There’s still plenty of work to come, but Aurelio Vidmar likes where City is sitting.
With six weeks still to go until our 2026/27 Isuzu UTE A-League opener, Tuesday’s behind-closed-doors friendly against Newcastle Jets provided another important step in a pre-season that is starting to build nicely.
City came away with a 2-1 win in blustery conditions at the City Football Academy Melbourne, ctrl:cyber Campus, with Max Caputo and Besian Kutleshi on the scoresheet as several senior players and new signings continued building their minutes.
For Vidmar, the result was useful, but the bigger picture remains the gradual build towards Round 1.
“It’s going well,” Vidmar said.
“All of the new boys that have come in have started to get a small block of training into them. They played 45 minutes most of them today, so we’re slowly building up their fitness and so far this pre-season, we’ve come out of it unscathed.”
Positive signs against the Jets
Tuesday’s friendly wasn’t without its challenges, with strong winds making it difficult for both sides to play with complete control.
Still, Vidmar felt the game offered exactly the kind of test City needed at this stage of pre-season.
“All the things that you work on over the last six or seven weeks, you try to put into practice when you organise a game but unfortunately, today was really windy,” he said.
“There’s always a little bit of frustration in that as well. They try and execute a pass and it doesn’t quite go because of the wind, but you have to adjust, and that’s what we try to say to the players.
“Making sure that we have the right mentality, the right attitude, because it’s not going to be perfect – and the conditions weren’t perfect.”
Despite the conditions, City created plenty of chances throughout the contest and showed encouraging signs with the ball, as well as in the way we pressed high up the pitch.
“I thought we did some really good things going forward,” Vidmar said.
“We created a number of chances. I was also impressed with the way we pressed in the front third. We got a lot of really good moments out of those situations.”
New boys settling in
The friendly also saw Matheus Rossetto, Emiliano Marcondes and Awer Mabil all make their first unofficial City appearances, with the trio each playing 45 minutes as they continue building match fitness.
Vidmar believes the new arrivals will add plenty to the squad, particularly in the attacking third.
“They’ve got a lot of different qualities,” he said.
“All good footballers, smart footballers. They’re going to bring a lot of experience and a lot of quality, especially going forward.
“We had a lot of chances that we missed last year. We were creating enough, but no one really being able to consistently put those chances away.
“Now having especially Awer and Emi in those positions now with Max [Caputo], [Medin] Memeti and a few other boys up top, we should see us score a lot more goals than we did last year.”
Building the right mix
With experienced names returning and plenty of young talent continuing to push for minutes, Vidmar said competition for places would be important throughout the remainder of pre-season.
“We still have fewer senior players than we did last year, and many more younger players,” he said.
“We need everyone competing for places and to make sure that competition is strong. When it’s like that, it’s a lot healthier.”
As for what City fans can expect once the season arrives? Vidmar is hoping for a side with a little more spark going forward.
“I think we’ll see a little bit more of a dynamic team,” he said.
“If everything goes to plan, the way we’ve brought in these players, especially going forward, you should see a lot more aura, a lot more excitement, a lot more chances. Of course, we always want more goals.
“We’re expecting to be a competitive side and to be amongst it again; that’s for sure.”
City will continue preparations over the coming weeks, with further pre-season fixtures to come before our 2026/27 Isuzu UTE A-League season begins away to Auckland FC on Saturday 17 October.
