Mon 26th Feb 2007

Newly appointed Adelaide United FC interim coach Aurelio Vidmar and captain Angelo Costanzo have faced the media for the first time, answering questions about how the club plans to move forward.

They both have vast football experience and their names are synonymous with Adelaide United since the club’s inception, but Vidmar and Costanzo are under no illusions of the challenge that lies ahead with the Asian Champions League (ACL) less than a fortnight away.

Having taken the place of his coaching mentor and friend John Kosmina as Adelaide United’s main man, Vidmar emphasised the need for everyone to pull together for what will be a challenging two month period for the team as they battle some the best teams from Asia.

“We need everyone to focus on a good campaign because it is a very important time in the next 12 weeks,” Vidmar said.

“If you’ve got the head position everything falls on your shoulders so at the moment there is a lot of pressure, I’m prepared for it and I will need all the players help in the short term.”

Since Vidmar commenced his assistant coaching role under Kosmina, he has indicated his desire to be a head coach and despite highlighting his acquisition was not under the best circumstances, Vidmar is viewing this time as an opportunity to stake his claim for the job long term.

“An ambition of mine is to coach this team long term and I welcome everyone else who wants to apply. I have to go through the same process but I definitely want to coach this team long term.”

While the pressure will be on from the outset to achieve results, Vidmar accepts the fact that he has a lot to lose but at the same time that there is a lot to gain. After all of the drama since the Hyundai A-League Grand Final, Vidmar and Costanzo are committed to looking ahead and focusing on the team’s preparation for the ACL.

The squad has had eight days off after a strenuous finals schedule and will return to training tomorrow. Vidmar says the players needed the break but that the short time frame to prepare for the start of the ACL on March 7 coupled with a number of injury concerns will be ‘backs against the wall’ stuff.

Diego, Club Champion Jason Spagnuolo, Bobby Petta and Dez Giraldi are all under injury clouds and will be in a race against time to be fit for the game against Shandong Luneng at Hindmarsh Stadium. Under the ACL’s rules and regulations, Adelaide United is unable to sign anymore players into its squad but Vidmar says he will be expecting the players that helped United reach the Hyundai A-League Grand Final to take the team through the ACL.

“These are the players that have done so well for us this year so the players that we’ve got have to do a job for us,” Vidmar said. “We have got players who have played overseas and we’re looking forward to it.”

Asian football is a largely unknown quantity in Australia but Vidmar is not shying away from the magnitude of the task in front of United if they are to progress to the next round.

“I don’t think anyone is really aware of how difficult it is and the quality of teams we are playing. We don’t know what to expect from these teams but we know they are very good football sides,” Vidmar stated.

While other matters have overshadowed Adelaide United’s buildup to the beginning of the ACL, Costanzo is hoping Reds supporters get in ACL mode and come out and get behind the team.

“Hopefully the fans come out and back us like they have in the past and we can have some good crowds here.”

Adelaide United FC ACL Squad
Coach: Aurelio VIDMAR
Richie ALAGICH, Ross ALOISI, Robert BAJIC, Daniel BELTRAME, Nathan BURNS, Robert CORNTHWAITE, Angelo COSTANZO (c), DIEGO, Bruce DJITE, Travis DODD, FERNANDO, Dez GIRALDI, Aaron GOULDING, Matthew KEMP, Lucas PANTELIS, Bobby PETTA, Kristian REES, Jason SPAGNUOLO, Michael VALKANIS, Adam VAN DOMMELE, Carl VEART.