I picked up the above quote from a Victory fan on social media, as rumours brewed around their potential new signing. Now, it is official.
If there was ever a more perfect match, I’m finding it difficult to recall.
The most maligned national sporting competition in Australia is welcoming home Australia’s most maligned Socceroo in the form of Robbie Kruse.
Talk about swings and roundabouts.
One of the most interesting and vibrant aspects of human life is its unpredictability and opportunistic nature. Never has that been more the case than in Melbourne Victory’s decision to sign the 30-year-old Kruse on a two-year deal.
New manager Marco Kurz appears chuffed with his first signing and Kruse has spoken warmly of his pleasure at returning home.
It has been a mighty long road for the Brisbane born attacker. Beginning his A-League career at Brisbane Roar in 2007, some unsavoury off-field incidents expedited his move to Victory in 2009.
It was there under Ernie Merrick that Kruse began to flourish as a player and in turn, drew attention from international scouts.
Germany well and truly noticed his ability to sniff out a goal and use his speed and agility to create space in behind defences.
What followed was a series of clubs, both Bundesliga and below and only a short, disastrous and unpaid stint with Chinese club Liaoning Whowin interrupted near a decade of play in Germany.
All the while, Kruse became a staple in the national team. 75 international caps is an achievement for any footballer.
The Socceroos. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
However, despite playing a key role in Australia’s qualification for both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, earning a starting position for the 2015 Asian Cup Final and an unwavering and passionate desire to represent his nation with honour and pride, Kruse just isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.
At the core of the frustrations around such a talented yet potentially unfulfilled player is the simple and rather condemning fact that he has produced just five goals from those 75 international matches.
For most, that is simply an unacceptable return. Of the five, one came in a friendly against Wales in 2011.
Two came in Asian Cup play, one an 83rd minute goal that capped a 6-0 semi-final trouncing of Uzbekistan in 2011 and the other Australia’s second goal in a comfortable 4-0 group stage win against Oman in 2015.
Kruse’s other two goals came in World Cup Qualification campaigns. The first was against Jordan in another dominant 4-0 victory in 2014. The other is potentially his most valuable contribution to the Socceroos.
Robbie Kruse. (Photo: AFP)
His first half goal in the 1-1 draw with Syria in Malaysia during Australia’s hair-raising qualification campaign for Russia in 2018 was vital.
But for that away goal, all Tim Cahill’s heroics in Sydney during the return leg would not have been required and the Syrians may well have made their way to a World Cup.
In big moments, against bigger nations and with much on the line, Kruse has rarely delivered.
That fact has seen him become the focus of much animosity and vitriol; so much so that the hate speech directed towards him during the 2019 World Cup forced his family to avoid social media, so upsetting was the abuse.
Teammates Mathew Leckie and Mark Milligan jumped to his defence, calling for people to back off.
Aziz Behich also offered some perspective and context to the distasteful commentary around Kruse’s performances, “What he has been through in his career with injuries and setbacks … a lot of players would have crumbled a long time ago,” Behich said.
Of course, Kruse is far from being on his ‘Pat Malone’ in the lack of goal production department with other members of the Socceroos’ attacking unit faring just as poorly when it comes to converting possession into scoreboard pressure.
James Troisi, Leckie and Kruse have managed just 19 goals from a combined 173 appearances, yet it appears Kruse becomes the whipping boy on a disproportionate number of occasions.
The simple and uncomfortable fact for many to grasp is that Robbie Kruse is an excellent footballer. It would be impossible for him to have won the Australian PFA Footballer of the Year in 2012–13 without that being the case.
However, he has played ponderously for the national team at times and struggled to poach the number and type of goals at international level that he did as a young star with the Roar and Victory.
Now Robbie Kruse comes home and I for one, cannot wait to see him slide one past a helpless goal keeper at AAMI Park in a few months and celebrate his return to the A-League.
I’ll be on my feet when he does and in respect of a gallant Socceroo, we all should be.
Pork Chop
Roar Rookie
Remember what Stuart ??? .......... a few years back??? ......... I’m not the fox commentator “ speedie” ..........who can remember every kick and fart from every player in every league in the world who’s brain must be bigger with all his said memories then his bald head......... let alone all the posts here. Nemesis seems to confuse me with his knowing where to run and when ......... belying all the offsides he gets called for????. Forgive me I’ve been following the spooners too long and getting cynical.
Griffo
Roar Guru
C’mon who says they need subs :lol:
Nemesis
Guest
Looks like Melbourne Victory will soon be announcing another National Team player signing. Some think it's Mile Jedinak, others are suggesting Matt Spiranovic. Both would be even better. We have space for only 2 more Aussies, and both fill current voids.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Hahahaha. Surely not (:
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Do tell.
Waz
Roar Rookie
And they did finally land Diamanti in Melbourne as well ... wait, wot??
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Bale and Carroll just days away apparently.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
In fact you have also made comment on Nabbout above , yet he was deemed good enough to play in the last WC. Hypocrisy
Fadida
Roar Rookie
And yet you are on every Barbarousis thread critiquing him. By your own logic there is no point discussing any player on the Roar
Waz
Roar Rookie
Can’t argue with that
Waz
Roar Rookie
Well, you could at least wait until Victory have made some signings - at the moment they’ve only got about 11 players lol
Griffo
Roar Guru
I hope Kruse does alright. A good start to the season and I'm sure Arnold will pick him. Nabbout now that is a signing. He will go alright and wish we were in a position to have gotten him back first. If signings were any indication of seasonal form then Victory and Sydney should be up there.
Nemesis
Guest
At international level, Robbie Kruse has been highly rated by coaches with as diverse philosphies as: Holger Osieck, Ange Postecoglou, Bert van Marwijk, Graham Arnold. So, if keyboard coaches in Australia don't rate him, I'm sure Robbie can live with that. If I were a professional footballer I'd be more interested in being valued by real coaches who pick the National Team, than the wannabe coaches on social media.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Personal abuse of a footballer is out of order. Criticising their performances, however, isn’t. While there is no question over his work rate and discipline, nor his improving game intelligence, for an attacker his stats are very poor, and reflect his attacking contribution, kr lack of. Not only does he not score, he rarely creates chances. He struggles to beat a man, his final ball is very poor, frequently not beating the first man (born out by his chances created and assists stats). Throw in the fact he is easily knocked off the ball, too often offside, and you have a player whose position in the team is rightly questioned . In a team that is light on striking talent your attacking players must contribute. He doesn’t. Compare to Leckie, who has a better work rate and a much better output, both in scoring and chance creation. How will be fair in the A-league ? For his sake well I hope. His career has been badly affected by injury. Pre the Asian Cup in 15 he was a very good NT player. I’d love to see him fit, and in Kurz’s side he could thrive
Nemesis
Guest
To be honest, I'm not surprised he didn't get much match time. Players have got to understand the leagues they're moving to. I couldn't imagine someone like him being a regular in J-League. Rather, I'd think he might have more success in England Championship, or Bundesliga2, an unfashionable club in Belgium, Switzerland, Scandanvian nation.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
I agree. You may remember I wrote a piece fare-welling Nabbout a couple of years back. Along with Kosta, two of my favourite players. Shame things haven't quite flourished at Urawa as he may have hoped but I still think he may have another chance in the future.
josh
Guest
I don't rate him at all for the Socceroos, the first pic shows the expression he makes when he's rounded the keeper and missed his 3rd open goal sitter before half time. I think he'll do really well in the A League though, he has a wealth of experience now.
Franko
Guest
It's great for Victory, don't understand Nabbout's thinking though. Why not dig in until end of year (Christmas). I don't feel like he's giving it a full crack.
Nemesis
Guest
Given the option of Kosta Barbarouses or Robbie Kruse, for me, it's a no-brainer. Robbie gets the nod every time. Robbie is tactically smart. He knows where to run. He knows when to run. All he needs is supply from smart players who are in sync with him. He had that synergy with his supply line in Germany. He had that with his supply line under Merrick at MVFC. What I've seen of Marco Kurz's teams in Adelaide, Robbie will thrive under Kurz's style of play. He will never thrive under any style of play where the ball is not moved quicly & early into spaces behind the defence. Rumours are out now that Andrew Nabbout is also returning to Melbourne Victory. A front 3 of Nabbout-Toivonen-Kruse is going to be very pleasant to watch.
Waz
Roar Rookie
I think the point is he’s not a direct replacement for Kosta hence the reservations in some victory supporters minds.