Soccer: Smeltz return to A-League confirmed

New Zealand international striker Shane Smeltz will resume playing for Queensland's Gold Coast United in the A-League for the remainder of the 2010/11 season after securing a release from Turkish soccer club, Genclerberligi.

Smeltz, winner of last season's A-League golden boot with 19 goals, is expected to take the field on Friday night when Gold Coast host North Queensland Fury.

Smeltz said his time in Turkey after moving there last August was frustrating and he was thrilled to be able to return to the Gold Coast.

"I'm delighted to be back - really happy. I've always loved the A-League since it started and obviously I haven't played as much football as I would have liked in the last five or six months, so I'm just really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things," he said.

"My immediate focus is to try to help out Gold Coast United's situation. I've been following them all season and the team has done well so far but has suffered a bit of a dip recently.

"Hopefully I can contribute and help everything to start flowing again towards the finals. On a personal level, I just want to get back playing and enjoy myself on the park."

Smeltz said sweeping changes to key senior staff at Genclerbirligi soon after his arrival changed things too much.

"It's complicated over there and in the course of my first five or six weeks in Turkey there were a lot of changes at the club," he said.

"They got a new coach, a new assistant coach and a new general manager who all brought with them their differing opinions. It happens all over the world in football and is nothing new, but the result was that I was sidelined more than I wanted to be.''

He made just four appearances for Genclerberligi in the Turkish league and scored just once. The club is based in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

"I spoke to the club about it and they agreed to release me, so I'm very happy with that outcome and feel relieved that I will playing again soon.

"These things happen in football and you have to go with it. The only thing to do now is to move forward and get on with helping Gold Coast United the best I can."

United Head Coach Miron Bleiberg said Smeltz's signature could just be the spark his side needs in their quest to secure second place on the ladder with just eight matches remaining before the finals series begin.

"It's great to have Shane back with us and he's come exactly at the right time as our recent results haven't been the best," Bleiberg said.

"We're obviously very happy to sign a proven goalscorer at this point in the campaign and hopefully he can help us achieve what we want to achieve this season."

Smeltz left Gold Coast United for Chinese club Shandong Luneng after last year's World Cup in South Africa but his stint there lasted just a day and he returned to the Queensland club before heading to Turkey.

- NZPA