A little brother to be feared

The boot is well and truly on the other foot for the Brisbane Roar, with Queensland’s A-League big brothers struggling to measure up for Sunday’s local derby.

Little brother, Gold Coast United, has grown whiskers and will confidently aim to bash the new-look Roar in their season-opener at Skilled Park.

The makeovers at both clubs has taken the heat out of what was one of the most intense rivalries in the competition, with the coaches even exchanging pleasantries on the beach on Friday.

But Brisbane are such an unknown quantity that United mentor Miron Bleiberg believes that not even their coach, Ange Postecoglou, will know what his young team can produce.

“It’s funny, the Roar has six years’ history and the Gold Coast is only in its second year so it looks like a game between an old team and a young team,” said Bleiberg, the Roar’s foundation coach.

“But the way things have panned out Gold Coast are the old established team.

“If you ask me what I think about the Roar I don’t know because they are a new team and I believe that even their coach doesn’t know what to expect of them.”

While big brothers under Frank Farina at the start of 2009-10 having finishing third the previous two seasons, Brisbane were then consistently belted by their younger siblings – beaten in all three encounters including a 5-1 Boxing Day massacre.

Postecoglou has put a broom through the club with veterans Craig Moore, Charlie Miller, Liam Reddy and Danny Tiatto all gone, plus Holland-based young guns Tommy Oar and Michael Zullo and Adelaide signing Sergio van Dijk.

Despite 12 new signings, Postecoglou is comfortable with his roster and a busy three-month pre-season which he feels has set a strong platform.

“We do have a lot of new faces but I don’t think that will work against us,” he said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm around the group and there’s plenty of energy.

“Like every other A-League club we’re kind of getting ourselves ready, the first round is a dicey one and you don’t know what you’ll get from the opposition.”

Postecoglou tipped the Coast, who finished third in their inaugural season before crashing out to Newcastle in their elimination final, to be a more difficult prospect in their second year.

They have retained skipper Jason Culina, Joel Porter, Michael Thwaite, Tahj Minniecon and golden boot Shane Smeltz.

“Away from all the hoopla last year if you take them as a stand-alone team they were a very good side,” Postecoglou said.

“They hit the ground running last year.

“We saw Melbourne Heart last night and they looked like a team that’s not ready yet but Gold Coast were ready from day one.

“I’m sure with that familiarity they will be even stronger.”

Bleiberg also dished out his share of praise for his rival, saying he held plenty of respect for Postecoglou for the “spine” he showed in changing his roster.

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