“While I don’t watch a lot of A-League games I always watch the Phoenix and I sense things are happening there and I want to be a part of it.” – Kosta Barbarouses
So it is official, the A-League’s worst kept transfer secret is well and truly out now: Kosta Barbarouses is coming home to Wellington and the club that gave him his start in the A-League in season 2016-17.
Phoenix fans already know well what the classy All White brings to the table from his previous matches at Westpac in a yellow and black shirt – plenty of pace. However, since his move to the Victory, Barbarouses has improved all other aspects of his game. These days, his finishing is more precise and his touch more controlled. Nix manager Ernie Merrick was quick to point out his latest acquisition’s talents.
“Kosta is fast, good technically, terrific in one-on-one dribbling and scores and sets up goals,” Merrick said.
Few thought that Barbarouses would return after enduring a frustrating three years with the Nix, in which he only played 21 games. However, to the delight of the home fans, he has punched his return ticket, with a homecoming to the wind and the rain of Wellington proving an opportunity the family man could not pass up. As Victory coach Kevin Muscat surmised: “We understand the opportunity to move back home to be close to his family was a strong factor in his decision.”
The fact that he is coming back to where it all began, this time as a marquee player, shows how much he and the Phoenix have developed as a club. It is testament to the franchise and its owners that it has a licence and the Wellingtonian back for a 10th A-League season as a club.
Aside from the many new fans Barbarouses made in Melbourne, Barbarouses already has plenty of admiring fans this side of the ditch ready to welcome him home. NZ fans have seen him excel with Wellington Olympics at youth level, develop quickly into a first team player, thrust into the Phoenix spotlight and finally thrive on the international stage with the All Whites after stellar performances with the Roar and the Victory.
His re-signing is a massive coup for the Phoenix, and he should have the pull power as a quality player, Kiwi and local hero to get more supporters through the gates, and more fans glued to television screens at home. As a delighted Merrick reinforced to the press when the news was announced: “He has everything you look for in a top-class striker including tremendous energy and enthusiasm.”
The return of ‘Barba’ can only be a good thing for the Nix, who also have Roy Krishna to welcome back into the squad for the beginning of next season. When you factor in the likes of a fully fit Blake Powell, Hamish Watson and ever-present Michael McGlinchey, the Nix squad looks a whole lot stronger with any one of these options capable of spearheading the attack, working on the wing and rotating through the front three positions, as Merrick likes them to do.
In between his two A-League stints, he had to navigate difficult periods with Russian club Alania Vladikavkaz and Greek side Panathinaikos. When asked about the move, Barbarouses said: “I’ve experienced a lot football-wise over the last few years and am looking forward to using what I have learnt to help the Phoenix become successful.”
The now 26-year-old’s experiences in the football world have been vast in the six years between his free transfer to the Brisbane Roar from his hometown club in 2010. As he is still relatively young, Barbarouses is yet to fully reach his peak, and he made it clear that he wanted to come home and be a part of Merrick’s plans with the Nix for season 2016-17.
“Having just turned 26 I think it is a good age to be coming back with the experiences I have had overseas and genuinely believe we can do something special,” he said.
Now he returns home with a yearning desire to be a part of a Phoenix side that could make a sustained championship push and win the league for the first time in 2016-17. His transition from a 20-year-old boy still finding his feet to a championship winner with the Victory shows how he has become a man. And he will draw on all of his experience and will to win in order to get his Kiwi team in the running for a chance to win the A-League’s greatest prize.
Welcome back, Barba!
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