Ben Halloran’s capture becomes Adelaide United’s sixth signing during the offseason after penning a two-year deal.
The Socceroo, who has been capped on six occasions by his country, returns to Australia after five years playing abroad in Germany and Japan.
Halloran’s acquisition provides another attacking option for Head Coach, Marco Kurz, who can be deployed in several advanced positions – predominantly as a winger.
Born in Cairns in 1992, Halloran began his professional career at former Hyundai A-League side Gold Coast United as an 18-year-old.
However, it was not until the 2011/12 season where the forward would experience a breakout campaign. He scored four league goals in 21 matches and moved to Brisbane Roar at the end of the campaign.
At the Roar, his progression continued and found the back of the net four times in 28 matches, including bagging the winning goal in a 1-0 win over the Reds at Coopers Stadium in March 2013.
Ahead of the 2013/14 campaign, Halloran left the Hyundai A-League to secure a dream move to Europe. He signed with 2. Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf for a transfer fee reportedly worth in the region of $400,000.
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He made his debut in Round 10 against Greuther Fürth and finished the season strongly after finding his feet in a new country.
Halloran scored a goal in four consecutive matches, while bagging five in his last six games.
It was that prolific goal-scoring form which saw the winger named in Ange Postecoglou’s preliminary 30-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
And following an injury to Robbie Kruse in the lead up to the globe’s biggest sporting event, Halloran was included in the final 23-man team, impressing in warm-up matches against South Africa and Croatia.
He would go on to feature in all three of the Socceroos’ World Cup group matches, coming on as a substitute against Chile, the Netherlands and Spain.
Halloran spent the 2014/15 season with Düsseldorf, before bringing an end to a two-year spell with the North-Rhine Westphalia outfit, which yield eight goals and five assists in 37 games.
Nevertheless, the then 23-year-old remained in the German second division, joining 1. FC Heidenheim. Halloran netted a total of six goals in 56 appearances during his two-and-a-half-year stay.
In January 2018, Halloran embarked on a new challenge and agreed a deal with newly-promoted J1 League club V-Varen Nagasaki.
But the stint was fleeting with the 26-year-old moving to Adelaide seven months later.
Adelaide United face Lions FC in the Round of 16 of the FFA Cup 2018 on Wednesday, 29 August at Perry Park. Kick-off is at 7.00 PM ACST.
