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May 17, 2012   |  8:34PM AET

Ange backing Archie to fire

Ange backing Archie to fire

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou believes star striker Archie Thompson is ready to fire against Greek champions Olympiacos at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou believes star striker Archie Thompson is ready to fire against Greek champions Olympiacos at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Thompson and Victory team-mate Harry Kewell were the only two Hyundai A-League players selected in an extended squad for Australia’s upcoming friendly against Denmark and World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Japan in June.

Victory host Olympiacos in a friendly before Thompson departs for international duty, and Postecoglou has backed the Socceroo to star.

“Archie’s been working really hard at training, he’s looking really sharp and he’s looking forward to Saturday because in many ways he’ll be under the microscope and he wants to put on a good performance,” Postecoglou said.

The match will be Postecoglou’s first at the helm following his move from Brisbane Roar, where he won back-to-back championships.

Postecoglou, who was born just a kilometre away from the home stadium of Olympiacos’ rivals AEK Athens, is looking forward to taking charge against the Greek league and cup champions.

“I’ve only been here a couple of weeks but it’s exciting that the first game is against such a big opponent,” Postecoglou said.

“A lot of people will come out to see Olympiacos play and a lot of people will be curious about us playing.

“Being of Greek origin, they’re not a club I support, so I’d like to knock them off.”

While Postecoglou has been at the Victory less than a month, his Olympiacos counterpart Ernesto Valverde is on his way out, having recently announced he will leave the Greek club after three seasons – all of which resulted in league triumphs.

“Ernesto Valverde, for him to last as long as he has in Greek football, he’s got to be a super coach because they go through them pretty quickly,” Postecoglou said.

Valverde, who arrived with Olympiacos in Melbourne on Wednesday, said his side is looking forward to playing in front of an expected crowd of at least 30,000.

“It’s my first time (in Australia) and I think it’s the first time for many players,” Valverde said.

“I think most important for this game is to be closer to the people that support us.”

With Costa Rican Carlos Hernandez parting ways with the Victory on Wednesday, Postecoglou revealed he wanted to lure at least one foreigner to the club before tapping into the local market.

“Carlos has been a fantastic servant to the club and I’m sure all the supporters will remember him fondly,” Postecoglou said.

“But from my point of view, I need that opportunity to start moulding the squad the way I want to and that decision being made now allows me to move forward.

“All the uncontracted players have been dealt with now, so everyone else is contracted and will be at the club.

“There are no secrets about it, our first one or two signings will be foreigners, they won’t be local players and until we do that I won’t even be looking at the local market.”