Carl Veart spoke to the media before Adelaide United’s first training session of pre-season after joining the Reds’ coaching staff on Friday.
The former Reds striker returns to the Club having worked at the Football Federation of South Australia as NTC Head Coach for the past seven years, while also recently being an assistant with the Australia U-20 side.
Veart scored 24 goals in 79 matches with Adelaide and said it was great to return to a Club he holds closely to his heart.
“It’s exciting to come back to the Club,” Veart explained to reporters.
“The Club means a lot to me being part of that mark one when it first started and then the first year in the A-League, playing that first year with the team.”
Welcome back, Carl! 😍 #AUFC
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— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) June 28, 2019
One of his roles will be assisting new Head Coach, Gertjan Verbeek, with the unique football landscape in Australia.
“I suppose my expertise will be the Australian way,” he said.
“The Head Coach is from Holland so he’s new to the game in Australia and it is a little bit different the A-League with a lot of travel.
“So I can bring a little bit of experience in that regard.”
Veart, who holds an AFC Pro Licence, has previously worked with some of the younger players currently in the squad during his time at the FFSA, such as Louis D’Arrigo, Lachlan Brook, and Isaac Richards.
With his background as a youth development coach, he is looking forward to the challenge of helping the younger boys try and break into the senior side.
“The Club has got a very young squad here at the moment,” he said.
“So there’s a few boys in there that I’ve worked with previously, so l am looking forward to seeing what level they’re at now since I last worked with them and pushing them to get into the first team.”
The ex-Socceroo also said with a new boss at the helm it provides an opportunity for everyone to prove themselves again.
“When a new coach always comes in it sort of freshens up the group because they all have a clean slate,” he said.
“So they’ve all got to prove themselves to the new coach, so there’s going to be plenty of competition.
“I know Bruce Djite (Adelaide United’s Director of Football) has been talking about hopefully bring in some good overseas players to add to the squad so it’s going to be exciting times ahead for the football family in South Australia.”
Adelaide United face Melbourne Knights in the Round of 32 of the FFA Cup 2019 on Wednesday, 7 August at Knights Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACST. Live and Exclusive on Fox Sports.
