United Media sat down with former Red and Johnny Warren Medallist Marcos Flores ahead of Sunday’s Original Rivalry to reflect on his memories of the fixture, his unique experience of playing for both Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory, and the connection he still shares with the Reds.
Flores also discusses his return to Coopers Stadium for the Adelaide United Legends v Australian Defence Force curtain raiser and sends a message to supporters ahead of a huge day of football.
The former Johnny Warren Medallist has worn both sides of the fixture, experiencing Adelaide United against Melbourne Victory in red and blue.
But as he prepares to pull on the Reds shirt again in Sunday’s Adelaide United Legends v Australian Defence Force curtain raiser, Flores is clear where his deepest connection remains.
“Nothing compares with what I feel with the fans at Adelaide United,” Flores said.
The Argentine arrived in Adelaide at the end of 2009 and made his A-League debut against Brisbane Roar in February 2010 before featuring throughout United’s AFC Champions League campaign that year.
What followed was one of the most memorable individual seasons in the Club’s history.
Flores captivated Reds supporters throughout 2010/11 with his creativity and personality, eventually being crowned the Johnny Warren Medallist as the A-League’s best player.
He finished his time at Adelaide with 31 A-League appearances and nine goals, and 38 competitive appearances across domestic and Asian football.
Among those nine goals was one Flores still remembers vividly.
United travelled to AAMI Park on 9 January 2011 having lost its previous 10 meetings with Melbourne Victory.
Just 12 minutes in, Flores changed the mood.
The number 10 opened the scoring with a half-volley before Sergio van Dijk struck twice and Fabian Barbiero added another in a famous 4-1 victory.
“It was one of the best memories,” Flores said.
“We walked into AAMI Park away and Cassio was explaining to me that this blue team was complicated.
“Basically, we beat them 4-1 with goals from van Dijk, Fabian and myself.
“It was a good game and a good memory.”
The result snapped a 10-match losing streak against Victory and remains one of the most celebrated away performances in Original Rivalry history.
Flores faced Victory three times in Adelaide colours during the 2010/11 season — a 2-1 defeat at Etihad Stadium, the famous 4-1 win at AAMI Park and a 2-1 victory at Adelaide Oval.
After leaving Adelaide for Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye, Flores returned to Australia in 2012 with Melbourne Victory under Ange Postecoglou.
That gave him three more opportunities to experience the fixture from the opposite side: a 2-1 Victory win in Melbourne, followed by 4-2 and 1-0 defeats at Hindmarsh Stadium.
For Flores, those experiences only reinforced why the rivalry matters.
“It is important because it gets closer to the passion where football belongs,” he said.
“It’s something more, something bigger than three points.
“I experienced Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets. I experienced Melbourne Victory and Sydney. There are so many other rivalries, but Adelaide and Melbourne is a special one.”
Despite playing for Victory, Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets later in his A-League career, Adelaide remains the place Flores speaks about with unmistakable affection.
Asked what Adelaide United means to him, his answer was simple.
“A place where I was happy,” Flores said.
“I was very happy. It was short, not as much as I wanted it to be, but it was meant to be like that. I came to this space of time and location and it just clicked.
“I was playing with Mathew Leckie, Cassio, Eugene Galekovic, Travis Dodd – five or six players from that team ended up in the Team of the Decade.
“I just got here, put a red jersey on and said, ‘Okay, just go and play.’
“It was very, very special for me.”
Adelaide has remained an important part of Flores’ life well beyond his professional career.
He has since established Adelaide Atletico, a football program which began with only a handful of players and has grown into a significant part of the local football community.
But on Sunday, his focus returns to the Club where Australian football first fell in love with him.
Flores will line up alongside a host of former Reds in the annual Adelaide United Legends v Australian Defence Force match at Coopers Stadium.
The 60-minute curtain raiser kicks off at 2:00pm, with Flores joining the likes of Isaías, Lucas Pantelis, Michael Marrone, Javi López, Iain Fyfe, Fabian Barbiero and Jordan Elsey in the Legends squad.
For Flores, the fixture carries significance far beyond football.
“It is something beyond football,” he said.
“For me, it’s a privilege.
“Every time November comes, I get emotional to be back wearing the red Adelaide United top, but also for a bigger meaning.”
The Legends match forms part of the Club’s Remembrance Round, honouring those who have served and sacrificed, before attention turns to another chapter of the Original Rivalry when Adelaide United faces Melbourne Victory at 4:30pm.
And Flores has one request for Reds supporters.
“Come with faith, with a lot of support for the day, and support the team more than ever.”
More than 15 years after that famous goal at AAMI Park, Flores will once again wear red on an Original Rivalry matchday.
For one of Adelaide United’s most loved former players, the years have passed. The connection has not.
