SYDNEY FC are hoping to shore up their short-term attacking options by re-uniting two players who used to work under coach John Kosmina at Adelaide United - veteran Dutch winger Bobby Petta and former Young Socceroos striker Dez Giraldi.
With Mark Bridge (Olyroos), John Aloisi and Brendon Santalab (injuries) all likely to be unavailable for the A-League season-opener against Melbourne Victory on August 16, and with back-up striker Adam Casey only just starting out on his road to recovery from a long-term injury, Sydney have been forced to look for attacking cover. American attacking midfielder Mike Enfield has also been ruled out for up to three months, leaving the cupboard bare.
Giraldi, 22, has been keeping fit by playing for his hometown club - NSW Premier League frontrunners Wollongong FC - since being released by the Reds at the end of the first stage of their Asian Champions League campaign in May. Giraldi was originally brought to Adelaide by Kosmina but had long spells out with injury and scored just once in two seasons.
Petta, who turns 34 next month, was also plagued by injury during his two seasons with the Reds, but in his sporadic appearances (20 games, one goal) generally looked a threat in his favoured role wide on the left. The former Feyenoord and Celtic player wasn't used by Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar during the ACL campaign, but has kept himself fit by playing in the South Australian Super League for Para Hills.
Petta is likely to join Sydney as an injury replacement for Enfield, meaning he could be available for the first two months of the season, and Kosmina said yesterday: "Short-term, Bobby could definitely do a job for us. From what I hear he's more enthusiastic than he's ever been, he's got himself fully fit, and on his day he can be dynamite. The fact is we're short of bodies at the moment and we have to look around."
Whether either Petta or Giraldi, or both, will be available for Sunday's pre-season match against Central Coast Mariners in Gosford remains to be seen, but Sydney will at least welcome back veteran utility Robbie Middleby from suspension.
Elsewhere, Wellington Phoenix have begun the search for a new right fullback after a knee injury yesterday ruled Vince Lia out for the season.
Meantime, Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley has hinted A-League hopefuls North Queensland FC and Gold Coast United may be given concessions to field extra visa players when they join the competition. FFA is expected to announce within the next few weeks that the two Queensland clubs will participate in the league from next year.
Earlier this week, Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina revealed the race to sign the state's best players had begun in earnest, but while Buckley concedes the introduction of two new Queensland teams may stretch the local talent pool, he believes FFA recruiting concessions should be directed elsewhere.
"Yes, there's going to be more competition to recruit Queensland players, but that's not such a bad thing," he said.
"Hopefully, we'll see these clubs investing more in developing, identifying and recruiting talent as a result. But in the short term, they will have to go further afield to source players to make sure they're competitive, and we would encourage them to do that.
"We're in a sport which draws talent from all over the world, so it's not just about the talent pool in Queensland. That's why we're considering allowing the new teams to have additional visa players, although the number has yet to be determined [the current limit is four per club]. It's an area where we can have a role without giving them preferential access to the open market.
"We do have an over-arching role to try and make sure the new teams are competitive on and off the field, although I don't think anyone expects them to be challenging for the championship in year one. But we do understand there will be some pressure in getting players in the short-term, and we want to ensure we'll continue to have a high-quality league."