At his first press conference upon his return to the Club, Isaías discussed his delight to be back, his new shirt number and hoped to be available for Adelaide United’s FFA Cup opener.
In his first stint with the Reds, the 34-year-old amassed 181 appearances and 10 goals between 2013 and 2019.
“I’m very happy to be back and here in Adelaide my family is happy and we’re really, really happy to be back,” said Isaías, who signed a three-year contract last month.
“My two children were born here in Adelaide and my wife is in love with the city and with the country and we treat Adelaide as our second home.”
The Spaniard was optimistic he could be available for United’s FFA Cup 2021 Round of 32 clash with Perth outfit Floreat Athena next Sunday.
However, he insisted that decision will be made by Head Coach Carl Veart and the rest of his staff.
“Hopefully I can be there with the team and help the team to get a good result over there,” he admitted.
“But obviously now I’m focussed on more getting my fitness right and hopefully I can join the team for the FFA Cup.
“.. It’s also about the coach if he wants to give me the chance to play with the team as soon as possible.
“Or if he prefers the progression to be more slowly just in case so we don’t have any problems.”
The midfield maestro revealed he will be wearing the iconic number 10 shirt, though explained he negotiated with Captain Stefan Mauk about switching numbers.
The four-time Aurelio Vidmar Medallist previously donned the number 8 shirt for six seasons, which is now worn by Mauk.
“I asked him if he’ll be kind to swap numbers but he’s fine,” he said.
“For him it’s also special and obviously he’s happy to keep the number.
“… Obviously (10) is a special number for anyone, but because I’m not a number 10 (attacking midfielder) for me it doesn’t mean that much.
“I was wanting to wear number 8 as well but no problem, I think number 10 is a very nice number and I’m happy for Stefan to keep the number 8.”
