Loss of Bruno Fornaroli has shattered Melbourne City’s loyal fans
Diehard Melbourne City fans are shattered at the loss of the one player who epitomised the club and got fans off their seats.
Melbourne City
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The Bruno Fornaroli saga has been tough on people from both sides, but let’s spare a thought for another group, as his former club prepares to battle his future employer at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Those diehard Melbourne City fans, especially the kids, who’ve continued to roll up each week or watched on Fox Sports despite the absence of their hero and the guy that brought them joy.
As one City fan lamented, “my sons have lost interest. Fornaroli was their favourite player, now they barely recognise anyone in a City shirt”.
In Fornaroli, City finally had a player who epitomised the club and got fans off their seats with his bag of tricks and stunning repertoire of goals.
If soccer is in the entertainment business, City fans are being short-changed.
Fast forward to today and which current or former player or coach epitomises City? In my view, only John van’t Schip.
Melbourne Victory has Leigh Broxham, Kevin Muscat, Archie Thompson, Grant Brebner, Roddy Vargas and now Carl Valeri.
City’s longest serving player is Luke Brattan, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
Extraordinarily, if we rewind just two years, Brattan is the only remaining senior player from the 2016-17 squad.
The exciting Fornaroli was the perfect poster boy for a club still finding its feet in a crowded Melbourne market.
There have been plenty over the years who had the potential to stay on and become a part of the club’s fabric.
But Simon Colosimo, John Aloisi, Clint Bolton and now Fornaroli have all left in acrimony.
Josip Skoko and Josh Kennedy came and went and are loosely tied to the club. Mark Bresciano and Sasa Ognenovski would have been perfect from a culture and profile perspective, but the club never made them formal offers.
And of the players there now, who has the ability to stay on and become a club icon? Perhaps
Scott Jamieson, Bart Schenkeveld, although he’s been linked to Sydney FC.
Jamie Maclaren is the big hope now, off the back of signing a three-and-a-half year deal, but he’s literally been there for three weeks.
City must stop its radical player turnover and provide continuity, so young kids can relate to players. It would be an interesting exercise, asking kids how many of the current squad they can name.
In the end, four years, 85 games, 57 goals and memories ended in a bitter split, a $500,000-plus termination cheque and a tweet: “Good luck and farewell, @BFornaroli. Thanks for all the good times”.
This is not how the club’s greatest player is supposed to depart.
Fornaroli’s exit will go down as a sad episode in City’s A-League history.