Soccer: Midfielder walks out from Kingz

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Football Kingz midfielder George Goutzioulis has walked away from the last two matches of this season's National Soccer League.

Goutzioulis met Kingz chief executive Chris Turner yesterday and asked to be allowed to return to Australia for personal reasons.

The early end follows a sometimes stormy season for the 24-year-old who is regarded as a transient among NSL clubs and players.

He was sent off in the fourth game of the season, the home match against league leaders Perth Glory, for a nasty two-footed tackle just 13 minutes after being promoted from the substitutes' bench. The Kingz lost that game, 7-2.

In a pre-season game against Northern Spirit in Sydney, Goutzioulis recieved the red card for a tackle from behind. He was dropped for the third game of the season by coach Mike Petersen for "disciplinary reasons."

Goutzioulis, brought to the Kingz by Petersen, was described by some in Australia as a "firebrand."

His future at the club came under scrutiny yesterday after an incident on last week's away trip to Newcastle where Goutzioulis missed a curfew.

After the meeting with Turner it was agreed Goutzioulis could return to Melbourne.

Turner declined to divulge the contractual details of the agreement.

Entangled with his problems, Goutzioulis showed touches of brilliance, including a cracking 30m shot in the 3-2 loss to Northern Spirit at Ericsson Stadium in November. That effort is still a contender for goal of the season.

Despite his obvious talent - against Newcastle United he turned in a storming second-half effort as the Kingz sought to turn around a 1-0 deficit at halftime - Goutzioulis has often been at odds with his team-mates.