Adelaide United’s Carl Veart says he is delighted with his club’s emphasis on signing local footballers and the number of South Australians playing in the A-League.
“I’m very happy at the moment that as a club, we’re starting to bring in a lot more South Australians,” Veart said.
This season, United has more than 15 South Australians in their squad.
Going local has paid dividends for Adelaide. The club has won four of their five home games this season and currently sits third on the A-League ladder.
SA has produced many champion footballers such as Alex Tobin, the Vidmar Brothers (Aurelio and Tony), the Aloisi brothers (Ross and John) and Veart himself.
Although the state also has many footballers playing professionally, Veart said there were still others that could use a chance at the elite level.
“We’ve always done well with our players. They just need opportunities to play, that’s as simple as that,” he said.
“You go back to my times, during the Adelaide City and West Adelaide times, we always had good players.”
Adelaide’s opponents on Friday night, the Newcastle Jets, had four South Australians (Yengi, Koutroumbis, Yuel, Stamatelopoulos) in their matchday squad.
The Reds coach was pleased to hear that fellow South Aussies were playing on the national stage.
“It’s good to see that. Not just at Newcastle but there are a few South Australian players around the league which is great,” Veart said.
Other South Australians in the A-League include; Ben Garuccio (Melbourne City), Ryan McGowan (Sydney FC), Dylan McGowan and Bruce Kamau (Western Sydney Wanderers).
With a proud football history and NPL players rising through the ranks, there is no doubt South Australia will continue to play a part in the nation’s top league recruits.
Feature image credit: Jordan Trombetta
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