90 Minutes: Dzengis’ career-ending surgery after Reds training incident, Socceroos to skip Adelaide and Croweaters fire Olyroos’ quest
Striker Dzengis Cavusevic has called time on his playing career in the wake of his ACL injury at Adelaide United training last year. Plus, the Socceroos to again give Adelaide a miss and the Croweaters firing the Olyroos.
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Former Adelaide United striker says his playing career is over.
Almost a year after having surgery on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament after a collision at Adelaide United training Cavusevic is set to undergo a second major operation on his left knee.
“I did start the rehab but it didn’t work out well, the knee doesn’t feel right,’’ Cavusevic said from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
“Now I have met with the Croatian national team doctor to see what we can do, I have had scans and it looks like I will have to have some bone cut out near the knee and then replaced.
“We’re going through the process and it looks like that soon I will have another big operation, that will be the end of my career as a player.
“So I have to think about the next step, I coached some young children in Ljubljana during the time I haven’t played and I enjoyed it.
“I could start another career in coaching.”
Back home after successful surgery..hope recovery is going to be successful as well and looking forward to be back to the pitch again. Thank you all for best wishes and support! I wish my teammates all the best till the end of the season!! ðŸ…âš½ï¸âš½ï¸ðŸ… @AdelaideUnited pic.twitter.com/dyZpoMoLJi
— Dzengis Cavusevic (@Cavusevic) April 11, 2018
Cavusevic played four games and scored once for the Reds before the training accident in Adelaide.
He was happy to continue staying in Adelaide but said he was advised by Reds officials to return home to Slovenia.
“It’s not the same being injured and being by yourself,’’ he said.
“It’s much better for morale to be in the team situation where teammates can inspire you, it’s all very good being part of the team.
“That’s what I miss the most Adelaide United had a great bunch of boys.”
Cavusevic has been surviving on insurance income since injuring his knee last year.
Socceroos skip Adelaide
ADELAIDE Oval is again looming to be dormant for soccer this June two years after beating Saudi Arabia 3-2 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier in front of 29,875 fans.
Just when it appeared — according to the internet — that the Socceroos had jagged a match against the Korea Republic at home on June 7, the 3.30am kick off time which was pencilled into the ghost fixture suggested it wasn’t going the game wasn’t happen at Adelaide Oval.
90 Minutes contacted officials from the Korea Football Association in a bid to see whether their nation was lining up a game against the Socceroos at Adelaide Oval but there was silence.
Football Federation Australia’s Socceroos media boss Ben O’Neill clarified the situation.
“That information is incorrect,’’ with regards to the Socceroos playing the Korea Republic at home,” O’Neill said.
“We are close to finalising a friendly in June, however the game would be played abroad rather than in Australia.”
The Socceroos have a FIFA international window to play games between June 3 and June 11.
Croweaters fire Olyroos’ quest
AUSTRALIA’S bid for its first appearance at a men’s Olympic soccer tournament since 2008 is befitting from a healthy dose of SA flavour.
Croweater Riley McGree was captain and scored in the Olyroos’ 6-0 romp over host nation Cambodia in the opening match of the Asian Championship qualifying tournament last week.
Melbourne Victory defender Thomas Deng, who was born in South Sudan but spent time as a child in Adelaide, was also on target in another 6-0 success against Chinese Taipei
Adelaide United forward George Blackwood and goalkeeper Daniel Margush were other members of Graham Arnold’s squad based in Phnom Penh.
Group H will be decided on Tuesday night when Australia takes on heavyweight South Korea.
The 11 group winners will qualify for next year’s Asian titles in Thailand, along with the four highest-ranked runners-up.
The top three nations at that tournament will progress to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Dragana’s star search
Former Adelaide United W-League midfielder Dragana Klajcic has ambitions of helping to produce an SA superstar after becoming part of a project with her father Drago.
Dragana studies marketing a politics at university but misses the first semester of every year of study due to her travels to Serbia with the Drago’s Football Academy and a plethora of young hopefuls.
Drago arrived in Adelaide in 1994 from Serbia, featured for White City, won trophies with Blue Eagles before ending his career with Para Hills.
Born in Adelaide, Dragana first had a test of what Serbian football would be like when she was just 15.
She moved to Serbia to play for Super League women’s team ŽFK Mašinac PZP Niš.
“Everything we do now in the game we basically do it together,’’ Dragana said at the working relationship she has with Drago where she is a partner of the academy.
“We train at Park B 27 (Adelaide) and on Saturday mornings we’re at Kilburn, the home of West Adelaide.
“Dad is also the technical director of West Adelaide.
“I’m hoping to also launch a coaching side to the academy, nothing has been offered like that.
“Girls get intimidated by boys and they don’t want to come out.”
Dragana and Drago are again of to Serbia in June leading the academy’s junior players to some of the best development education on the planet.
The academy was also a guest of the Serbian football federation.
The academy will again feature at the Vujadin Boškov Cup — named in honour of the late coaching legend — in Novi Sad.
Dragana said an invite to participate in a second invite-only tournament, the Dragan Mance Cup in Belgrade and hosted by FK Partizan, one of best development clubs in the world is huge.
One of the matches will be streamed live by TV Sportklub.
“Last year in these tournaments the kids all at 12 years an under are so talented,’’ Dragana said.
“The coaching style is so different our boys train with many clubs.
“I also saw how they coached at the Serbian football federation, and the kids we take there can see what it’s like to live in the environment, their lives revolve around football, our kids see that and they want it as well.”
Young Red returns
THERE has been better news for a current Adelaide United player in his fightback from a knee problem.
Young midfielder Lachlan Brook returned to full training with the Reds last week, having been sidelined for the much of the A-League campaign due to injury.
Brook, 18, sustained a medial collateral ligament issue during a youth team game in November.
While progressing through his rehabilitation program, the Gawler Eagles and Raiders product developed shin soreness to further delay his comeback.
Brook, off-contract at the end of the season, rejoined Adelaide’s main group heading into this past weekend’s international break.
“Five months later,” he posted on Instagram, along with a photograph of his return to training.
“So happy to be back.”
Brook became the Reds’ second-youngest debutant when he made his A-League bow aged 16 against Sydney FC last January.
No rest for Raiders
THEY have just demolished former NSL champion West Adelaide and moved to second on the National Premier Leagues SA table seven months after winning promotion.
But there would be no rest for high-flying Raiders, despite their impressive return to the top flight.
The Gepps Cross club jumped to within one point of competition-leader Adelaide Blue Eagles after it smashed West 7-2 at the Parks on Saturday.
While praising his charges for extending their unbeaten run to four games, coach Nik Kuzman said this weekend’s bye for the opening round of the FFA Cup SA was not a time to relax.
“It’s business as usual,” Kuzman said.
“We’ll train and we’ll probably overload the boys.
“It’ll be a tough week on the track, there’s no rest for us.
“It’s early days and anyone can beat anyone in this league.
“Our job is to keep improving week-to-week.”
In-form striker Terence Carter took his tally to seven goals in his past three outings as he bagged four strikes in the West triumph.
Raiders were next in action at home to Adelaide Comets on Saturday, April 6.
A-LEAGUE GOLDEN BOOTS
No Adelaide United match due to international break.
Leaders
72. Isaias
66. Craig Goodwin
52. Ben Halloran
34. Mirko Boland
26. Scott Galloway
21. Vince Lia
18. Paul Izzo
18. Michael Jakobsen
19. Ryan Strain
13. Michael Marrone
12. George Blackwood
10. Nikola Mileusnic
8. Taylor Regan
6. Ryan Kitto
5. Ken Ilso
4. Apostolos Stamatelopoulos
Goals
Craig Goodwin 9
Nikola Mileusnic 4
Ken Ilso 3
Ben Halloran 2
Isaias 2
George Blackwood 2
Vince Lia 1
Scott Galloway 1
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos 1
Ryan Kitto 1
OG 1
SA PLAYERS ABROAD
Brandon Borrello — Freiburg (Bundesliga): Competition on a FIFA international break
Alex Chidiac — Atletico Madrid (women’s Spanish Primera Division): Played nine minutes off the bench in a 4-0 away win over Levante.
Ben Garuccio — Hearts (Scottish Premier League): Competition on a FIFA international break
Meni Haralampopoulos — Acharnaikos (Greek Gamma Ethniki): Played 90 minutes and scored in a 1-1 draw Traganios at home (see the video above)
Bradden Inman — Rochdale AFC (English League One): Unused substitute in a 3-1 win over Scunthorpe United at home
Awer Mabil — Midtylland (Danish Super League): Competition on a FIFA international break
Osama Malik — Al-Batin (Saudi Arabia League): Competition on a FIFA international break
Andrew Marveggio — Macva Sabac (Serbian Superliga): Competition on a FIFA international break
Ryan McGowan — Dundee (Scottish Premier League): Competition on a FIFA international break
Dylan McGowan — Vendsyssel FF (Danish Superliga): Competition on a FIFA international break
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