Recruiting foreigners to play in the A-League can be hit or miss.
While clubs sell them to fans as swashbuckling, stylish players who have come to Australia to win titles, the reality is slightly different. For every Thomas Broich, Besart Berisha or Carlos Hernandez, there is a Claudinho, Tony Warner or Leandro Love. Where once foreigners were seen as saviours, they are now treated with suspicion by fans who have been let down by overseas flops before.
Facing an exodus after last season, Perth Glory decided to look overseas in the hope of replacing some of their departed talent. After a lengthy look around Europe, the club settled on Spanish attacker Diego Castro, Hungarian midfielder György Sándor and Dutch-Curacaoan striker Guyon Fernandez. 12 rounds into the season, Perth fans have been relieved to see two of their offseason acquisitons already stamp their mark on the team.
Castro arrived from Getafe and was marketed as a man who had “scored against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu earlier in the year”. High praise indeed, but the Spaniard took a while to find his feet at nib Stadium. Hampered by a calf injury, he started the season lacking fitness and was limited to producing only flashes of brilliance.
However, since working his way to full fitness, he has not looked back. Mostly operating on the wing, but afforded licence by Kenny Lowe to drift inside, Castro has started to provide the touch of class in the final-third Perth so desperately ended. Using his flair and experience to beat opponents, he is also capable of delivering dangerous balls to his fellow attackers.
It is no coincidence that Castro hitting his straps comes with the Glory’s best run of form this season (currently four games unbeaten). He came off the bench to snatch a winner at home to Melbourne Victory, before winning and converting a penalty in a man-of-the-match performance against league leaders Western Sydney Wanderers. Despite drifting out of the game at times against the Victory on the weekend, he improved as the game went on and scored another penalty, one which proved enough for Perth to win a point.
While Castro has been great in attack, Perth’s best midfielder so far this season is none other than Sándor. Like the Spaniard, Sándor endured an injury-hit start to life in Western Australia as an ankle injury kept him out of six straight games. In spite of this, the Hungarian’s class was evident early on and Perth looked a weaker side with him on the sidelines.
Technically strong, Sándor boasts a wide range of passing skill and is incredibly comfortable on the ball – almost too comfortable at times, as he has almost coughed up possession in dangerous areas a few times. Regardless, his calmness and ability to retain possession has already won him fans, as have his two first goals for the club.
His ability to dictate the tempo of the game has marked him as perhaps the most important cog in Perth’s midfield. Unfortunately, other teams have started to figure this out and have worked out the best way to stop the team’s momentum is to try and muzzle Sándor. If they can stop him from playing and limit his influence, it goes a long way to winning the game.
Unfortunately, it has not been a straight sets victory for Perth in the import game. While Castro and Sándor have proved their worth, Fernandez has not been so lucky. It was always going to be an incredibly tough job to replace Andy Keogh up front and unfortunately, Fernandez has not met expectations. To be fair, he has not had the same level of service Keogh had. However, he has not matched the Irishman’s work ethic or ability to link with the midfield and bring them into play.
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Like the other two signings, he has struggled with injury. So much in fact, he has not been sighted since the Round Three victory over Adelaide. A nagging hamstring injury has kept him on the sidelines for the past two months. Last week he was added to the long-term injury list and with Keogh returning, there is a chance Perth have seen the last of Fernandez.
However, given their mixed success in the past with foreign players, Perth fans can be mostly happy with their most recent signings. It is true Fernandez has been disappointing, yet Castro and Sándor have been two of Perth’s best performers this season. When the pair have been below-par or injured, the Glory have struggled. It is early days yet, but both have already shown they have what it takes to among the signings of the season.
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