Perth Glory’s new marquee player Mile Sterjovski says his return home has sparked plenty of interest within the Socceroos camp and he predicts more big names will follow.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has previously made no secret of his preference for players to be competing in stronger European leagues rather than the A-League.
But Sterjovski says Verbeek’s “supportive” attitude helped convince him to sign a three-year deal with the Glory after struggling to get game time before being let go by English Championship club Derby County.
The Dutchman’s main concern was that he play regular football – and keep playing after the A-League finished ahead of the 2010 World Cup finals.
Sterjovski, who scored in Australia’s 2-0 win over Bahrain on Wednesday, indicated fellow Socceroos were intrigued by his move home.
“There has been a few words spoken in camp and I think you’ll see quite a few players coming back in the future,” said 30-year-old Sterjovski at his Glory signing announcement in Sydney on Friday.
“There’s a few (Socceroos) players who are quite envious. That’s good signs.
“I’ve always said I wanted to come back and I think I’ve come back at a good age.
“I spoke to Pim at length about it. He was very supportive,” added Sterjovski.
“He understood my situation. It’s only going to benefit me coming back because I’m going to be playing more games.
“The only problem for me (at Derby County) was I wasn’t playing enough games and that’s going to be important for me in the next season.”
Sterjovski had previous playing stints in France, Switzerland and Turkey before making the move to England in 2008.
His signing with the Glory sees him reunited with coach Dave Mitchell who mentored the midfielder during earlier stints with NSL clubs Sydney United and Parramatta Power.
The Glory have also recruited fellow Socceroo Jacob Burns from Romanian club Unirea Urzicini and ex-Derby defender Andy Todd.
They join Gold Coast’s Jason Culina on the list of Socceroos hopefuls prepared to take their chances playing in Australia ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
Asked if he was taking a risk over World Cup selection, Sterjovski said: “I don’t think so.
“I’ve been a professional for quite a long time now. I know what it takes to play at that level.
“So as long as I maintain that standard, it’s not going to be a problem.
“The most important thing for Pim was that I was playing regular football and to make sure that at the end of the A-League season, that I continue playing until the World Cup.
“That was the only major issue.”
Sterjovski says he’s yet to investigate his playing options for next year in the build-up to the World Cup in South Africa in June.
Perth’s regular season finishes in mid-February, with the final on March 20. The Glory hope to be involved in the playoffs after finishing a lowly seventh last season.
Sterjovski stopped short of urging Mark Viduka to play in the A-League after falling out of contract with relegated English Premier League side Newcastle.
The big striker wasn’t available for selection in Australia’s 30-man squad to play Qatar, Bahrain and Japan.
Asked if Socceroos veterans should look at returning home, Sterjovski said: “Yeah of course I’d encourage it.
“But everybody has different situations. I can’t really speak for Mark on whether he’d want to come back,” he said.
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