Returning Melbourne Victory star Robbie Kruse insists he would never play for Sydney FC.
Ahead of Sunday's Big Blue, Kruse has been named in Victory’s travelling squad and is in line to make his first appearance of the season for Marco Kurz’s side.
With the likes of Kenny Athiu, Thomas Deng, Elvis Kamsoba (all international duty) and Andrew Nabbout (injured) all unavailable, the return of Kruse is a huge boost for Victory.
And the Caltex Socceroos attacker has got on the front foot ahead of the clash, taking a subtle dig at Sky Blues attacker Kosta Barbarouses, who left Victory for Sydney FC in the off-season.
Asked if he would have considered playing for the Sky Blues, Kruse told a-league.com.au: “No, there’s no way. I definitely wouldn’t have.
“If Victory didn’t have come calling I probably would have gone to Asia, the Middle East or maybe stayed in Germany.
MATCH PREVIEW: Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory
READ MORE: The Big Blue conundrum Barbarouses must navigate
“Once Victory came calling to me it just worked.
"It was a good moment for my family in particularly having a young son now and when I knew it was Melbourne Victory coming hard I jumped at the opportunity to come home and come full circle and start where it all began.”
If passed fit to play, Sunday’s clash at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium will be Kruse’s first Hyundai A-League match in more than eight years.
Despite being abroad for so long, the 31-year-old remains fully aware of the enormity of the clashes between the two clubs.
“[The Big Blue] was probably the big game when I was here before. Sydney and Melbourne have been really dominant teams in the history of the A-League,” Kruse explained.
“I have some good memories of the games against Sydney, some bad ones also. There was the Preliminary Final in [2010] to see who hosted the final, I managed to score a decent goal in front of the Sydney supporters, that was a good memory.
“Then the next week we were unfortunate to lose the [Grand Final] on penalties which was quite disappointing.
“It’s obviously going to be a really big game and one you sort of look at the calendar and try and aim for.”
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