A-League: Craig Goodwin to replace Ryan Kitto as Adelaide captain
Kitto will not only be without the captain's armband in Adelaide's 2025-26 A-League campaign, he also hasn't been included in the club's leadership group, which consists of Goodwin, veteran Dutchman Bart Vriends, and youngsters Panagiotis Kikianis and Ethan Alagich.
The experienced left back took over the Reds captaincy from Goodwin when the Socceroos winger left the Reds in September 2023 to join Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda.
However, with Goodwin having rejoined Adelaide ahead of the new season, he will again captain the club, with Kitto no longer having any type of leadership role in a team that also has a new head coach, Airton Andrioli.
'It's a great honour and I'm really excited to wear the armband,' Goodwin said.
'It's been asked of me … and I'm very proud to lead this team.'
Goodwin seemed confident that Kitto, who turns 31 on Saturday, would not be affected by being stripped of any official leadership position.
'He's a no-nonsense type of person. He's a bit old school in the way he carries himself,' the 33-year-old left winger said.
'He's someone the group looks up to. He's someone that's very level-headed, and he wants the best for this team.
'Kitto is someone that I've got along with extremely well, and perhaps we've played individually our best football when we've been together and playing in the same team and on the same side.
'I look forward to rekindling that partnership on the field and off the field. His leadership is going to be really important going forward.'
In Adelaide's statement about the Reds' new leaders, the club said Kitto's 'influence remains ever-present'.
Vriends' inclusion in the leadership group came as somewhat of a surprise following rumours that the Reds were happy to listen to offers for the 34-year-old centre-back.
Stefan Mauk was also going to be among Adelaide's official leaders before leaving the club last week to join Vietnamese outfit Cong An Hanoi on loan in a deal that could become a permanent move.
Mauk's departure came hot on the heels of the exits of fellow midfielder Zach Clough (Selangor, Malaysia) and goalkeeper James Delianov (Newcastle Jets), while star striker Archie Goodwin and wing-back Dylan Pierias have also been linked with moves away from Adelaide.
Craig Goodwin said there was 'definitely a need' for the Reds to recruit players.
'I'm sure the club is going to be active in the transfer window,' he said.
'We need a little bit of strengthening having lost Stef and Zach, but I believe we have the quality within the team to be able to challenge and to be able to win things, but it's about finding that consistency and finding that quality on a daily basis.' Read related topics: Adelaide Marco Monteverde Sports reporter
Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. NewsWire
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Melbourne City has added AFC Champions League-winning experience to its squad for the club's 2025-26 campaign and beyond.
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