Marco Kurz admits this might be the first time his entire squad has been 100% fit during his time at Adelaide United, ahead of their Elimination Final showdown with Melbourne City on Sunday.
The Reds coach has dealt with a constant flow of injury problems in the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season, leaving his selection options hamstrung while the South Australian outfit clinched a fourth-placed finish.
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Baba Diawara has played only 42 minutes in this campaign, George Blackwood has missed 10 games and Nikola Mileusnic has sat out eight games as Kurz’s attacking options were often down to the bare bones.
January signing Jordy Thomassen was also sidelined, while influential centre-back Jordan Elsey is now up to speed after eight games out.
Kurz has the same roster available which travelled to the 5-3 victory at Brisbane Roar on the final day of the regular season, but the German coach is encouraged by what he has seen from his returning stars.
“We had the same luxury before the last game in Brisbane but now we have the experience,” said Kurz.
“We know Baba [Diawara] is back. [Ben] Halloran, [Nikola] Milesnuc, [George] Blackwood have a couple of games in their legs and that means they are 100% fit tomorrow.
“I think that’s good to know because our opponents, they have also their best squad available.
“That’s good for the league that two teams with their best players play against each other.”
Despite having his whole squad at his disposal, Kurz believes Melbourne City have the weapons to cause his side some serious damage at Coopers Stadium.
“They have a fantastic squad, for me one of the best squads in the league,” said Kurz.
“We must be awake and we must be in control. They had the luxury of bringing in a fantastic striker during the transfer window [Jamie Maclaren].
“If we play your best football we can beat them, and that’s our job on Sunday.
“It’s out last game [at Coopers Stadium] for all of the boys and we will say goodbye for this season with the best result we can give our supporters. That’s our goal.”
