were fouled out of World Cup finals. Pele was butchered out of the tournament in 1996, and Maradona was hacked out of the Spain tournament, with dire consequences for their teams. Lesser players-and lets face it thats pretty much everyone else-would not be able to do what they could. They then changed the rules about tackling form behind. The FFA still hasn't got that memo. As far as the A-league goes, when you have 35 fouls in about 60 minutes of football, if thats not a hack-a-thon, i don't know what is. Edited June 6, 2015 by Kiro Kompiro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Signing announced. http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/article/melbourne-city-fc-signs-steve-kuzmanovski/dsnamnfm2owv1foe8xv8v09qm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellydrum Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Steveyyyyyy how are ya m8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommac Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Good to see- adding young Aussie talent in an area of the pitch where we need freshening up. Great potential this lad. Let's hope he can take another step forward in his development with us and become a real threat in the A-League. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marn11 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Will have Melling-like impact. Pencil it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gundam Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 We've signed the next Ronaldo 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strider Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 For God's sake we need 442 with him and novillo wide, Corey GamJam and Jesus up front Jizz buckets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illeatyourheart Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Looks good on his left too Edited June 8, 2015 by illeatyourheart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenSeater Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Great signing! Heaps of potential, unfortunately it will be wasted at left back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torn Asunder Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Obviously won't get the same time at A-league level to perform step overs at will, but kid has nice feet and after he beats his player, is still able to find the killer pass. He will need to play smart because a player with his skill will have to contend with opposition players who will be told to simply break his leg. Edited June 8, 2015 by Torn Asunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 This is all great but if he has this talent it makes me wonder why he left WSW. Now if its a legitimate reason great. I just hope it wassnt an attitude issue. Soccer stoppage time were talking a few weeks ago about young players at wsw having a bad attitude and i just hope he wassnt one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiro Kompiro Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Popovic believes everyone has an attitude problem except him. Its his way or the highway. We should know that with Mooy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murfy1 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Melbourne City snatch young Wanderers star Steve Kuzmanovski June 8, 2015 Sebastian Hassett Melbourne City have pulled off an audacious raid on Western Sydney Wanderers signing attacking midfielder Steve Kuzmanovski on a two-year deal. The news will come as a major shock to Wanderers officials, who expected that Kuzmanovski would pen a professional deal with the club who gave him his start in the A-League. Kuzmanovski, 18, started the past season in the National Youth League but as the Wanderers' hectic playing schedule took a serious toll on the senior group, he and defender Jonathan Aspropotamitis were drafted in from the junior ranks by coach Tony Popoovic to become regulars in the second half of the season. But while Aspropotamitis committed his future to the club with his first professional contract a week ago, Kuzmanovski decided against staying at he Wanderers to join John van't Schip's squad - arguably taking the role vacated by the released Mate Dugandzic. "We are excited about Steve joining the club for the 2015/16 season," van't Schip said Monday morning. "He will bring added depth to our forward line and although he is still young, he has the ability to become an important player for us next season." While the move will be seen as surprising by many, Kuzmanovski - who has already been capped for Australian at under-17 and under-20 levels - spent time with City at the conclusion of his AIS scholarship, training with the first team before agreeing to join the Wanderers' youth team. But City never stopped tracking the promising junior and when he impressed during his stint in the senior team, they pounced, leaving the Wanderers unawares. "It's a new challenge for me coming from Sydney. It's a privilege to be here and I can't wait to get started," Kuzmanovski said. "I came here to win and I know Melbourne City are hungry to achieve as well so I will do whatever it takes to win." The Wanderers will go into next season with a host of new faces after cutting ties with Iacopo La Rocca, Ante Covic, Jason Trifiro, Tomi Juric, Antony Golec, Nikita Rukavytsya, Kerem Bulut, Nick Ward, Nick Kalmar and Adrian Madaschi last month. They then announced the surprise move over the weekend to part company with Japanese pair Yojiro Takahagi and defender Yusuke Tanaka, giving Popovic an opportunity to rebuild his squad almost from scratch. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/melbourne-city-snatch-young-wanderers-star-steve-kuzmanovski-20150608-ghis64.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murfy1 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Kuzmanovski left WSW because he wanted to join Melbourne City, simple. As he said "I came here to win and I know Melbourne City are hungry to achieve as well so I will do whatever it takes to win". As the article above states WSW were hopeful that he'd re-sign, so there are no attitude issues with Kuzmanovski. Also if you watch Kuzi's signing video (here: http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/video/exclusive---steve-kuzmanovski-s-first-melbourne-city-fc-interview/1251792 ) it's clear that he's impressed with the City setup and is keen to be apart of it. Add to that the fact that WSW's stocks seem to be falling, with lots of players leaving WSW, then it's not too surprising that we've managed to snare WSW's most highly rated young player. I'm pretty happy with this signing because Kuzmanovski is a confident and bold young attacking player, and IMO City have sorely needed confident attackers who back themselves (and not sheepish attackers who jump at their own shadow, like Ramsay and Dugandzic). I'm tipping that it'll be a joy to watch Kuzmanovski play and develop at our club next season. Edited June 8, 2015 by Murfy1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony999 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Meh. I'm waiting for the season to start so l can watch Jacob "The Machine" Melling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illeatyourheart Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 That haircut. Did he lose a bet? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinnibari Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Kuzmanovski left WSW because he wanted to join Melbourne City, simple. As he said "I came here to win and I know Melbourne City are hungry to achieve as well so I will do whatever it takes to win". As the article above states WSW were hopeful that he'd re-sign, so there are no attitude issues with Kuzmanovski. Also if you watch Kuzi's signing video (here: http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/video/exclusive---steve-kuzmanovski-s-first-melbourne-city-fc-interview/1251792 ) it's clear that he's impressed with the City setup and is keen to be apart of it. Add to that the fact that WSW's stocks seem to be falling, with lots of players leaving WSW, then it's not too surprising that we've managed to snare WSW's most highly rated young player. I'm pretty happy with this signing because Kuzmanovski is a confident and bold young attacking player, and IMO City have sorely needed confident attackers who back themselves (and not sheepish attackers who jump at their own shadow, like Ramsay and Dugandzic). I'm tipping that it'll be a joy to watch Kuzmanovski play and develop at our club next season. Even though it's not a surprise to hear our facilities are attracting players, it's good to see them paying off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Don't ever doubt me again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKD Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Good stuff, I think I know whose name I'm getting on the back now for my eventual purchase. Good luck to the lad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red or Dead Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Koren looked good in his video too...just sayin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahanga Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Koren looked good in his video too...just sayin' Not putting a lot of stead in that video. Those opponents were well short of A League standard. I'd rather focus on: Australian U20 rep at 18 8 A Leagues game already Big raps from those who've seen him in the flesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesla Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 The thing is it doesn't matter if he turns out to be no good. He is a young player on minimum salary, even if he just turns out to be a decent backup player it's already a good signing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 He left at a guess because a club like City can provide something that a young player like "Kuz" would love, a bridge to bigger stages if he makes the grade. He would make it anyway if good enough you might argue but having the opportunity "in-house" can make things so much easier he might feel. Financial stability and resources, that Premier league connection, excellent training conditions at the CFA, ambitious owners... Dreams are made of such stuff among academy players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perthheart Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hopefully can end up being a cheaper replacement as an impact sub for Williams. Give him next season to establish himself then release Williams at the end of his contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 really looks the goods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony999 Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Good stuff, I think I know whose name I'm getting on the back now for my eventual purchase. Good luck to the lad. Samaras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofhearts Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Has a really ethnic last name so expecting big things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Has a really ethnic last name so expecting big things. Watch it! You will be branded a racist (whatever that means, as we are all of the Human Race). Anyway, would you please pass the ajvar? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falastur Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Anyone else notice that, in their introductory interviews, both players (Kuz and Franjic) were seen in kits wearing the same number (34)? What's that all about, I wonder? Spent all of the budget on getting rid of the wheely bins and are left with one kit to do promotional videos in? Edited June 8, 2015 by Falastur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombegongal Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Anyone else notice that, in their introductory interviews, both players (Kuz and Franjic) were seen in kits wearing the same number (34)? What's that all about, I wonder? Spent all of the budget on getting rid of the wheely bins and are left with one kit to do promotional videos in? Perhaps they had a Feng Shui expert come to the club and told them that all players wearing the numbers 3 and 4 at their unveiling would have good injury karma or some shit. Or perhaps not..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rass Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Anyone else notice that, in their introductory interviews, both players (Kuz and Franjic) were seen in kits wearing the same number (34)? What's that all about, I wonder? Spent all of the budget on getting rid of the wheely bins and are left with one kit to do promotional videos in? I kid you not, there's a billboard along the Ring Rd in the northern suburbs that has Stefan Zinni walking down the race in his City kit, wearing #34.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw1739 Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Anyone else notice that, in their introductory interviews, both players (Kuz and Franjic) were seen in kits wearing the same number (34)? What's that all about, I wonder? Spent all of the budget on getting rid of the wheely bins and are left with one kit to do promotional videos in? Perhaps they had a Feng Shui expert come to the club and told them that all players wearing the numbers 3 and 4 at their unveiling would have good injury karma or some shit. Or perhaps not..... Indeed, perhaps not. Number 4 (四; accounting 肆; pinyin sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearlyhomophonous to the word "death" (死 pinyin sǐ). Due to that, many numbered product lines skip the "4." In East Asia, some buildings do not have a 4th floor. (Compare with the Western practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.) In Hong Kong, some high-rise residential buildings omit all floor numbers with "4", e.g., 4, 14, 24, 34 and all 40–49 floors, in addition to not having a 13th floor. As a result, a building whose highest floor is number 50 may actually have only 35 physical floors. Singaporean public transport operator SBS Transit has omitted the number plates for some of its buses whose numbers end with '4' due to this, so if a bus is registered as SBS***3*, SBS***4* will be omitted and the next bus to be registered will be SBS***5*. Note that this only applies to certain buses and not others and that the final asterisk is a checksum letter and not a number. Another Singaporean public transport operator SMRT has omitted the '4' as the first digit of the serial number of the train cars as well as the SMRT Buses NightRider services. There must be someone out there at Bundoora handy with the airbrush - they tried to get rid of Melbourne Heart that way - so maybe they should put him to work images of that pair of no. 34 shorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benzema23 Posted June 9, 2015 Report Share Posted June 9, 2015 Number 4 (四; accounting 肆; pinyin sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearlyhomophonous to the word "death" (死 pinyin sǐ). Due to that, many numbered product lines skip the "4." In East Asia, some buildings do not have a 4th floor. (Compare with the Western practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.) In Hong Kong, some high-rise residential buildings omit all floor numbers with "4", e.g., 4, 14, 24, 34 and all 40–49 floors, in addition to not having a 13th floor. As a result, a building whose highest floor is number 50 may actually have only 35 physical floors. Singaporean public transport operator SBS Transit has omitted the number plates for some of its buses whose numbers end with '4' due to this, so if a bus is registered as SBS***3*, SBS***4* will be omitted and the next bus to be registered will be SBS***5*. Note that this only applies to certain buses and not others and that the final asterisk is a checksum letter and not a number. Another Singaporean public transport operator SMRT has omitted the '4' as the first digit of the serial number of the train cars as well as the SMRT Buses NightRider services. There must be someone out there at Bundoora handy with the airbrush - they tried to get rid of Melbourne Heart that way - so maybe they should put him to work images of that pair of no. 34 shorts. Fuck the off-season has hit a new level of boring. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.