After an aborted start to his Hyundai A-League season, Melbourne striker Robbie Kruse is even more determined than ever to make an impression when he plays his first game for the season against North Queensland on Sunday at AAMI Park.
After an aborted start to his Hyundai A-League season, Melbourne striker Robbie Kruse is even more determined than ever to make an impression when he plays his first game for the season against North Queensland on Sunday at AAMI Park.
Kruse couldn-t wait to get stuck in over the pre-season where he was being hailed as the man to step into the void left by Archie Thompson’s long-term knee injury.
Hamstring tightness on the eve of the first round forced Kruse to cool his heels for a couple of week but having been given the all clear by the club’s fitness staff, Kruse can-t wait to get out on AAMI Park against the Fury.
“It-s been frustrating for, being injured, I’m finally over it. Hopefully I can put it together and put on a good performance on Sunday,” he said.
“It was difficult, particularly with us missing Archie for a fair chunk of the season. It was going to be tough. Unfortunately I was really looking forward to playing, I had a good pre-season, I hurt my hamstring just week before the first game. It-s a long season, I didn-t want to risk it and be out for a long period.”
“It-s been frustrating watching the team. The team has been playing well. Hopefully I can come in and do my job and score some goals.”
While he is desperate to get out on the field, Kruse denies he feels an external pressure to hit the ground running, saying all of his motivation is coming from his own goals.
“No more pressure than that which comes from myself. I think I expect to score goals and I expect to play a big part in the team. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform. I have to go out there and get out there and hopefully get on the end of a few balls and score a few goals,” he said.
Victory have been boosted during the week by the arrival of Brazilian signing Ricardinho and Kruse can-t wait to start training and playing with the man nicknamed ‘Rei do drible-, or ‘King of the dribble-
“Him coming into training yesterday, there was a lot of buzz around it. We are eagerly awaiting him training with us. He’s just arrived from a long trip and it will take him a while to settle in, but hopefully he can play a huge part in our push to regain the title this year,” Kruse said.
“I’ve heard his nickname is the dribbler or something. He must be a good player. He comes with a good pedigree. It’s always hard to replace Archie because he’s such a good player and such a good leader. Once Archie is fully fit, it-s gonna be exciting times for Melbourne Victory and for the fans.”
