Soccer: New striker has ton of experience

Football fans will have the chance to see one of the best performers in the old Australian national league when the New Zealand equivalent kicks-off next month.

Pablo Cardozo, who played more than 300 NSL games scoring nearly 130 goals, has been snapped up by Waitakere United as one of their three guest players for the NZ Football Championship.

He will be joined at the West Auckland club by his younger brother Richie and another Australian, Shannon Cole.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Cardozo, who played in Auckland for Sydney Olympic against the Kingz. "Soccer options in Australia are pretty much shut now the Hyundai A-League has started.

"The State League is closed until January - and the standard is pretty average anyway - so I was happy to come over."

Playing his football in New Zealand is another step in Cardozo's footballing odyssey.

He was born in Argentina but has lived in Australia for 30 of his almost 33 years. He played his first NSL game for Olympic as a 17-year-old and has since laced his boots in Austria and Greece, and fitted in five appearances for Australia.

"I take it a day at a time and make the most of every day," said Cardozo. "I still love my football and it won't be any different here. The last two NSL seasons were so poor there was not much to play for."

Not surprisingly, Cardozo was a little miffed when, despite scoring more than 20 goals in his last NSL season, he was not approached by any A-League club.

"I don't have an agent and most of the clubs only deal with agents. That might have something to do with it. In the end it comes down to the individual clubs and managers."

But it was an approach to his brother through an agent which led to their decision to play in Auckland.

"I'm looking forward to playing in the same team as Richie. We have played very little together. We both like to attack but he is all left foot and prefers to play a little deeper."

Richie, 19, has played for Australia at age group level (under-16/17) including the under-17 world championship in Finland.

The Aussie trio will do some coaching here, something Cardozo is looking forward to.

"I have done a lot of coaching. I'm looking forward to seeing New Zealand kids. It is good to see raw talent.

"In Australia there is a tendency for coaches to embrace an athlete rather than a skilful footballer. I feel football in Australia has become bogged down. They need to look to continental Europe or South America to get some flair into their game."

Waitakere chairman Rex Dawkins said he was excited with the signings.

"We hope a player with Pablo's experience will help our young players like Kris Bright and Daniel Ellensohn, said Dawkins. "With the departure of Keryn Jordan [at Auckland City] and Allan Pearce [overseas] we needed cover up front."

Waitakere's first game of the second NZFC season is away to Hawkes Bay United on October 23.