The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Broich, not Berisha, is Brisbane's key man

Roar Rookie
23rd January, 2014
Advertisement
Melbourne Victory's Besart Berisha will line up against his old club, Brisbane, for the first time this weekend. (AAP Image/Aman Sharma)
Roar Rookie
23rd January, 2014
15

Upon discovering the news Besart Berisha had signed a two-year deal with Melbourne Victory, I was shocked.

I thought he would do one of three things – sign with Sydney, as had been widely predicted, go to a larger club in Europe or Japan, or stay on with the Roar.

I certainly hadn’t expected him to sign with the boys in navy blue and white.

The Victory have been able to afford Berisha by using him as their international marquee player, a spot currently vacated by Chilean defender Pablo Contreras.

Contreras has largely been a flop for the Victory, being somewhat of a sponge for yellow cards and suspensions, as well as not being the quality defender he was made out to be when he was signed.

The international marquee spot allotted to each club is not for 35 year-old defenders; it is custom-made for players like Berisha.

Whether you love him or hate him, you pay money to watch him. He generates opinion on and off the pitch.

I congratulate Victory on their new signing. They targeted him and they got him.

Advertisement

Berisha is exactly the player they need, and he will thrive on the large amount of pressure that comes with being the star player at Australia’s largest club.

However, where does this leave my beloved Brisbane Roar?

I could still see us winning the championship without Berisha. The consecutive thrashings dished out to Victory and Sydney proved we can score plenty of goals and function well as a team without him.

However, I could not see us winning the championship without Thomas Broich.

I can guarantee Berisha would not have scored half of his goals at the Roar without Broich’s assistance. Their current partnership is arguably the most lethal in the A-League.

It was no coincidence that, after going 36 games unbeaten, the Roar crumbled to a five-match losing streak upon Broich’s sustained absence in 2011/12.

If it was Broich heading to Victory, I would have my head in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably for nights on end.

Advertisement

But instead, I feel only a twinge of sadness that one of the Roar’s greatest ever servicemen is departing.

While Berisha is the sort of player that cannot truly be ‘replaced’, Mike Mulvey will know what he needs to do to fill the huge void left by Berisha’s departure.

It appears the Roar will soon re-sign Jean Carlos Solórzano, the A-League’s second-highest goalscorer in 2010/11 and, if rumours are to be believed, Shane Smeltz is heading to his adopted home of Queensland.

Neither of these players can possibly replicate what Berisha has done for the Roar, but as long as Thomas Broich is by their side, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.

At the end of the day, I’m glad it’s ‘Mozart’ that’s staying until 2017.

close