Melbourne Victory playmaker Gui Finkler is confident he will be fit to play in the showdown against Wellington Phoenix on Monday.
Melbourne Victory playmaker Gui Finkler is confident he will be fit to play in the showdown against Wellington Phoenix on Monday.
The 27-year-old strained his groin against Adelaide United on October 19, and sat out Victory’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle in their last start.
But the Brazilian feels he will be ready to play against the Phoenix at AAMI Park on Monday night.
“I trained yesterday and I feel much better, today I’m going to recover,” Finkler said on Wednesday.
“We have tomorrow off and Friday I’m going to see how I’m feeling.
“I felt the injury a little bit before the (Adelaide) game, but I said, ‘I’m going to play’, I was feeling good, and after the game it was really sore.”
Finkler also said he has been impressed with his new boss Ange Postecoglou, who he feels has a similar style to many of the top coaches in his home country Brazil.
“I really like the way that Ange coaches the team to play because it’s quite similar to the big teams in Brazil, they try to keep possession,” he said.
“Ange is a successful coach, he has two titles, and he is the right way to win the league.”
Finkler – who spent time on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2006 – said he is still getting used to the physical approach of the Australian game.
“In Brazil they play a different way, they play more possession, but I am trying to improve at training and it is going to take a little bit of time,” he said.
“Some tackles I have seen in the A-League I would say, ‘that’s a foul in Brazil’ but here the referee would say, ‘carry on, there’s no foul here’.
“It’s quite different from Brazil, it’s really strong here, and it’s quite similar to England.”
The Brazilian is adamant Victory have shown signs of improvement in recent matches, and is confident they will begin moving up the A-League standings soon.
“I think the team (Victory) is going to improve and next game we hope to win and start building,” he said.
