Altona Magic has landed a coup with A-League championship player Vince Lia joining the club for the 2021 National Premier League season.
The 35-year-old, who was a former Australian youth international, appeared in 259 games across 14 seasons in the A-League.
He most recently played for Perth Glory in 2020, having previously played for Melbourne Victory, Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United.
He was part of the A-League premiership-championship double with the Victory in 2007 and also twice lifted the FFA Cup with Adelaide in 2018 and 2019.
Lia, who originally hails from Shepparton, made his professional debut for South Melbourne in the National Soccer League in 2001.
“We are thrilled and honoured to welcome a player of this calibre to Altona and we wish Vince all the best for the upcoming year,” Altona Magic said on its Facebook page.
The club also recently announced a number of new and re-signings ahead of the upcoming season.
English-born Michael Lee is an attacking midfielder who is back for his second stint at the club.
Ross Archibald arrives back to Altona after recently having a stint in the Queensland NPL with Gold Coast Knights FC.
Archibald played 10 games with Altona in 2019, before a knee injury ended his season early.
Troy Ruthven, who captained the Magic in 2019, is another player to return.
Chris Lucas arrives to Paisley Park via Dandenong City.
The striker has had stints with former A-League side Gold Coast United, QLD NPL sides Palm Beach and most recently Olympic FC.
In 2015, he was Bentleigh Green’s top goal scorer when they claimed the NPL championship.
Harry Noon joins the club from Heidelberg United, while Steve Kuzmanovski has made the move down from Sydney.
