Foundation North Queensland Fury player, Ufuk Talay, will today be unveiled as the club’s Captain for the forthcoming Hyundai A-League season.

Ufuk Talay will be the club’s Captain for the forthcoming Hyundai A-League season.

The experienced 34-year-old midfielder, one of eight players retained from last year’s squad, was selected for the honour by new Fury Head Coach Franz Straka.

Talay, whose signed his first professional football contract at age 16, will follow in the footsteps of last year’s inaugural captains Robbie Fowler and Robbie Middleby in leading out the Fury: “It goes without saying that being named captain of North Queensland Fury is a great honour and definitely a career highlight.

These are exciting times for the Fury, we now have in place a new coaching team and a close group of players who are working very hard to prepare for the challenges of the new Hyundai A-League season.

“We have a very good blend of youth and experience and although I’m captain, everyone has leadership qualities and I’ll be encouraging all members of the squad to play their role in leading the team, whether through voice or action.”

To assist Ufuk this season, Straka has announce a Vice Captain, Gareth Edds, and these two players will join three other senior players to form a Leadership Team. These five players will act as mentors and role models to other members of the squad both on and off the field. The leadership team is Ufuk Talay, Gareth Edds, Eric Akoto, Chris Grossman and Mark Hughes.

Speaking on the appointment of Ufuk as captain, Franz Straka said; “Ufuk is a very experienced player who has played football at the highest level both here in Australia and abroad.

He is well liked and respected by everyone associated with the club, particularly his fellow teammates, and his strong on-field presence makes him the right person to lead the team forward.”