Popovic expects Bruno return, eyes Wellington
As the striker seeks to lead his side past Wellington and chase a second Golden Boot, Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic 'expects' out-of-contract Bruno Fornaroli to return to the club next season.
As he looks to help his side get past Wellington and keep their top-two hopes alive, to say nothing of securing a second A-League Men Golden Boot, Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic expects striker Bruno Fornaroli to remain in navy blue for the 2024/25 season.
Getting a full preseason under his belt this time around after arriving from Perth Glory in mid-2022/23, Fornaroli has thrived at the tip of Victory’s spear this campaign, going at a goal-a-game pace with 18 goals across 18 fixtures.
It’s the most goals the Uruguayan-born Socceroo has netted in a single A-League Men season since his first in the competition with Melbourne City when he grabbed 25 goals in 28 games.
Out of contract at season’s end, the rumour mill has somewhat tenuously linked the 36-year-old with a possible move to expansion side Auckland.
But given his form and how well he has settled back into life in Melbourne, Popovic – who has batted away questions on his own future – believes it’s likely he will stick around.
“I'd expect Bruno to be here,” Popovic told JDL Media. “Discussions are always ongoing with players but he's a player that's happy and the club is very happy with him.
“Hopefully, he'll be, more than likely, I'd expect him to be in Melbourne Victory colours next year.”
Despite missing a month of football while away at the Asian Cup, Fornaroli’s 18 goals still paces the A-League Men heading into the final weeks of the regular season, one clear of Glory talisman Adam Taggart and three clear of Newcastle Jet Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.
Only Taggart’s 15.9 expected goals (xG) leads El Tuna’s 14.9 across the season but no player in the league is producing more per 90 minutes, Fornaroli logging an xG of 0.85 across his 18 appearances this season.
Amongst players that have logged at least 50% of available match minutes in a season, only Jamie Maclaren – in 2020/21 (1.17) and 2022/23 (0.97) – have produced a higher xG per 90 minutes across a single season.
And while Popovic is quick to emphasise the importance of team success over individual accolades, the former central defender knows that strikers are their own special breed when it comes to these things.
“I haven't asked him but knowing him I'm sure [winning the Golden Boot] does [motivate him],” said Popovic.” And it should. He's a goal scorer. You can see how passionate he is to play the game and play his role for the team.
“He deserves everything he has done so far.
“I still believe there's more to come and more goals are certainly possible and hopefully imminent, starting from Friday [against Wellington]. And that's an exciting challenge personally for him.
“But knowing him as well as I do, all he'll be thinking about is how do I contribute to team success? How do I contribute to our winning? And if that means that he can get a goal then I think everyone will be happy.”
With three games remaining on the regular season, Victory will enter Friday night's visit to Wellington five points back of both the Phoenix and table-topping Central Coast.
While it’s unlikely, three points in the Land of the Long White Cloud would put them within touching distance of a top-two finish and a week off in the first week of the playoffs, which were mathematically secured with their 2-1 derby win over Melbourne City last week.
Victory will end the season with home games against Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney, While the 'Nix will travel to face Newcastle next week before ending their campaign at home against Macarthur.
After facing Western United on Saturday afternoon, the Mariners must travel to the Kyrgyz Republic to take on Abdish-Ata Kant ahead of returning to host Adelaide United on Sunday. Another midweek fixture will follow, this one at home against Abdish-Ata Kant in the second leg of their AFC Cup Inter-Zonal Final before they end their season away to the Jets.
“It's three points, and we can close the gap on Wellington,” said Popovic. “And we have to have that mindset that we have a chance to win a third consecutive game. We haven't done that this year.
“We have a huge challenge. An exciting one. We're in good form. Against the top side, we want to win the game and close the gap. And that's the goal
“They're up [the top of the table] for a reason, because they're doing extremely well and getting the results they require. At home, they're very strong.
“They have clear strengths. They defend very well as a team and when they transition forward, they're extremely dangerous and they punish you for any errors that you make.
“We probably have to show a good degree of patience. We need to make sure that we're positioned well, that we don't allow easy opportunities for them to break on us.”