Soon the Olympic torch will be lit in London and whilst most are talking about the host nation’s team selection, people seem to forget that there is life for Australian Soccer after Viduka, Kewell and Schwarzer. Bernie Ibini-Isei has been stating a decent claim to make the first team as a striker, and why not? Is he the next Mark Viduka? We think he may well could be.
The youngster can play comfortably with his back to goal, managing to hold the ball up exceptionally well – he is calm on the ball and has a very deft touch, all qualities which have had European clubs all sitting up and taking notice.
He played only a handful of games for the Mariners last year, essentially because Arnold believed he was not strong enough and would get hacked into long-term injury.
Without going over all his strengths, there is definite quality here and soccer fans should watch Bernie closely.
Players who graduated for the Socceroos in 2005 have carved their names into folklore and some are still in demand (take Cahill for instance) so have look him in the A-League when you can as it may not come around again for a long time.
By Ross Fisher
