Adelaide United is expected to announce former Red Sergio van Dijk will return to the club for its upcoming AFC Asian Champions League campaign.
Van Dijk, 33, joined the side in early 2010 but was granted release from Adelaide in January 2013 after a dispute with then boss John Kosmina, which saw the striker amass just three matches during the 2012-13 A-League season.
Van Dijk, who was awarded the A-League’s Golden Boot after scoring an impressive 16 goals in the 2010-11 campaign, will reportedly land in Adelaide in the next 48 hours, according to the Advertiser.
The ex-Brisbane Roar striker is eligible to feature in the Champions League for the Reds as an Asian player due to holding an Indonesian passport, enabling him to play under the Asian Football Confederation’s 3+1 rule introduced for the 2009 edition.
The AFC stipulates that only three foreigners from outside the Asian confederation can be included while the other must come from Asia.
United’s coaching staff have a huge decision to make before its Champions League play-off clash on 9 February given it has to drop two of its five incumbent foreigners.
It is predicted Marcelo Carrusca, Sergio Cirio and Isaias – all regular starters under Guillermo Amor – will be the three named in the club’s AFC squad barring injury.
That indicates Pablo Sanchez and Iacopo La Rocca will be the unfortunate duo to miss out in participating in Asia’s premier club competition.
Van Dijk, who has had stints in Indonesia, Iran and most recently Thailand, is unable to play in the A-League unless the Reds decide to part company with one of their imports.
The Dutch-born forward netted 29 goals across all competitions for the South Australian outfit.
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