New striker Ranko Despotovic. Photo: Mark Metcalfe
Sydney FC won't rush Ranko Despotovic into the starting side for Saturday's match against Wellington Phoenix with the new striker set to start his A-League career on the bench.
Despotovic has been in Australia for the past week since penning terms with the Sky Blues but coach Frank Farina is reluctant to change a team seeking their third straight win.
That means Richard Garcia is likely to remain as the lone striker, ahead of an attacking midfield trio of Joel Chianese, Alessandro Del Piero and teenage winger Chris Naumoff.
However, Despotovic said he didn't mind having to fight for his place and he just hoped to see his new teammates pick up their fourth win of the campaign – which could propel them as high as third.
“Sydney play a good brand of fighting football. Hopefully I can score some goals and be a part of that. I have heard a lot about the A-League, and I am sure that I will enjoy it here,” he said before training on Friday. “There are some young players here and some stars, so there are no excuses. I am here to prove myself.
“I just hope my club wins this weekend and, if I can be part of this spectacle, it will be perfect.”
The Serbian international – who played for his country against the Socceroos in 2011 – said he hoped Sydney would “fight for championship this year” and was relieved at how quickly he had settled in.
“I have one Australian friend, and he was speaking about the A-League and I heard all beautiful things about it, and now I have arrived here it's really great,” he said. “I thought it was going to be more difficult, but the people from the club and all my colleagues have helped me a lot. I'm really enjoying this first few days.”
Despotovic has arguably failed to fulfil his immense junior potential in his decade-long career, despite dominating spells in the Serbian league and the Spanish second division.
After starring for Girona, he found the step up to the J-League a difficult one, scoring only once for his last club, Japanese giants Urawa Red Diamonds.
Of course, the attraction of linking up with one of the greatest players in history, Del Piero, was an obvious attraction for choosing Sydney over another European club.
“When I was a kid I was a great fan of his, and he's a great, great player,” he said. “I don't know about here in Australia but in Europe he is a great star, and being just next to him in the squad is a great feeling.
“Playing with a great star in a good league like this one, it's perfect. When you are a striker and you have Alessandro behind you, you don't need to have any fear.”
But he'll have to wait to start alongside the Italian icon, with Farina preferring to ease the Serbian's transition.
“He won't start. We will make a decision prior to kick-off whether he will sit on the bench but there is every chance,” Farina said. “There is no need to rush him at the moment. We want to let him settle in and not to take any risks.”
However, Farina insisted he Despotovic looked the part at training.
“He looks good, fitness-wise and conditioning-wise. He obviously looks after himself very well,” he said. “He has done everything asked of him in training so far. His inclusion helps to freshen up our squad in terms of options up front.”
Farina has dealt with a multitude of changes to the starting side since round one but said he was pleased to see things settling.
“It's most probably a headache that every manager suffers through because you want stability in the side you put on the park,” he said. “But in pre-season, a lot of the different combinations have played together, so I'm confident there's no real instability.
“The only odd one out is Ali Abbas – but I thought he was very good last week and against Melbourne Victory the week before. It's a position [left-back] he's a natural for.”
Farina also flatly denied reports the club was interested in pursuing Western Sydney midfielder Youssouf Hersi.
“It's the first I've heard about it,” he said. “We've expressed an interest in talking to a number of players since they've come off contract but it's nowhere near what's been depicted. I haven't had any conversations at all.”
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