Former Bundesliga Youth star signs on with Magpies Crusaders
At 194cm, the ballplaying centre back looms as a perfect fit in Tom Ballantyne’s scheme
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Tom Ballantyne has added one of the final pieces to his 2021 NPL Queensland puzzle - and it comes to him via Germany.
Magpies Crusaders will welcome 23-year-old Benji Mujanic to the club next season, after the Sydney-born centre-half put pen to paper on Saturday.
The left-footer comes to Mackay via the German fifth-tier, Oberliga, where he has plied his trade while completing university.
With his tertiary studies now complete, the former Ingolstadt Youth player is eager to return to a higher standard of competitive football and that path to the top goes through Magpies Crusaders next season.
Standing 194cm tall and with an Australian passport, Mujanic ticks just about every box on coach Ballantyne's wishlist.
The midfielder turned defender boasts an impressive physical temperament and quality ball skills that will fit nicely with the system Ballantyne has built for next season.
"What really impressed us about him was his transformation from midfielder to centre back. That implies that he's a ballplayer, which is how we want to play," Ballantyne said.
"We've got an awful lot of right-footers back there. With how we want to play … having a natural left-footer who can drift wide from the centre back position and build play is really important for us."
Ballantyne said he was immediately impressed by Mujanic's temperament and willingness to get stuck in with a new team in Mackay next year.
"Due to his studies in Germany … he took a step away from football for a little while and is now determined to have a crack at it again, now that he's in a position to commit to that volume of training and dedication," Ballantyne said.
"We've been really impressed speaking to him. He's a well-spoken young man who seems to fit the mould of player we've been trying to bring in and establish as our identity."
Mujanic is the second new signing for Ballantyne's 2021 squad, following the acquisition of 18-year-old midfielder Sam Skinner from Rockhampton club Bluebirds United
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While at home with family in Adelaide, Ballantyne has been in constant contact with Magpies Crusaders technical director Anthony Alexander and club officials, casting a net far and wide in search of the right pieces.
"To be honest, we're not far off being done," the coach said.
"A lot of the deals are done, they've just not been announced yet."
The club is still hopeful of luring 2019 midfielder Eduardo Castaneda back to Mackay, who has spent the season playing at home in Tasmania, while an "exciting number 10" is in the final stages of negotiations.
"We're hoping to get that one done early (this) week - if we can get him over the line, that would be really good," Ballantyne said.
Magpies Crusaders played their first pre-season trial at the weekend.
With Alexander at the helm in place of the missing Ballantyne, the team - still without the bulk of its 2021 roster in town - won 3-nil against Townsville club Rebels FC on Saturday night.
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