The Adelaide United Football Club is delighted to announce that former Reds as well as Shanghai Shenxin and Melbourne Heart defender Michael Marrone has today signed for the Reds for the 2013/14 and the 2014/15 Hyundai A-League seasons.
The Adelaide United Football Club is delighted to announce that former Reds as well as Shanghai Shenxin and Melbourne Heart defender Michael Marrone has today signed for the Reds for the 2013/14 and the 2014/15 Hyundai A-League seasons.
After releasing midfielder Steven Lustica on the same day, the Reds Football Director, Michael Petrillo says the club is excited with the opportunity to return another Adelaide lad back to his hometown club.
“Michael only just became available after securing a release from his Chinese club and with the release today of Lustica we were very keen to add some more depth to our squad. Josep (Gombau) was very keen on signing Michael and Michael also was very enthusiastic about re-joining us so really in the end the negotiations concluded very smoothly and quickly” Petrillo said.
Marrone played 26 matches for his hometown club before joining the Melbourne Heart where he went on to play a further 70 A-League matches. In January 2013 he joined Chinese Super League Club Shanghai Shenxin until terminating his contract last week.
He has been training with the Reds for the past four weeks, impressing coach Josep Gombau before penning a deal with the club this afternoon.
“Marrone I feel can be a very good player for us. He is an experienced player who has a good record in the A-League and also in China. He is very quick, strong, is good in his defensive actions and is at a good age. Also very important is that he is from Adelaide and we want to bring as many players from South Australia to play with us in the future”, Gombau said.
“He is also a player who can play in different positions who can bring us solutions tactically and adds a lot of value to the team for this reason. I am very happy with his signing and he will give us more depth for the rest of the season and also for next season”.
Marrone, who has just turned 27 years of age was one of the most consistent players in the Hyundai A-League over the three seasons he played for the Reds and Melbourne Heart, and was rewarded for his outstanding form with a Socceroo call-up, scoring in his debut game in a 9-0 rout against Guam in the East Asian Cup in Hong Kong on December 14, 2012.
Marrone said he was happy to be back in Adelaide for several reasons.
“I-ve played here before and I-m familiar with the boys. I-m happy to be back in Adelaide for a lot of reasons both on and off the field. I-ve been a way for a number of years now so it-s good to be back. I enjoy playing a possession-based game, it suits me. I like the style of play that Josep has brought to the club and hopefully I can help the club in the push for a finals place and beyond”
Adelaide born Marrone played his junior football for the Para Hills Knights soccer club before joining the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. After plying his trade in the Victorian Super League he was drafted into the Adelaide United National Youth League team before making his A-League debut for Adelaide United against the Central Coast Mariners on the 25th January, 2009.
Marrone will be available for the Reds next match against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday if his international transfer clearance is received in time.
