Adelaide United have pulled off a quiet, quality and important coup in signing Socceroo Dario Vidosic to a three-year A-League deal.
Vidosic returns to Australia in the prime of his career at 24, among national team coach Holger Osieck’s first-choice squad, and clear proof players now believe they are not at a Socceroos’ selection disadvantage by playing at home.
A 2010 World Cup squad member, capped 14 times for his country, Vidosic has been signed as the Reds’ Australian marquee player.
While current Socceroos have had a mixed bag on return to the A-League, Vidosic is confident he can deal with any pressure.
“You carry the pressure, but it’s a nice pressure to have,” Vidosic said from Adelaide.
“I want to put that pressure on myself to maintain being a Socceroo, but I think that can only benefit me, playing here and playing well.”
Vidosic starred in a handful of games for the then-Queensland Roar before moving three years ago to Germany.
But his international career blossomed amid misery in Germany at club level.
He was unable to make a mark at three German clubs – injuries and a series of loans unsettling him and leading to his return to choose an attack-minded club under Dutch coach Rini Coolen.
“The biggest motivation for me was just happiness – to enjoy my football again,” Vidosic said.
“I was being used wrong and I was starting not to enjoy it as much as I’d like to.
“I’m a pretty simple footballer. I like the ball at my feet and I missed that.”
For the Reds, it is a huge boost after selling last season’s A-League player of the year Marcos Flores to China last week and losing experienced Travis Dodd, Robbie Cornthwaite, Iain Fyfe and Lucas Pantelis.
“Dario fits exactly in our system. He can play on the left side, the right side, behind the striker,” Coolen said.
“Filling your squad with players like Dario, it’s fantastic for the league and for our club.”
Vidosic believes the move home will prove no hindrance to his Socceroos’ ambitions.
And Vidosic, whose father Rado is an assistant coach with the all-conquering Brisbane Roar, has earmarked silverware as a key motivator in choosing the Reds over other offers.
“We’ve set the ambitions – we want to set them high. If you look over the years how Adelaide have done, they have done well in the A-League and Asian Champions League.”
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