David Carney has ended his football hiatus and signed for New York Red Bulls, joining compatriot Tim Cahill at the Major League Soccer outfit.
The deal comes as something of a surprise, with Carney having fallen off the radar since ending an unhappy eight-month stay at Uzbek club Bunyodkor in September 2012.
The 29-year-old Australian has been without a club since then, after trials in recent months at English Premier League side West Ham United and former team Blackpool came to nothing.
Carney had been a Socceroos regular under Pim Verbeek and early in Holger Osieck s reign but his stock with the Australian football public fell after his error in the 2011 Asian Cup final against Japan allowed Tadanari Lee to score the winner in extra-time.
And the last of his 46 international appearances came in the 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat away to Jordan last year, in the same month he was deemed surplus to requirements at Bunyodkor.
But with the Socceroos left-back berth still up for grabs, midfielder Matt McKay filled in there during the final three matches of World Cup qualifying, Carney may now harbour hopes of a return to favour if he can force his way into the first-team reckoning at Red Bull Arena.
David is an experienced international player, who can play on the left side both as a defender and a midfielder and he provides us much needed cover, the Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh said in a statement on the club s website.
He is versatile and athletic and has competed at a high level. We are pleased to bring David to New York and look forward to his contribution as a member of the Red Bulls.
Having begun his career in Everton s youth system, Carney enjoyed his most consistent spell with Sydney FC between 2005 and 2007, winning the A-League title in his first season.
Carney also claimed an Eredivisie winners medal at FC Twente in 2010, when he played eight league games for the Dutch club.
