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Departing Brisbane Roar skipper Matt Smith’s farewell is sure to be emotional and former Socceroo David Zdrilic suspects it will end in tears.
Smith will leave the A-League club to take up his new deal with Thai club Bangkok Glass following the Roar’s away clash with Adelaide United on Friday night.
And Zdrilic believes he’s in for a torrid farewell against the in-form Reds, who are also favoured to win Tuesday night’s home FFA Cup final against Perth Glory.
Seventh-placed Brisbane are still trying to find their feet under interim coach Frans Thijssen, without playmaker Thomas Broich (ankle) and No.1 keeper Michael Theo (wrist) and facing a major stumbling block in Adelaide, Zdrilic said.
“It (Smith’s departure) is going to be unsettling,” Zdrilic told SBS.
“They’ve lost Broich. They’ve lost the captain.
“They are still not settled in the way that they are playing – we still don’t know what to make of them.”
After seeing Adelaide United create chance after chance as they put away Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 last round, Zdrilic shuddered to think what the third-placed Reds would do to the regrouping Roar.
“I think Adelaide are too strong at the moment. They are playing amazing football,” he said.
“Their passing, movement, positioning – everything is going for them.
“The one thing they are lacking is …they are scoring goals but they need to convert more chances.
“If they do that they are going to smash teams even more than they are now.”
Adelaide United coach Josep Gombau seemed to agree, claiming there was plenty of improvement left in the Reds despite impressing with their attacking, high possession game.
“Now that we are playing well everyone might think `oh that’s very good’ but there are a lot of things where we make a mistake,” Gombau told reporters on Thursday.
“We need to improve our finishing, but the most important thing is to create.”
Still, Gombau believed his side were ahead of schedule in his grand plan to groom the Reds into title contenders since taking over the reins last season.
“I think we go faster (than expected),” he said.
“The players want to work, they want to learn.
“(But) we can improve a lot.”
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