Adelaide United is delighted to announce the signing of forward, Sergio van Dijk, for the Club’s upcoming AFC Champions League (ACL) play-off on Tuesday, 9 February 2016.
Van Dijk, who has been training with the Reds since arriving in Adelaide around three weeks ago, agreed to re-join the Club, after departing in 2012, and qualifies as United’s “Asian import” for the competition.
Speaking on re-joining the Club, van Dijk said he was excited to be returning to play for the Reds and is looking forward to linking up with former teammates, but also his new ones.
“It feels great to be back with Adelaide United, I’m happy that I can play here in South Australia again and I hope I can add something extra to the team and be successful in Asia,” van Dijk said.
“The style of football that we play has definitely changed since I was here last, but I know I can suit it. I believe the more attacking diversity that we have, the more dangerous we can be in the competition and to our opponents.
“From previous experiences in the Champions League, I’ve seen the Australian football way has been successful and definitely more physical than some of the Asian teams, which has been effective.
“Even after I left the Club a few years ago, people still supported me and followed me and I hope I can help the team and the history of this great club.
“In the play-off, though, with our fans behind us, we definitely have a big chance in going through to the group stage and I’m very confident we can progress over whichever team we will face.”
In the two seasons he was with Adelaide, van Dijk appeared 55 times for the Reds, scoring 25 goals, and was the Hyundai A-League’s leading goal scorer in the 2010/11 season with 16 goals.
The Reds’ Head Coach, Guillermo Amor, said he was thrilled to have added van Dijk to his squad and is excited to utilise him in United’s upcoming ACL play-off against Shandong Luneng Taishan.
“We are so happy to have Sergio join our team for the Asian Champions League,” Amor said.
“When Sergio was playing for the Club before, he was a very good player and he has shown his abilities while training with us in the last few weeks.
“He is a player who is big and strong, he is good in the air, but he can strike the ball very well.
“We are excited to have him in our squad and we think he will be a perfect fit for us.”
Adelaide United will face Shandong Luneng Taishan in the AFC Champions League Play-Off on Tuesday, 9 February at Hindmarsh Stadium. Kick off is at 7.30pm ACDT.
