Amongst the hype which has surrounded the club’s Hyundai A-League season opener against Grand Final foes Perth Glory this Sunday, Brisbane Roar midfielder Erik Paartalu has said he’s looking forward to letting the football do the talking
Amongst the hype which has surrounded the club-s Hyundai A-League season opener against Grand Final foes Perth Glory this Sunday, Brisbane Roar midfielder Erik Paartalu has said he-s looking forward to letting the football do the talking.
It-s been almost six months since the historic Championship decider that sealed the Roar-s second straight title but the time has finally arrived for the Brisbane players to embark on their new challenge, beginning in Western Australia this weekend.
“The boys are buzzing to go,” Paartalu said.
“We-ve had mostly afternoon sessions this week to try and get us ready for the 2pm kick-off in Perth and it-s the business end.
“We need to forget about the talk, go onto the pitch and do our best”.
Brisbane endured a mixed bag of results in their pre-season campaign with solid score lines against all local opposition but losing to Newcastle Jets, Adelaide United and Central Coast Mariners.
Even with an impressive 5-1 win against Sydney FC in Mackay, Paartalu said the team-s sole focus was on the Hyundai A-League season ahead and banking on the hard work done on the training paddock.
“We-re all eager to get back on the pitch and prove why we are the Champions,” he said.
“We can play all the pre-season games and all the A-League pre-season games but the first 90 minutes is always the most important game and we need to get off on the right foot.”
High profile, off-season signings from other clubs have arguably stolen the spotlight from the defending Hyundai A-League Champions in the lead-up to season eight but Paartalu said he didn-t mind.
“The Mariners won the premiership last year and people probably write them off even more [than they do us],” he said.
“They-ve been a team that has gone under the radar every single year and they produce the goods every single year.
“I think the Roar are very similar – Melbourne and Sydney are bigger places and they probably get a bit more attention but that suits us just fine.
“We-re working away here quietly, we haven-t really signed any stars but we have a star team.”
Brisbane Roar-s highly-anticipated Grand Final re-match against Perth Glory at Patersons Stadium is this Sunday, 7 October 2012, kicking off at 2pm local time (4pm Queensland time).
The match will be live and exclusive on Fox Sports and for those without Foxtel, find all the important match updates at Twitter.com/BrisbaneRoar
