He’s a striker from Albania but don’t confuse Brisbane Roar import Mensur Kurtishi with departed star Besart Berisha.
Kurtishi’s arrival at the A-League champions following Berisha’s move to Melbourne Victory has led to the obvious conclusion the 27-year-old will be the man to fill the void.
An amazing five-goal haul on Wednesday in the Roar’s 10-0 pre-season friendly win over local club Olympic will certainly have whetted some appetites.
But Kurtishi says he doesn’t feel any pressure to replace Berisha, instead he’s just eager to get his first taste of A-League action when the league kicks off next weekend.
“Everyone asks me about that but really I’m not thinking about that,” Kurtishi said about feeling the pressure to replace Berisha.
“Everybody knows he scored many goals, he was a good player but now it’s a new season.
“I’m not thinking about that. It’s important in every game to give my best to the team. The goals are important but more important is the team.”
Kurtishi, whose pre-season was disrupted by a return to his homeland to get married, says he’s finding his feet in Brisbane.
His new wife has now joined him in Australia and connections are starting to form with his new teammates.
Socceroo Matt McKay made his first appearance since the World Cup in Wednesday’s win, while veteran Shane Stefanutto and loanee Adam Sarota also got valuable game time.
Kurtishi says he can see momentum building ahead of the Roar’s season opener at home on October 12 against Adelaide United.
“We know they’re really very good players,” Kurtishi said of his new teammates.
“Now that Matty McKay is coming back, you can see that he’s really a very important player for us, for our game. You can see that he makes really good passes.
“I’m happy to play with those players.”
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