Rojas Ready for European Step?
The fans who flock to the banks of the Yarra river to see
him in action have even dubbed the diminutive forward as the ‘Kiwi-Messi’; high
praise indeed.
Australians being Australians may be going a bit ‘OTT’ with
this latest act of soccer hyperbole, but you can, kind of, see where they’re
coming from; he’s short, nimble, two-footed and has a ratio of better than one
goal every two games.
Somewhat ignorantly, and admittedly prior to seeing Rojas
play, I thought he probably came from Argentina too. In one sense I wasn’t far
off, he has Chilean descendents, but in the other sense I was a country
kilometre off as he’s from Hamilton, New Zealand.
That’s the same Hamilton which produces rugby players such
as Warren Gatland, or cricketers such as Daniel Vettori and Scott Styris.
The All Whites, as the New Zealand international side are
nicknamed, are not exactly blessed with superstars and were quick to spot a bit
of talent, duly awarding Rojas his first cap two years ago, and twelve more since.
He is eligible to play for Chile though as he has yet to
reach an official FIFA tournament, though chances of him displacing Barcelona
star Alexis Sanchez, a player in exactly the same mould, are between slim and
zero.
All is not lost for young Marco however. There have been
rumours circulating about his future, and most have predicted Europe as the end
destination.
Unfortunately for British fans, as exciting as Rojas is,
there is perhaps too much physicality for him in a league such as The
Championship, which is about his level.
Even if one of England’s second tier clubs did declare an
interest, it’s hard to see him swapping the adoration of 20,000 Melbournians, a
healthy pay packet and the sun for a Tuesday night at Turf Moor (sorry
Burnley).
The fact that a 35 year old Emile Heskey is considered
prolific in the A-League shows that the standard is somewhat lacking, however with
the ability Rojas has at his disposal emphasised by his goal from the weekend
in the following clip, don’t be surprised if a move to the more
technique-friendly leagues such as Serie A gathers pace.
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