The 33-year-old defensive midfielder, who made two appearances for the Socceroos in 2009, joins Sydney FC after a career that started in Wollongong and took him to England, Melbourne and Thailand but home is where the heart is and Reid couldn’t be happier in a sky blue shirt.

“It’s definitely going to be a special time, my family are all here and it’ll be great to be playing in front of them,” Reid said. 

“When the opportunity arose to come back and trial at Sydney FC it was too good to refuse.

“I said to my wife after the first day, they’re a really great bunch of guys. It’s always hard to come into a new team but it felt really comfortable the first day and they really welcomed me on board. 

"It plays a big part when you go to a new club so I feel at home here and I’m really looking forward to helping the team improve on where Sydney finished last season.”

Sydney FC coach Ian Crook was delighted to have signed Reid.

“Reidy has been a very good player over a long period of time,” Crook said. “He gives us some experience and strength in the middle of the park.

"Defensively he’s strong in the midfield but he is also a winner, a good pro and he will help get us to where we are trying to get.”

Reid will forever be remembered for his dramatic last minute equaliser in the 2000 NSL Grand Final, which levelled the scores at 3-3 before the Wolves went on to win 7-6 on penalties and he is hoping Sydney FC can emulate the fast attacking style of play Wollongong adopted in that period.

“Crooky’s developing a different approach this year and we’ve got the players to play that way,” Reid said.

“The training sessions are really enjoyable. They are short and sharp and it suits the way I play as well, so I’m really looking forward to it and just glad to be back in the A-League.

“We all know that it’s a young and exciting team and a lot of teams in the A-League are going down that route but you also need that experience as well. I can bring that into the squad.”