GCU sign Beekmans
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
by Vince Rugari, Sportal
Paul Beekmans Gold Coast United may have missed the boat on Bas van den Brink but the Perth-bound Dutchman has given his old club a farewell present with the recommendation of new signing, Paul Beekmans.
Twenty nine-year-old Beekmans joins United from Jupiler League outfit SC Cambuur-Beekmans and looks an impressive capture on paper, having played nearly 200 games in the top two divisions in the Netherlands between 2002 and 2008.
Standing at 191cm, Beekmans is an imposing figure and will add much-needed physicality and experience to a Gold Coast side that has lost defensive lynchpins van den Brink and Dino Djulbic and turned its focus to developing its two-time National Youth League champion squad into first-team footballers.
But significantly, he comes with high praise from former fan favourite van den Brink, who made his shift to Perth Glory official on Tuesday.
Such is his attachment to United, van den Brink has kept in nearly daily contact with Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg even after his move to Western Australia became apparent.
When Bleiberg asked van den Brink his thoughts on Beekmans as a potential signing, he gave him his seal of approval – even conceding that Beekmans is a just as good a player as himself, if not better.
“Bas wanted to come back to us but by the time we negotiated with him, Perth came along and unfortunately for us offered him much better terms,” Bleiberg said.
“He’s still in almost daily touch with me but he was kind enough to recommend Paul Beekmans to us. According to Bas himself he is as good, if not better than he is so hopefully we benefit.”
Bleiberg pointed towards Beekmans’ consistent playing time in Holland and his lack of previous injuries as proof that he will become an integral part of his squad this season.
“If you look at his history he has played more than 30 games every season, for the past 10 years – since he was 19. That shows you consistency and a good injury record,” he said.
“He is an extremely powerful player and can play not only as a midfielder but as a centre-back. That’s another advantage because I like to switch things around tactically.”
The signing of Beekmans comes a day after United’s first training match of the pre-season, an easy 4-1 win over Gold Coast Premier League side Merrimac.
Most of United’s first-team stars were rested but the likes of Robson, Tahj Minniecon and James Brown all impressed in a makeshift XI filled out with youth team players and trialists.
Merrimac were stubborn in their resistance but goals to pacy striker Chris Harold, trialist Aman Hadid and two from Broadbeach’s Tom Boland assured victory.
Another trialist, 27-year-old Belgian centre-back Denis Dasoul, played the full 90 minutes against Merrimac and looked handy at the heart of defence.
Dasoul, who previously played for Italian clubs Perugia and U.S. Foggia, has been without a professional club since 2008 but has since been plying his trade in state-level football in Australia.
Victory unveil bright new strip
Thursday, 16 June 2011
by Bren O’Brien, Sportal
Adrian Leijer Melbourne Victory’s have signed a five-year deal with adidas which will see a dramatic alteration to the club’s playing kit for the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
The deal puts Victory in the same stable as club’s such as Real Madrid, English Premier League giants Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as AC Milan of Italy and German club Bayern Munich.
The club has made major changes, with the away kit to feature fluorescent yellow with a blue V.
The home kit is similar to that of previous seasons, but with a larger white V as well as while panels down the sides on a blue background. In keeping with the motif of supplier adidas, there will be three stripes down the shoulder.
The blue shorts of the past have been dumped in favour of white shorts, while the players will wear blue socks for home games.
The away strip is the most radical the club has worn in their seven seasons, with the all white with a blue V dumped in favour of a bold yellow. The blue V remains, while in keeping with the overall design of the home strip, there are blue panels down the side and blue stripes down the shoulder.
The club will wear blue shorts with a fluorescent yellow trim as well as fluorescent yellow socks.
Melbourne Victory managing director, Richard Wilson said the finished product was the result of plenty of hard work behind the scenes.
“We started working on the new design almost 12 months ago, so to see it all come together with these amazing kits is fantastic.”
“Both the home, and the away strips, are striking and we’re certain our fans will absolutely love them.”
“adidas is a global brand leader with proven technical experience in football, so we are extremely excited about what the future holds and look forward to a long and successful partnership.” he added.
