By Phil Lutton
The Brisbane Roar hope genius is contagious, or at least can be borrowed for a few desperate weeks.
With Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert taking control of his first training session during a guest coaching stint at the club, the Roar are praying his freakish touch in front of goal rubs off as they embark a mad scramble for the A-League finals.
Former Dutch international player Patrick Kluivert and Roar coach Ange Postecoglou watch on eagerly from the sideline during the round 25 A-League match between the Roar and Sydney FC.Credit: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Kluivert was riding the emotion like a foundation Roar fan when he strapped on the orange tie and sat pitchside at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
He pumped his fist and embraced head coach Ange Postecoglou when countryman Sergio Van Dijk buried the last-gasp winner to sink Sydney FC 1-0, just as Brisbane's season looked to have spun down the drain.
The Roar are far from being out of the woods yet.
A win by Perth over the Central Coast did them no favours and they remain four points adrift of the top six with two games remaining - demanding road trips to Adelaide and Perth.
Kluivert, 33, is doing his best to equip the Roar strikeforce with the skills to climb the most daunting of mountains.
It's difficult to imagine anyone more qualified, given his 120 goals in 255 appearances for Barcelona and 40 goals in 79 internationals for Holland.
He said he was impressed with the skills on show during the session at Ballymore, giving the Dutch icon some hope salvation may yet lie at the end of the regular season for Brisbane.
"I see a very talented group with a lot of prospect for the future," Kluivert said. "I saw some very good and positive players doing the things I wanted to see.
"There a few players who have a really bright future and I see a very competitive team."
But Kluivert admitted whipping Brisbane's attacking squadron into shape in such a short time was an uphill challenge.
I'm out here for the training ... the most important thing is I'm doing my thing for the players.
"It's difficult to bring something that quick but I will try to do my best," Kluivert said. "Most of the things will be directly for the strikers and the outside players."
With a host of big names following Frank Farina in departing from the club and rumours Van Dijk is being courted by big-money offers, speculation is mounting that Kluivert may be tempted to come out of retirement next season for a guest stint at Ballymore.
He hasn't ruled out that prospect but said he remained focused on ensuring the Roar were prepared for battle against Adelaide, a venue that hasn't been the happiest of hunting grounds for Brisbane at this time of the season.
"I'm out here for the training ... the most important thing is I'm doing my thing for the players," he said.
"I'm here to give the boys some education in football."