Georg Niedermeier didn't need much persuading about making Melbourne home when Victory boss Kevin Muscat came calling in the off-season.
The 32-year-old centre back was well versed in stories about the A-League, the city of Melbourne and the country as a whole: hardly surprising as at various points in the past few seasons he had played with several of Victory's best-known former players, such as Robbie Kruse, Mitch Langerak and Marco Rojas.
Stuttgart’s Georg Niedermeier (right) defends against Frankfurt’s Haris Seferovic in the Bundesliga.Credit:EPA
But the key man in his decision-making process was a European who had come to the A-League and quickly impressed all and sundry with his class, skill and style before returning to Germany.
The player in question was Matthieu Delpierre, widely regarded by Victory fans – and coach Muscat – as the best central defender the club has ever had, and a former teammate of Niedermeier's when the latter was a youngster starting his top-level football at Stuttgart.
Delpierre, a Frenchman who had spent most of his career in the Bundesliga, where he had won the championship in 2007, sold his youthful former teammate on the idea of moving to the other side of the world, telling him all about the club, its ambitions and what the A-League was like.
"Matthieu came back and we met in Stuttgart. It was interesting to speak of Australia and his experiences," Niedermeier said.
"He was kind of delighted and he opened up my mind to Australia and as soon as the offer came in I had a chat with Mitch Langerak, Matthieu again and Marco Rojas and they all spoke only the best about the club."
So can Niedermeier make as big an impression as Delpierre did?
"They are big footsteps to fill … and his feet are bigger than mine," the German, who began his career at Bayern Munich, joked.
"We had a good connection on the pitch in Stuttgart. I really enjoyed playing with him, also [learning from] his opinion in the beginning. These were my first years playing with him.
"I think we are similar in the style we play, that's why I could learn a lot from him. He was always quiet, he never spoke too much but he was always fighting for the team and his team spirit was good.
"He always had a good eye for his teammates, and he also knew were to stand and where he needed to be on the pitch."
Niedermeier, like so many players who come from Europe, has found the interminable A-League off-season hard to come to terms with, but he can't wait for the new campaign to kick off in just over a week's time.
"Preseason is tough for the coaches and the team to get everyone motivated and to do the right amount of work. Now we are well prepared because we have a lot of time and are looking forward to the start of the season," he said.
He is loath to make hard and fast judgements on the standard of the league because he has only had a few practice games against A-League teams to judge things on, but one of his observations will gain support from those who think the salary cap is preventing teams from improving their playing squads.
"On some stages it's less tactical and more physical because you can cover some mistakes. I think the salary cap is a big issue – all the teams have to deal with it. It's hard to assume what would happen [without it] but I think it's kind of a limiting factor."
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