New Adelaide United boss, Gertjan Verbeek, says it was an easy decision to move to the city of churches, and revealed his first impressions of the city and Club.
In his first press conference since signing a two-year contract with the Reds, Verbeek said he has been impressed with what he has seen so far in his short time in Adelaide.
Despite it being the middle of winter, Verbeek suggested that the weather was still much nicer than back in his homeland of the Netherlands.
“Everybody is freezing cold they said but this is beautiful weather in Holland,” he jokingly remarked.
“So the impressions are good and the invitation has been very well from Adelaide and I’ve been taken around to see the training pitches and the stadium.
“I’ve also met the members of the staff that are already here, and it’s exciting to speak with the guys and see what the facilities are and I’m impressed.”
So… maybe #AussieGert is on the table? 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZyUHvZrihL
— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) June 26, 2019
It is the first time the 56-year-old has coached outside of Europe and Verbeek said travelling across the globe to Australia was a no brainer after a previous visit down under a few years ago.
The Dutchman said he was captivated by the sports culture in Australia and when the opportunity arose to coach Adelaide United, he did not think twice about making the long journey over.
“Five or six years ago I was in Australia with the former director of AZ Alkmaar and we made a trip to Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney to see the sports science and how clubs became leaders in sports science,” he explained.
“We saw a lot of Australian football, we saw cricket and we talked to the teams, the players and the trainers and we got a good impression.
“I was also impressed with the mentality and the way they eat sport, they live it, the sport mentality.
“And then I said when I get a chance to work here I’ll do it and five or six years later I get a call from Adelaide and they were interested so it was a good match.”
Verbeek will take charge of his first training session on Friday when pre-season officially gets underway.
