Former Gold Coast Knights captain Andy Barisic signs with Albury Wodonga club Wangaratta City

ONE of Gold Coast football’s biggest names will next month complete a shock switch to a little-known club near the NSW-Victoria border.

HE has not given up on his own NPL ambitions but Andy Barisic will be charged with guiding Wangaratta City talent to the state stage following his shock signing with the Albury Wodonga Football Association leaders.

Out of action since leaving the Gold Coast Knights earlier this year, Barisic stunned the football community over the weekend when he announced a deal with Wangaratta for the remainder of 2019.

The 33-year-old striker, a 17-game A-League player with Gold Coast United from 2009-11, will fly in for matches on the NSW-Victoria border each weekend from July 7.

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Currently on holiday in Europe, he will be available for the final eight games of the season, plus finals.

While Wangaratta are well placed with a three-point competition lead, Barisic said a key part of his deal was to help the club’s emerging brigade reach the NPL.

“The way they pitched it to me was really good,” Barisic, who has a close friendship with City coach Daniel Vasilevski, said.

Former Gold Coast Knights captain Andrew Barisic. Picture: Mike Batterham

“It was about having a role model for the kids. What they’re doing is bringing the juniors up and trying to get them to the NPL. It’s something I’d like to help out with.

“The league won’t be as strong as the NPL but I think they have got the structure right. It’s a different challenge for me and I think it’s shocked a lot of people but I feel like it’s the right move.

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“I have got family down in Melbourne and the club have helped me out with accommodation. This is going to be the first club I have played for in Australia that isn’t Croatian.

“It’s going to be hard not to train but hopefully while I’m down there I can get to know the boys a bit better. A lot of people know that I train every day on my own and keep fit as much as I can.”

Barisic’s services were in high demand following his Knights departure, fielding offers from local and interstate NPL clubs as well as Gold Coast and Brisbane Premier League sides.

While reluctant to uproot his young family from the Glitter Strip, he said his NPL aspirations remained intact.

“I believe I can still play NPL wherever. I’ve had offers from Melbourne, which is probably the best NPL in Australia,” Barisic, who has also spent time in Germany, Indonesia, India, China and Hong Kong, said.

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“I know I have got a few years left in the NPL but I’m just going to wait until I’m back in the NPL in Queensland. We have settled on the Gold Coast so we won’t be looking interstate unless it’s quite substantial.

“I want to help (Wangaratta) win the league.”