A tough pre-season under Marco Kurz could pay off with the ultimate reward of the FFA Cup trophy, according to Adelaide United defender Michael Jakobsen.
The Danish centre half moved to the city of churches in May from Melbourne City, where he won the FFA Cup in 2016.
And a high level of morale and quality within the Adelaide team could have the 32-year-old primed for his second FFA Cup winner’s medal.
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“It’s a good group of boys here, so I’ve really enjoyed it and settled with the family,” Jakobsen told Adelaide United’s official website.
“I think we’ve a good quality in the team.
“Pre-season was hard and I think we’ll benefit from it now and we’re in the Final and doing pretty well at the moment.”
Jakobsen isn’t the only new Danish arrival aiming to bring home the big prize when the Reds face Sydney FC in their FFA Cup Final rematch later this month.
Ken Ilsø joined the Reds in July and says an arduous pre-season routine under Kurz holds Adelaide in good stead ahead of the Final, and for the upcoming Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season - which commences against the Sky Blues on Friday.
“It’s been good, Marco knows me from Germany so it’s not something new for me to run a lot of kilometres in the sessions,” he said.
“And it’s a part of the style here as well and during the pre-season and FFA Cup games we’ve shown it’s one of our strengths as well.”
