Vidmar forcefully defends Arzani from reports of senior dressing down
Melbourne City coach Aurelio Vidmar has vehemently denied reports that Daniel Arzani has had a falling out with senior members of the A-League Men squad, calling the suggestions “totally false”.
Melbourne City coach Aurelio Vidmar has vehemently denied reports that Daniel Arzani has had a falling out with senior members of the A-League Men squad, calling the suggestions “totally false” and “poor form”.
After securing a move from Melbourne Victory to Hungarian side Ferencvárosi during the offseason, Arzani, 27, returned to the A-League and City during the January transfer window, seeking to boost his hopes of a Socceroo recall with regular football while helping to boost the champions’ stuttering campaign.
The attacker has since made six starts across nine appearances in league and continental play, scoring a goal and providing an assist in his last two games. A Socceroo recall, however, wasn’t forthcoming for the March window, and City has won just one game he’s started since returning.
Compounding matters, a report from Newscorp this week stated that Arzani’s attitude was causing issues in the dressing room and had been questioned by senior members of the squad – adding an unwelcome dimension to the side’s preparations for a crucial clash with Western Sydney on Saturday that could define their finals hopes.
“That’s a lot of crap,” Vidmar said when asked if Arzani had suffered a falling out with senior players. “That’s just to squash it.
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“When we spoke about that yesterday, we spoke again this morning. Look, there’s always rumour and innuendo. It’s totally false. And I think it’s poor form, if you’re not going to come out and disclose where you heard that information, then the rest of it’s crap.
“I’ve been here two and a half years, and we’ve had different issues through my two and a half years, and not once has something like this ever come up. We’ve had stoushes on the pitch, we’ve had lots of different things happen, but when the team’s not going well, something like that always sparks up. But it’s totally false.
“The players are not happy with it. But we can’t do anything about that. Our focus is just to concentrate and do whatever we need to do to get three points tomorrow. The story’s false, and you know things like that do hurt the playing group, because we’ve only got 10 or 12 senior players here. The rest are under 23 players, so they’re pretty young.
“So that’s a stain on the senior players here at the club. And it’s totally false.”
Currently sitting ninth on the table, City’s league-best run of 11-straight finals appearances is in serious peril heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
Though possessing a game in hand, Vidmar’s side sits five points back of sixth-placed Macarthur heading into the weekend, with just five games remaining to drag themselves into the playoffs.
While they only leave Melbourne once more during their run home – to face Brisbane in the penultimate week of the season play one side inside the top six – Adelaide United in the campaign’s final week – they’ll also face a short turnaround following the Wanderers visit on Saturday, with fellow finals aspirants Central Coast set to visit on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, Vidmar said his group’s morale was “excellent” heading into the home stretch.
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“Especially when we go into the park, when our mentality is at a high level, then we’re very hard to play against,” said Vidmar. “Our focus has to be, always, that our mentality, spirit and will are at a very high level.
“Early this morning, we had a meeting, and when they walked into the theatre, they were chirping like birds. So the atmosphere around the group is very positive. That hasn’t been an issue for us. And as long as I’m here, that will never be an issue.
“Because there’s so much to play for and we’re playing a game, and we’re in a profession that very few have the ability to do. And they don’t take it lightly, that it’s a serious job. They get on well with each other. We’ve got such a strong leadership group here.
“I’m really proud to be able to coach this group. I know we’ve had some difficulties this year, but that’s all part of what professional sport is about. Our job is to make sure that we’re all aligned, and we certainly are aligned, and that we go out tomorrow and we show why we are who we are.”
City will have a mostly full contingent to choose from against the Wanderers, with Andreas Kuen bolstering their attacking ranks as he returns from suspension.
Alessandro Lopane and Takeshi Kanamori are unlikely to return from their injuries before the end of the season, but the hope at Casey Fields is that Mat Leckie, who underwent surgery on his hip in December, will be able to return before the end of the season – a boon for both Vidmar and, potentially, Socceroo coach Tony Popovic.
The veteran attacker has trained on a modified program with the main group in recent weeks, and while Vidmar was certain he wouldn’t feature against either the Wanderers or the Mariners, he left the door open for a possible, albeit unlikely, return against Wellington the following Sunday.