FFV: Green Gully Cavaliers sign Rodrigo Vargas

GREEN Gully Cavaliers have secured the services of two-time A-League premiership winning centre back Rodrigo Vargas.

The bull-at-a-gate defender from the Melbourne Victory could make his Cavaliers debut as soon as tomorrow against Heidelberg United at Green Gully Reserve.

Vargas, 33, will join his brother Andy at the club on a one-year deal to be reviewed at the end of the season.

Cavliers general manager Raymond Mamo hailed the significance of the signing.

”He’s a high profile player to have at the club,” he told brimbankweekly.com.au.

”His experience is second to none and he’s more than a professional because football is his life and it shows on and off the park.”

Vargas enjoyed a stellar career at national league level: first with the Melbourne Knights in the defunct National Soccer League and then with the Victory.

In his six-year stint with the Victory, he was a key player in two premierships, and his talents were recognised with two Australian caps.

Vargas knows the Cavaliers intimately, having played at the club from 2004 to ’06, before his career-defining move to the Victory.

Vargas arrives at the perfect time for the reigning champion Cavaliers, who conceded four goals in their season opening loss to Bentleigh Greens last Friday night and are reeling from the departure of Dean Kerr and injury to Cameron Drake.

Meanwhile, it will be an emotional day for the Cavaliers tomorrow, where they will observe a minute silence for the late Paul Azzopardi, a foundation member of the club.