EXCLUSIVE: Imagine trying to coach 109 young offenders with just two footballs? In a prison? In Madagascar? And you don’t speak the local lingo.
You also had a stint after the A-League in the US second division with Jacksonville Armada…
They approached me about a project. To build a club from scratch. It was a good challenge but things didn't go well with the team, we didn't do well.
And many of the fields weren't great and it was my first year back from being injured so I had a little bit of fear.
But overall I learnt a lot even though after a year I regretted it and felt that I dropped a level coming from the A-League. The A-League was much better than the US Second Division.
In 2017, you ended up with Bali United. Tell me more!
My Indonesian journey was crazy.
First I joined a club called Persib Bandung in 2016. They were the Melbourne Victory of Indonesia.
I joined them because my former teammate at Adelaide United Sergio van Dijk was there.
I love playing with Sergio and we went from 12th position in the league to fourth - then one of the owners offered me to join his side at Bali United.
For lifestyle, everyone is desperate the play for Bali, but for me, I've always been competitive and had a purpose in my football career.
I didn't want to finish the middle of the table, I was always competitive. I didn't want to be at the beach and have a great lifestyle but lose every single game.
The facilities in Indonesia are really strange, and Bali United is considered to have one of the best facilities! Yet incredibly we did not have a locker room!
BALI UNITED ON THIS DAY!!!
— Bali United FC (@BaliUtd) 30 April 2018
.
Tepat 1 tahun lalu, Bali United berhasil mencatatkan kemenangan away pertama atas Persela Lamongan di Surajaya. @MarcosFlores85 mencetak satu-satunya gol di pertandingan tersebut lewat titik penalti. pic.twitter.com/YL0YKweeov
Tell me about training...
We were training at 7:30 in the morning, I would get there at 6:30-45 start my prehab and no one was there.
We had no place to change we would arrive on a motorbike and a team manager would give us our training gear and we were getting changed on the side of the pitch in front of anyone passing by, it was like a public area.
No locker room meant no showers.
We would start at 7:30 but sometimes some players would still be asleep, so maybe you need to wait till 7:45.
So you arrived with your swimming shorts on and singlets and get changed on the side of the pitch.
At the end of the session you give the team manager your sweaty training gear, you put your swimming shorts and singlet back on and back to your home on your motorbike through the crazy traffic
So you ride on the sidewalks, you drive with no rules at all there!
Prehab did not exist at Bali United. I became the teacher of prehab at Bali United.
So that is why I was so thankful for Australia because I learnt so much of my prehab there. So I took the elastics and the rollers with me. I was giving elastic to my teammates so they could do their own prehab and teaching them about the benefits.
When I came back to Argentina after my father passed away, I rejected a new contract.
Who were the greatest players you played against and with?
Juan Roman Riquelme. I was on the bench in Argentina during a club match as an 18-year-old when Newell’s Old Boys played his Boca Juniors. What a player.
In Australia Alex Del Piero was amazing and I always liked Luke Brattan even as a youngster in Brisbane. He was really talented.

And Matt Leckie, I played with him and this kid always surprised me. I remember against Gold Coast we lost at home in Adelaide and after 20 minutes he did his hamstring. Yet he played for 120 minutes. I realised he had the right mentality. He was earning less but he was working his arse off. I told him to keep working hard. Travis Dodd had such power too.
But Shinji Ono I remember. I used to love him and I also loved Thomas Broich. Rogic and Mooy were also pretty special during my time in the A-League.
And watching from a distance, Ninkovic I admire.
What does 2019 hold?
I want to join a club, one that believes in me. One where I can give football wise and give in the youth development.
If that doesn't happen then I will keep travelling around the world and keep growing until I find a house in the planet or a city in the planet that I will call my home and to build a Football Academy. It could be in Argentina it could be in Australia could be in the USA. You never know what will happen in the future.
I'm open and I'm ready to go.
I'm hoping one day I can open my Football Academy or I can work for a club in development and build my career as a head coach.
Maybe I can play one more year maybe I can play two more years, I'm 33 now.
Obviously, I had a year where I lost somebody really important but I believe I'm capable to play a little bit more but I won't just play the cycle of being a professional footballer. I want to feel like I'm helping…
Related Articles

Victory poised to pick up Jets discard Piscopo

Mariners to embrace grand final home comforts: Vukovic
.jpeg&h=172&w=306&c=1&s=1)