The Western Sydney Wanderers are fresh and ready to get stuck in for the 2021-22 A-League season as they look to put previous COVID-disrupted seasons behind them .
It ’ s hard to imagine that as they head
Raring to go : the Wanderers are fired up and ready for a big season .
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into their 10th season , the Wanderers have the task of avoiding missing the finals for the fifth consecutive season .
However , with the current squad on paper fuelled by a number of experienced and big name signings , the Wanderers sit in a good position heading into the season opener against their fiercest rivals , Sydney FC , on 20 November .
While a wealth of experience and talent has been lost to the Wanderers with the likes of Mitchell Duke , Nicolai Muller , Dylan McGowan , Patrick Ziegler , Bruce Kamau , Graham Dorrans and Jordan Mutch , among others all departing at season ’ s end ; replacements have been signed efficiently with players that have proved themselves in the A-League .
Wanderers defender , Tass Mourdoukoutas , speaks highly of some of his new teammates ,
“ We ’ ve brought in some real quality and experienced players and they ’ re going to help develop the younger ones as well .
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I look forward to playing alongside them more . A lot of the players have won things and have had good careers so far and are looking to win more .
“ We want to push hard and do well and these are the sort of calibre players we need to bring in to the club . They each bring different aspects – leadership , skill , general ability and professionalism into the team .”
Australian Internationals , Rhys Williams , Terry Antonis and Dimitri Petratos lead the recruitment drive . Ex- Premier League striker , Tomer Hemed , starred for the Wellington Phoenix last season and still has plenty of goals in him .
Ivorian defender , Adama Traore , adds depth and experience to the left back role while Johnny Koutroumbis and Ramy Najjarine add some extra quality . New signings to the A-League are goalkeeper , Tomas Mejias , and forward , Keijiro Ogawa , who will be keen to showcase their talent to the Wanderers fans .
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Mourdoukoutas admits the NSW lockdown was hard on the squad in the off-season ,
“ I think a lot of boys were a bit lost for a while , not being at training and what not so just to be back is huge . I ’ m privileged to play football as a job . We want to use it as motivation to push even harder and to realise how lucky we are to train out at Blacktown – an area that ’ s done it pretty tough as well as an LGA of concern .
“ t ’ s massive to be back for the whole group because they just know what people have sacrificed and what they ’ ve had to sacrifice in order to be back .
The Australian Under 23 ’ s star says the squad is excited for the Sydney Derby in Round 1 ,
“ It ’ s a huge deal . The group is raring to go . Everyone ’ s definitely ready and fired up for the big season ahead . It ’ s extra special in a derby I think , just more on the line for fans and players alike so it ’ ll be a big game I ’ m sure ,” Mourdoukoutas adds .
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