Victory signs Japan star
JAPANESE superstar Keisuke Honda (above) has penned a one-season contract with A-League club Melbourne Victory and is confident he can be a big contributor as the club look to defend their domestic crown and challenge for AFC Champions League honours. The 32-year-old retired from international football after the World Cup in Russia, bringing to a close a 97-cap career for Japan in which he proved a constant thorn in the side of the Socceroos.
JAPANESE superstar Keisuke Honda has declared himself ready to bring even more success to Melbourne Victory after signing a deal to become one of the A-League’s most exciting marquee players in recent years.
Honda has penned a oneseason contract and is confident he can be a big contributor as the Victory look to defend their domestic crown and challenge for AFC Champions League honours.
The 32-year-old retired from international football after the World Cup in Russia, bringing to a close a 97-cap career for Japan in which he proved a constant thorn in the side of the Socceroos.
But Honda is still hungry for more at club level and is reinvigorated by his “new challenge” in Australia, which he admitted came out of the blue for him. “I’m ready. I can’t wait,” Honda told Fox Sports.
“I have confidence, I will help the team as much as I can. I’m an ambitious person and I always work my best. “Let’s make it happen.” A versatile attacker who spent three-and-a-half years at Italian Serie A club Milan, Honda will become the new focal point of a retooled Victory attack. He is the highestprofile player to link up with Victory in their 13-year history.
Unlike some previous marquees to have come to Australia, Honda isn’t a spent force having only just turned 32 in June after wrapping up a productive stint in Mexico with Pachuca.
“He’s still got so much to offer in relation to football,” coach Kevin Muscat said.
“That excites me more than anything.”