Football Season Guide

Canberra Croatia FC

In


Nikola Daniel Jadric (mid), transfer from FC Gamlitz. Marko Domagoj Jadric (mid), transfer from Micheldorf. Maxx Green (att), transfer from Pascoe Vale SC.

Out


Thomas James (att), transfer to Wolves FC. Abdullah Khaled (def), transfer to Petone. Francisco Greco (mid), transfer to Fulham United. Stephen Domenici (mid), transfer to Canberra OFC. Daniel Barac (att), transfer to Monaro Panthers. Michael Piccolo (mid), transfer to Monaro Panthers. Parris Bangweni (def), transfer to Macarthur Rams. Atiya Waraga (att), transfer to Macarthur Rams

Won the NPL Capital at a canter last season, averaging scoring almost four goals per game. Lost their way at the end of the campaign but had already done enough to win it so it wasn't unheard of. Their task was made easier by their premature exit from the Australian Cup. The biggest cause for concern that they have this season is that they rely massively on their attack to get them through games. Defensively speaking, they're going to be one of the weakest teams in the Australian Championship because of how readily they commit men forward, and how much harder they try to score than to keep a clean sheet. The above approach works well against teams they know and play against regularly because they're feared for playing in this manner. Whilst the likes of Daniel Subasic remains there, they're going to be feared. However, in the one-off match against MetroStars (another participant in the Australian Championship) they were hammered 4-0 at home, and got everything wrong from a decision-making perspective as they had no "Plan B" to fall back on. In other words, this is a one-dimensional team. They're guaranteed to entertain, and the neutrals will love watching them, but they're ill-equipped to handle tough tactical affairs, and they're going to find plenty of those in this competition. That may prove to be the stumbling block that derails them. They've added some good depth pre-season but again, it's mostly in midfield/attack they've added personnel - they're not interested in solving their defensive worries. Then again, they did need to bring someone in up front following the departure of their main striker Thomas James - he scored a lot of goals last season. They'll be an interesting team to keep an eye on. They're in a favourable group, both terms of geography and quality/standing. It's debatable whether their lack of tactical options will hinder them or not.

Target


Should be looking to qualify for the next round.