Having been a founding member of Melbourne Heart, and been to pretty much every home game and an interstate game, you can say I am looking forward to the new season. I think this season will be the biggest test for the Heart. With soccer being the biggest football game in the world, it is interesting seeing all the world trades, and for teams in the A-League being able to hold on to young stars, it adds an interesting dynamic to the game which you can never get in AFL.
Dutchman van't Schip, was to me, a main part of the Heart's engine, and it will be interesting to see how Aloisi goes in his debut season as a coach in the A-League. Lets hope he is as great coaching as he was a player, and he can continue the trend upwards on the ladder. I think for a team that has played only two seasons, the Heart have done extremely well. Lets hope this trend continues, and that the Hearts can be number one in the very near future.
The team has seen a lot of good players go from last season, from crowd favourite Alex Terra, to one of my favourite, Rutger Worm, the man I always said was a love/hate relationship, because he either played like a champ or just did some really weird things. Also leaving the team are Maycon and Sarkies. Another sore lost is Babalj going to Europe, lets hope for the best for him over there, and Hamill going to Korean side Seongnam. There have also been talks of young Good going to the UK and playing for Newcastle, so not sure what the update is on that, but, that would be good for him, but not for the Heart.
I think one big light in the Heart's engine room is Fred. To me, he just made the team last year, he was a little out of sync for the first few games (or the team was out of sync with him), but then he showed us his magic. With Fred playing, he controlled the middle, and gave the Heart what was needed, when he was injured, you could see the team needed him. I think he is the main player for us in the season coming, and look forward to his magic in setting goals up for the forwards in 2012/13. Talking about forwards, we have the Croatia striker Josip Tadic. The one thing missing in the hearts line up to date, has been someone in the forward to be able to kick that goal. Last year, the team would get it there, and just dance around the goal keepers square, we needed someone to take control of it and punish the opposition teams, and maybe Tadic is this man. Also great to see Bolton staying on for another year, he was the cement on the last line of defence.
With some players going and new players arriving and a new coach, I am not sure what to expect for the new season, but it just adds to the excitement. Since joining up as Members of the Heart, I have not been able to get back into AFL, and always just looks forward to the next A-League season. So, go Heart, keep up the good work, and build on it in 2012/13, looking forward to getting back to AAMI park, and listening to the chants, and hopefully seeing lots of wins on the table.
Heart, not Hearts. It hurts when you get that wrong :(
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