Meet the Europe-trained recruits on a revival mission

Virgiliu Postolachi has seen up close just how demanding life can be when striving to be recognised among football’s upper echelon after he grew up trying to force his way into one of the world’s most famed powerhouses.

The experience tested his resolve and resulted in international stars Edinson Cavani, Presnel Kimpembe and Neymar “pushing him hard” and forcing him to mature quickly during his time growing up within the system of French juggernauts Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

“Sometimes they’d get on me, kick me, but say to me ‘stand up and continue to push’. It was pretty cool,” Postolachi told this masthead.

“You need to grow up, and you need to listen and take every information fast. You don’t have time, and they don’t let you have mistakes, so you have to keep working and be aware every time.

“OK, they were big players, but I wanted to be better than them. You need to be at the same level when you train with them, so you’re working more hard than them because you’re young.”

Postolachi was just 13 when he arrived at PSG. The Moldovian striker eventually joined fellow French Ligue 1 outfit Lille, where he shared the pitch with Portuguese sensations Jose Fonte and Renato Sanches.

But after then taking his talents to Belgium and Romania, the 26-year-old has set his sights on a new challenge: restoring Brisbane Roar to the champion status they enjoyed last decade.

Not since the 2020-21 season have the three-time A-League winners featured in the finals race, with the glory days of their trio of titles between the 2010-11 and 2013-14 seasons now a distant memory.

That run of early exits appeared to be on the cusp of ending during their last campaign, before Socceroos defender Lucas Herrington’s transfer to the Colorado Rapids – a move that then inspired his lucrative venture to the Premier League with Hull City. From that point, the Roar would win just once from their remaining 14 clashes.

But it was the club’s passionate drive to return to the top that captivated Postolachi and drew him to Australia.

“I love the mentality they have in Brisbane. We want this year to do better than last year, to arrive as the top team of Australia, and this motivation is good for me,” he said.

“It was a new challenge for me, a new country, new teammates – everything new. I was surprised by the quality of the players we have in the team. Also, the guys have accepted me so fast, and I got used to the training really fast, and adapted really fast.”

In a bid to restore the fallen contenders, coach Michael Valkanis has swept change through his squad. Postolachi is joined by former Fulham midfielder Tyrese Francois, four-time Socceroos defender Joel King, South Korea veteran Nam Tae-hee, and new skipper Tom Aldred as the fresh faces to spearhead Brisbane back to the top.

“We want to dominate more with the ball this season, that’s no secret. To do that, you need the types of players like Tyrese, like Nam, like Joel being a defender who’s very comfortable with the ball,” Valkanis said.

“It’s not just dominating possession for the sake of it, but to be able to create opportunities to score goals. A lot of these players have good mobility and speed, so that’s very important in the A-League, and most of all, they’re the type of characters and people we brought in who will put the team first.”

Francois said his “unbelievable” experience growing up in the Fulham system forced him to “grow up really quickly”, given how competitive the sport’s landscape was in England, and how young athletes were thrust into intensive training and competition.

Injuries, however, left him at a crossroads, and despite featuring at Socceroos camps in 2022, he is yet to land on the international stage. But the former Olyroos captain believes he is ready to rediscover his best.

“Of course, it’s a dream of mine to play for the Socceroos, but I also understand it’s one step at a time, and the most important step for me right now is to do my best for the Brisbane Roar,” Francois admitted.

“I was at a point in my career where I needed a reset. I had some unbelievable experiences abroad, but the last two years have been very difficult for me. I needed a new environment, I needed a new home that would allow me to progress and also do what I know I can do.

“Every footballer wants to play, and when you can’t play, you kind of feel useless. You learn very quickly over there that it’s not personal – if you can’t play, you’re not needed in the team.

“I just needed to come back and enjoy my football again – enjoy playing football with a smile on my face and, naturally, my best football will come out.”

Postolachi felt the European exposure he and Francois brought would be the tonic needed to arrest Brisbane’s slide and ensure their freefall would not happen again.

“We come from Europe, and in Europe there’s relegation, so you fight to keep your place in the first league. This is different, but we want to bring this competitiveness to never lose a game,” he said.

“It’s not like, ‘OK, next time we’ll get a chance’. You need to be a winner every time.”

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