Despite the A-League season finding itself on the back burner due to the Asian Cup break, the Corner Flag is celebrating the ten and five year anniversaries of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart/City respectively with a range of top ten/fives for each club.
In this list, we’ll take a look at the ones that got away for the Melbourne Victory, for one reason or another, as we explore the top 10 almost signings over the ten year history of the club.
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Number Ten: Brent McGrath
Former Club(s): Brondby, Adelaide United, Bentleigh Greens, Sisaket, Chonburi
Nationality: Australian
International Caps: 1* (0 goals)
Linked to club: January 2014
The promising Sydneysider spent his early playing days in the top flight of Denmark with Brondby, where he made 43 league appearances before being released at the end of the 2012-13 Danish Superliga season. He won a solitary cap for the Socceroos during his stint and returned home to trial at both Melbourne based A-League squads before eventually signing with Adelaide United on a short-term deal.
He returned to Victoria for the 2014 NPL season with Bentleigh Greens, where his impressive form earned him a move to Asia.
Number Nine: Vangelis Moras
Former Club(s): Larissa, Proodeftiki, AEK Athens, Bologna, Swansea City, Cesena, Hellas Verona
Nationality: Greek
International Caps: 19* (0)
Linked to club: May 2012
Seria A veteran and Greek international Vangelis Moras was strongly linked with a move to Melbourne Victory, to fill a central defensive void in one of the most porous defences in the league, which had shipped the second most goals in the season prior. The man mountain’s move south never materialised and Victory went on to sign future captain and cornerstone Mark Milligan on a permanent basis two months later.
Number Eight: Matthew Spiranovic
Former Club(s): FC Nürnberg, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al-Arabi, Western Sydney Wanderers
Nationality: Australian
International Caps: 22* (0)
Linked to club: April 2005
Then Joey and prodigiously talent centre-half Matthew Spiranovic spent time trialling with Melbourne Victory as foundation coach Ernie Merrick put together his squad for the inaugural A-League season. The Scotsman didn’t offer the youngster a senior contract, believing his decision to be in the best interest of the player’s long term future. Spiranovic pursued a career in Europe and forged an early name for himself with German outfit FC Nurnburg, before carving out a prestigious career that’s seen him become a key member of the Australian national team. The defender was again tentatively linked to the Navy Blues later on in his career – as his development stalled at Qatari based club Al-Arabi – but the move never eventuated.
Number Seven: Carlton Cole
Former Club(s): Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Aston Villa, West Ham
Nationality: English
International Caps: 7 (0)
Linked to club: August 2013
Never a strong rumour but the Carlton Cole to Melbourne Victory word did the rounds on Twitter and across its fair share of football forums. The robust forward, often maligned for his poor goal scoring record, was somewhat ironically a cult hero for West Ham, mainly for his unwavering loyalty. The Englishman still plies his trade at the Premier League club, approaching his 250th game for the Hammers.
Number Six: Steven Gerrard
Former Club(s): Liverpool
Nationality: English
International Caps: 114 (21)
Linked to club: January 2015
January 1st 2015: Steven Gerrard announces he’s going to leave Liverpool
January 7th 2015: Steven Gerrard announces he’s going to LA Galaxy as their designated player.
Now it’s quite an impressive feat that Steven Gerrard and Melbourne Victory managed to link paths in that narrow space of time, yet it happened. Between announcements, coach Kevin Muscat answered the question of whether he’d like to bring Gerrard to the Victory in obvious fashion. Somehow that equated to the club ‘pursuing’ the Three Lions midfielder. Laughable.