Date: March 16th 2010
Author: Liam Fitzgibbon
From: AAP / The Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney FC are hoping the offer of a combined playing, coaching and "ambassador" role will help entice veteran striker John Aloisi to remain with the A-League club next season.

The former Socceroos striker, who will miss Saturday's grand final against Melbourne with a hamstring injury, remains non-committal over his future, saying on Tuesday he will make a decision in the coming weeks.

The 34-year-old is a well-publicised target for new franchise Melbourne Heart but the sky blues are poised to offer him a new contact after last week signalling their interest in keeping him on.

Sydney chief executive Edwin Lugt said the club was "very keen" to keep Aloisi on board, feeling he had much more to offer than just his on-field abilities.

"We've made clear to Johnny that we're very keen to keep him at the club," Lugt told AAP.

"We would be delighted if we can keep Johnny on board, possibly in the combination of a player's role, coaching and probably as an ambassador of our club because he's got a great profile as we all know.

"We consider there's a great value in that because he's been a fantastic professional over the past two years."

While reports suggested Sydney were in the hunt for Sergio van Dijk but had been put off by the Dutch striker's high price, Lugt insisted Aloisi was not a second-choice option.

While Sydney are unlikely to be able to match the Heart's offer financially, the club is hoping the incentive of taking on an expanded role within the club will help entice Aloisi to stay.

The striker learned on Monday he would not play in the Etihad Stadium decider after tearing his hamstring in the preliminary final win over Wellington last week.

Aloisi wouldn't be drawn into whether he had played his last game in a sky blue shirt on Tuesday, saying he wanted to focus on helping his teammates prepare to face the Victory before taking the time to decide on his future.

"I have a couple of good options," Aloisi said.

"Everyone knows about the interest of Melbourne Heart and now Sydney.

"But at the moment I'm just getting over the disappointment of not being able to play in a grand final.

"I'll leave (the decision about) next year until next week and the week after.
"I've got time to weigh up my options."

Aloisi ruled out any thoughts of retirement or returning to play overseas, saying he was happy living back in Australia.

He said his immediate focus was on offering his Sydney teammates support in any way he could.

"Even though I won't be playing ... I'll still be part of this team when they do win the grand final on Saturday," he said.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/sydney-fc-want-aloisi-as-ambassador-20100316-qc0x.html