Entries Tagged 'Kaz Patafta' ↓

We’re four rounds into the A-League, and Kaz Patafta is yet to appear for his new club, the Newcastle Jets. All this after the youngster left Melbourne in search of regular game time.

So has Gary van Egmond’s decision to keep Patafta out of the squad vindicated Ernie Merrick’s decisions regarding Patafta last year?

My apologies for the lack of posting lately. It is off-season though.

Here’s some news items you may have missed during the week:

• Kaz Patafta: Released by Benfica, under-utilised by the Melbourne Victory, young Kaz runs to the wide open arms of Gary Van Egmond.
• Mark Byrnes: The former Victory player has signed a short-term deal with Apia Leichardt in the NSW Premier League. He’s hoping to make his way back into the A-League.
• A-League expansion: There are plenty of people jostling for a piece of the pie, with no less than three Melbourne teams hoping to become the second Melbourne club. Meanwhile, billionaire Clive Palmer has thwarted the Gold Coast Galaxy franchise, wooing the FFA with his own – more lucrative – club, Gold Coast United, which he hopes will become the new Bling FC.
• Carlos Hernández: The injury he picked up against Juventus has forced him to forego a spot in the Costa Rican World Cup qualifying squad.

For all the latest news, you can follow two other feeds I’m updating simultaneously throughout the week. If you’re on Twitter, follow my profile. Otherwise, this page is updating regularly and has an RSS feed.

The Newcastle Jets have turned their eyes to Melbourne in search of new players to add to their title-defending squad.

Joe Keenan is on a three-day trial with the Newcastle Jets, according to The Herald:

The 25-year-old has a season to run on a two-year deal in the Victorian capital, but coach Ernie Merrick has opened the way for him to move on.

Keenan’s departure will pave the way for Melbourne to sign another foreign player, likely to be Costa Rican defender José Luis López.

Antun Kovacic is also on trial with the Jets. Some Victory fans may remember the Richmond defender for his brief addition to the squad in season 1 as an injury replacement.

Newcastle have also been touted as a possible destination for Kaz Patafta, who has severed ties with Benfica FC.

And just to round things off, another former Victory player has been talking with Jets coach Gary Van Egmond. Ljubo Milicevic, it appears, has not been able to find a new club since he parted ways with the Victory in February.

Hey Gary, you want to check out Leandro Love as well?

One of the key questions hanging over this Sunday’s clash with the Newcastle Jets is whether Kaz Patafta will get another start.

When he first signed with the Melbourne Victory, he was hailed as the “next Harry Kewell” by one reader. But before last Saturday, Patafta had only 200 minutes of in-season game time to prove himself.

Kaz’s main competition for the attacking midfield role was, of course, Carlos Hernández. Despite many early complaints about the Costa Rican, Patafta has never been able to displace Hernández from the starting line-up. And with Leigh Broxham, Grant Brebner and Kevin Muscat absorbing the rest of the midfield spots for the majority of the season, there was simply no room for Kaz in Ernie Merrick’s calculations.

Until Saturday. A few things were key to bringing about Kaz’s first start of the season: Kevin Muscat’s shift into a central defensive capacity; Danny Allsopp’s injury; and Merrick’s overdue decision to bench Grant Brebner. It all paved the way for Patafta to start alongside Hernández, in a formation that was probably Melbourne’s best of the season. Continue reading →

News on MelbourneVictory.com.au suggests that Archie Thompson won’t be ready for the game against Perth in Darwin tomorrow night. Apparently, his sojourn with the Socceroos camp has left the Melbourne Victory’s marquee man worse off than we’d hoped.

Kaz Patafta will be stepping  into his place, partnering Danny Allsopp up the front. It’s a game Melbourne has to win (and preferably with a few goals) if it wants to have a crack at winning the Pre-Season Cup.

Then again, that doesn’t seem to be a huge priority. Adrian Caceres made it clear that the focus lies elsewhere:

We’re going to focus on the first game of the season because that is where it counts.

A-League News

By the way, for those of you after live coverage of the match against Perth, it’s not looking good. The Melbourne Victory site has said the game won’t be covered there. If anyone has tips on how to keep track of the game, please leave a comment.

He’s just 18, but Kaz Patafta’s credentials read like someone at least… 1 1/2 years older.

In 2004, he received a scholarship to study with the Australian Institute of Sport; in 2005, he led the Joeys during the World Championships for under-17s; in 2006, he joined Benfica’s B team, trained with the Socceroos before the World Cup, and eventually played his first game for Benfica’s 1st team in August; and now, he’s joined the Melbourne Victory on a 1-year loan.

Continue reading →

Ernie Merrick talked to the press last week about how the Patafta-signing came about in a rather, well, unorthodox fashion. It all began at Sydney FC’s match against the Urawa Red Diamonds in March:

“I went and got my ticket and sat down at the game, and I sat next to this very attractive young girl and her parents,” Merrick told AAP.

“We got chatting and this young girl – it turns out she’s Kaz’s girlfriend and now his agent.

“We started talking about Kaz and how he was looking for a change and a loan for a year.

“His club (Benfica) wanted to loan him to another Portuguese club but she said he’d much prefer to come to Australia and Melbourne Victory was a good team.

“That’s where it went from.”

Daily Telegraph

Merrick, you sly coach! With two players still left to sign before the Victory squad is a complete 21, whose girlfriend/agent will Ernie be talking to next? I hear Aloisi isn’t sold on Sydney yet…

It’s just been confirmed on SEN Radio that Kaz Patafta will be coming to Melbourne Victory on a 1 year loan deal from Benfica. This brings the total number of under-20 players on the roster to 4, one more than required by the A-League.

This year’s squad is becoming stronger by the day.

Rumours are doing the rounds that promising Olyroo Kaz Patafta may be making his way to Melbourne, on a one-year loan deal from Portuguese giant Benfica. Source of this rumour is Record, a Lisbon sports daily. Specifically this article, which loosely translated claims that “midfielder Kaz Patafta, one of the promising players of the youth squad will be loaned to Melbourne, Australia for a fee of 50,000 euros.”

It is important to note that, similarly to the Carlos Hernandez rumours from last week, nothing has been confirmed by the Melbourne Victory camp. Unfortunately it also seems to be becoming a habit for the Melbourne Victory to rely on overseas press to break these stories.

18 year-old Patafta has been on the Benfica squad since January last year, after leading the “Joeys” during the 2005 World Championships in Peru. He has played regularly in their youth team and appeared a few times in Benfica’s 1st team, all in friendly matches. It is certainly conceivable, considering he isn’t a 1st team player, that Benfica would want to loan him to another club. As much was suggested in a recent interview with him on the SBS’s The World Game;

<narrator> “And what might happen is a move to another European club, where the prospect of regular 1st team opportunities seem more likely”

<Patafta> “It’s really hard to tell, you never know. Sometimes when you expect one thing, the other thing happens. I think the main thing for me at the moment is I’m still young and it’s just all about improving my football and where I get my opportunities to play at a senior level and keep improving.”

Here’s hoping he gets the chance to improve his football at the Victory, where he undoubtedly will become an important part of a growingly impressive squad.

June 19 update: The Age has confirmed this morning that Melbourne Victory is in negotiations with Patafta and is aiming to sign him in the next 48 hours. Source: Victory aiming to sign junior star

June  19 update 2: Patafta has himself now confirmed he is considering a deal to play at Melbourne Victory. Source: Patafta in line for Victory