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| Lustica is so adept at tika-taka he plays with two balls at once. |
Striker Sergio Cirio, midfielder Isaías Sánchez and most importantly Head Coach Josep Gombau will form the base of Adelaide’s adaption to playing ‘the Barcelona way’.
The project of transforming United into a Catalan Clone of the all-conquering Spanish Champions is a notion which has captured the imagination of Lustica who is eager to learn from his new manager.
“Josep’s coaching philosophy of how he wants to play is exactly the way I like to play football,” he said.
“I think it is going to suit my style – the short passing game, the possession based football, I think that’s going to suit my style and hopefully I can bring something to the team.”
Lustica appears likely to slot straight into Gombau’s 4-3-3 formation and will look to form a partnership with holding midfielder Isaias and fellow creator Carrusca.
The middle of the park is where the youngster sees himself making the biggest impact to United’s season and is raring to impress new coach Gombau.
“That’s one of the positions I like to play, as a central midfielder and a little bit more attacking as well,” Lustica said.
“Hopefully I can put in my fair share of creating chances and hopefully even scoring some goals as well.”
In 2011 Lustica was snapped up by Croatian side Hajduk Split after catching the eye of scouts during some impressive displays with the now-defunct Gold Coast United.
Unfortunately Lustica found consistent game time hard to come by after two seasons in Croatia and says that one of the major factors in his return to the A-League was to try and play week-in and week-out.
“I want to get some consistent game time,” Lustica said.
“I’d been overseas for two years and it was a great experience playing at Hajduk and in some big games there, but the A-League is definitely getting better each year.
“I enjoyed my time at the Roar, and I think it’s the perfect fit for me now to come back and get some games under my belt in Adelaide,” he said.
After returning to Croatia and completing preseason with Hajduk Split, United got in contact with Lustica who jumped at the chance to return home, signing a one-year deal with the Reds.
The Canberra-born midfielder said he enjoyed the experiences gained while overseas but was challenged to become stronger mentally in the cutthroat world of top-level European football.
“There are a lot of ups and downs when you’re over there, one day you’re playing, the next you’re not,” he said.
“The squad changes really quickly over there, so one of the major things I got out my time there was developing my mental toughness.”
United’s new #13 should have no trouble finding regular game-time this season with the 22-year-old no stranger to the local competition. Lustica was awarded the 2010/11 Foxtel National Youth League Player of the Season with Gold Coast and returned to feature for Brisbane Roar late last season in a 10 game loan deal.
Lustica’s stint with the Roar last season proved successful as the youngster contributed two goals, slotting seamlessly into Mike Mulvey’s midfield.
While his time in Queensland last season was short, Lustica believes the period was an important part of his development as a player and said he enjoyed playing alongside some of the best players the Hyundai A-League has to offer.
“I think my loan spell at Brisbane helped me a lot,” Lustica said.
“I came in January for the last ten games of the season, so it wasn’t an easy time to come into a team, but I thought I fit in quite well, there were a lot of great players there to play with like Berisha and Broich.
“I really enjoyed my time there and I think that it definitely helped my development,” he said.
Adelaide’s signings for the upcoming season have will have to cover the loss of players such as Evan Kostopolous, Tomi Juric, Iain Ramsay and Dario Vidosic, however Lustica is confident of producing in his first season as a Red.
Lustica will link with a host of young Australian talent that United have who are waiting in the wings for an opportunity to prove their worth. Awer Mabil, Jake Barker-Daish, Jordan Elsey and Jacob Melling have served their apprenticeships in the youth team and will look to follow in the footsteps of Osama Malik and Antony Golec by stepping-up and featuring regularly in the first-team.
While there’s no doubt Lustica is raring to make an impression on his coach, his new teammates and United’s fan-base, he is determined to put his head down and earn his place in the side.
“I want to establish myself as a starting eleven player and then take it from there,” he said.
“I just want to put in consistent performances for Adelaide and hopefully we can play well as a team and get positive results with it.”