Deal done for Damian

After some doubt over the transfer of Damian Mori to Perth Glory, the club can now confirm the Adelaide-based striker’s contract has been extended until the end of the season.

Prolific scorer, Mori originally signed for the Glory to cover for David Tarka’s injury in September. The original deal was extended for another month and Mori has already scored five goals during his brief spell in the Hyundai A-League.

The last game of his temporary deal was against New Zealand Knights last Friday but Mori’s state league club in South Australia, Adelaide City, have now come to an agreement with the Glory allowing the Socceroos all-time top goal scorer to play for Glory until the end of the 2005/06 campaign.

Mori previously enjoyed four successful seasons with Perth Glory in the old NSL, scoring a staggering 77 goals from 112 appearances and, despite reported interest from other Hyundai A-League clubs, wanted to extend his time with the West Australian side.

“It has been a great experience to play with the Glory again this season and I didn’t want to play for any other club in the competition. Hopefully, now I can concentrate on playing in the A-League until the end of this season and score some more goals for Perth Glory along the way,” Mori said.

Glory’s head coach, Steve McMahon, praised Mori’s contribution so far: “Damian is a very bubbly character to have around the place and, along with the obvious contribution he has made on the pitch, his vocal energy around the dressing room has given everyone in the squad a lift.”

“All through this process of contract negotiations, Damian has always insisted that he wanted nothing more than to play for this football club. At one point he even suggested that he would be happy to play for Perth Glory without being paid so that just shows how dedicated he is to the cause.”

Under Mori’s new contract the 35-year-old will be available to Perth Glory until the end of the A-League finals series if the club is successful in reaching that stage of the competition. He will retain his work commitments in Adelaide, meeting up with his Perth Glory team mates ahead of competitive matches.

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