Football
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Melbourne Victory's Georg Niedermeier ready to follow in Matthieu Delpierre's footsteps


Without even having kicked a ball for the club, Melbourne Victory is already in the veins of Georg Niedermeier.

The 32-year-old defender has played with Victory alumni Matthieu Delpierre, Mitchell Langerak, Robbie Kruse and Marco Rojas while at Stuttgart in Germany's Bundesliga.

He and Delpierre, one of the greatest defenders that Victory or the A-League has seen, are particularly close, and the Frenchman's endorsement went a long way to convincing the German to head down under.

"He came back and we met at Stuttgart. It was interesting to speak about Australia and his experiences. He was delighted," he said.

"He opened my mind to Australia. As soon as the offer came in, I had a chat to Mitch Langerak and Marco Rojas again and of course Matthieu. They all spoke only the best."


In a quirky twist of fate, not only has Delpierre eased the pathway for Niedermeier's latest move, he also gave him his start in football.

Niedermeier arrived at Stuttgart in 2008 having graduated through Bayern Munich's youth pathway but without cracking the first team at the powerhouse club.

He was at the bottom of the pecking order, without a way into the first XI.

That is, until Delpierre was forced into an awkward challenge trying to stop Niedermeier shooting during a training drill.

"He injured his ankle thanks to me ... it was two days out from the game, so I had to come in," he said.

And so it was that Niedermeier debuted against Stuttgart's greatest rival -- Karlsruher -- helping the Reds to a 2-0 win.

In another coincidence, it's a derby where Niedermeier is likely to make his A-League debut; round one against Melbourne City at Marvel Stadium next Saturday.

Having played with the towering Frenchman for several seasons in Germany, Niedermeier is hoping to make a similar impact to his friend while in Melbourne.

"So he left big footsteps? His feet are bigger than mine," he said. "I think we are in the same style, we are similar.

"On the pitch we had a good connection. I really enjoyed playing with him.

"He was always quiet, he never spoke too much, but he always fighting for the team. He had team spirit and a good eye for teammates."

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