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Heart's desire for Skoko

29 October 2009 | 11:36 - SBS EXCLUSIVE

Target... Skoko in action for Hajduk in the UEFA Cup last year (Getty Images)

Ex-Socceroos midfielder Josip Skoko has revealed he has held initial discussions with Melbourne Heart and that the prospect of joining the A-League expansion club in its inaugural season is "exciting and interesting".


Capped 51 times by his country, the elegant playmaker is currently in his second spell with Hajduk Split but will return home at the end of the season and is set to meet Heart’s Dutch coach John van’t Schip within the next few weeks as he traverses Europe seeking to pick up players for the club’s entry into the A-League in 2010.

Heart’s football operations manager John Didulica has already sounded out the Geelong-raised 33-year-old and while Skoko’s appetite for European football has diminished after a 14-year odyssey which has taken him to Hajduk twice, Genk, Genclerberligi and Wigan, he is happy to consider extending his career back where it all began in Victoria.

“The hunger isn’t there anymore for me in Croatia and this will be my last season but maybe what I need is a challenge and the Heart could be it," he told The World Game.

“I’ll be happy to meet with John van’t Schip. I’ve already had a few discussions with John Didulica and a big part of me would like to put something back into the Australian game.

“It would be good to do my bit to help the A-League flourish. My body is feeling good. I’ve avoided major injuries and the Heart could be a very interesting and exciting project for me. Melbourne is one of the world’s best sporting cities and I have no doubt it can support two A-League teams.

"A lot will depend on whether my hunger to continue playing is still there next year. That’s the big question and one I don’t yet know the answer to."

With the all-but-retired Mark Viduka also on the Heart’s shipping list, Skoko mused on what the pair might to do for ticket sales should the ex-Socceroos skipper choose to turn the pilot light back on his career in the city where it started for him with the Melbourne Knights.

“I think that might get a few people through the gates," he added. "I caught up with Mark two days ago and he’s relaxed and in very good spirits.

“He’ll be back in Australia soon and he’s happy with the way his career has gone."

Viduka rejected the chance to join Portsmouth, Hull and Fulham after leaving relegated Newcastle last season, but Skoko believes the enigmatic striker has left the door open for a possible return to football.

“Who knows, maybe in a few months he’ll get himself back into shape and want to play again,” he added.

“A lot will depend on how the Heart structure themselves and who they get in player wise and of course where Mark’s mind is at. I’d say for him playing again is probably a long shot, but it’s possible.

“There’s no doubt all it would take is four or five weeks pre-season training and he’d be ready to play against at any level. That wouldn’t be a major problem for him."

“Then again you get the feeling with Mark that if he doesn’t want to play in the Premiership, then what chance a lower league than that?

“I feel he will spend some time with his family in Melbourne. Like me, he hasn’t lived in Australia for a long time and he’ll want to see how he settles back into the Australian lifestyle. Everything with him is up in the air in that regard.”

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