2015 Asian Cup: Socceroos star Robbie Kruse wants to finish career at Melbourne Victory

SOCCEROOS Asian Cup forward Robbie Kruse has revealed he’d love a fairytale finish to his career with former club Melbourne Victory in the A-League.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 08: Robbie Kruse of the Victory celebrates kicking a goal during the round nine A-League match between the Melbourne Heart and the Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on October 8, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

SOCCEROOS forward Robbie Kruse has revealed he wants to finish his playing career in the A-League with Melbourne Victory.

The 26-year-old is closing in on peak fitness after missing almost nine months, including the World Cup in Brazil, with a knee injury.

Kruse joined the Socceroos pre-Asian Cup training camp on the weekend and it is apt that it is being held in Melbourne as that is where he kickstarted his career.

After an often turbulent two seasons in Brisbane, Kruse switched to Victory in 2009 where he would go on to score 16 goals in 39 games before securing a move to Fortuna Düsseldorf in the German Bundesliga.

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Kruse currently sits fifth on Victory’s all-time leading goalscoring list, but indicated on Tuesday he intends to add to that mark.

“Melbourne is definitely my favourite place here in Australia, I definitely call it home now,” Kruse said.

“I want to live here when I finish my career and I’d love to end it here with Melbourne Victory.

“I have fond memories of AAMI Park and playing in front of the Victory fans - they’re definitely some of the best in the league.

“So hopefully they can pack the stadium here (for the game against Kuwait) and create a hostile environment.”

Robbie Kruse wants to finish his career at former club Melbourne Victory.

Kruse was one of Australia’s most important players before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while training for current club, German giants Bayer Leverkusen.

When it became clear he would be unable to join his Socceroos teammates in Brazil, Kruse said it helped to have the Asian Cup on home soil on the horizon.

“Obviously my rehab went for about seven or eight months, so I felt that this tournament (was something) I was working towards the whole time,” he said.

“I see it as something where I can kind of right the wrong of not being able to go to the World Cup. This is going to be a big tournament for me to get back to where I was.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a year now. You go through so many emotions when you miss such a big tournament like the World Cup and I’m thankful this has come around just six months later.

“Hopefully I can do my part for the team, we can put on a good performance and hopefully win the tournament.”

Another Socceroo who can use a past injury as motivation in the coming weeks is fullback Ivan Franjic.

The Victorian started at right back for Australia’s first World Cup match against Chile and would go on to set up Tim Cahill for his headed goal, only to suffer a serious hamstring injury in the second half that ruled him out for the remainder of the tournament.

“It’s always disappointing from a personal perspective, getting injured, but I think everything happens for a reason, especially in football,” Franjic said.

“I’m ready for the Asian Cup because that’s what I’m living on. The World Cup is in the past now, I’m looking towards the future and the Asian Cup is in the future.

“It’s definitely given me more hunger though and I’ve been training a lot harder to make sure I’m ready come the first game of the Asian Cup.”

Franjic completed his move from Brisbane Roar to Torpedo Moskva just after the World Cup and made his debut in October.

Robbie Kruse is fit and ready to fire at the Asian Cup.

The 27-year-old said after a slow start he felt as if he has started to find his feet in Russia.

“It’s definitely changed my game especially because we’re a team that defends a lot because we’re at the bottom of the table,” he said.

“So it’s helped me in a defensive sense and helped me improve as a player.

“In terms of quality and experience it’s a great league. I just had a bad start because I had to go for my operation with the hamstring and recovery (from that) so it’s taken a bit longer to get in to the groove there.

“But once I got in there and really started playing with the team I started getting used to the league. I just needed a bit of time to adjust from the Australian to the Russian league.”

Originally published as 2015 Asian Cup: Socceroos star Robbie Kruse wants to finish career at Melbourne Victory