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Idan Vered Finds Window Of Opportunity In Ottawa

The former Israeli youth international signed up with Fury FC right before the Spring Season
Jack Bell (@JackBell} | May 3, 2016

Photo credit: Indy Eleven/Matt Schlotzhauer

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A little more than a month ago, Idan Vered was a man without a soccer team. A dream came true last summer when the Israeli youth international signed with Red Star Belgrade, one of the top teams in Serbia. But when the club tried to sell him to a team in Kazakhstan for a hefty fee, Vered refused and soon found himself on the outside looking in when the transfer window closed in Europe and Israel at the end of January.

“I had only a few options – to stay in Israel without a team something like three months or to sign here for three months,” Vered told NASL.com, referring to the here and now as Ottawa Fury FC (his other options were to play in Russia or China).

Vered, who turned 27 on New Year’s Day, has been a professional since 2006, with stops in Ramat Gan, Beitar Jerusalem, and Maccabi Haifa before his move to Europe. With the window closed overseas, Vered signed on with Fury FC only days before Ottawa opened the Spring Season in a rematch of The Championship Final at the New York Cosmos.

“He's a dynamic forward, he's quick and he can score goals,” Fury FC coach Paul Dalglish said when the club announced the signing. “We've kind of got away from that target forward style of play and we try to have a system with three dynamic forwards and he's going to be a really good complement to our team.”

The speedy, 5-foot-9 right side winger has yet to play a complete 90 minutes, though he entered the match against the Cosmos (a 3-0 loss) as a substitute, and then started Ottawa’s next four games, including last weekend’s home opener at TD Place.

“It was tough in the beginning, but after losing 3-0 we played well against Indy in a 1-1 draw. After this we were unlucky. It takes time to build up a new team and a new system.

“In the last match, against Miami, we understood everyone better, how they play and want to play. It was easier and we got the first win of the season. I think from this moment it will be better and better.”

Ottawa, the Fall Season Champion last year after a slow start in the Spring Season, began this year with four games on the road in which it scored one goal (by Vered against Indy Eleven, for which he was named to the league’s Team of the Week).

“Against Miami, I think they controlled possession (55.3 percent to 44.7 percent) but you can see in the end they had only three [total] shots and we had 12 chances.

"We knew Miami had scored in every game this season, but in this game we didn’t let them score. It was a good defensive game. Our system is to stay deep in our half then go on the counterattack. It was important to win this game because after four games we had only one point. You must win at home for the fans.”

Vered and Ottawa now look to continue taking their opportunities, as they prepare for three more home games in a row in league play, starting with Minnesota United on Saturday. 

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