Going Dutch, Heart signs ex-international Engelaar Melbourne Heart has boosted its already strong Dutch connection and strengthened its midfield at the same time by signing former Dutch international Orlando Engelaar as its marquee player for the upcoming A-League season. Engelaar is an imposing, 196-centimetre central midfielder whom coach John Aloisi will be hoping can control the centre of the park, an area where Heart lacked a player of his commanding presence last season. Engelaar, 33, comes with an impressive CV, having played in the top leagues in Holland, Belgium and Germany in a career that began with Eredivisie side NAC Breda and took in spells at Racing Genk in Belgium, FC Twente in the Netherlands, Schalke in Germany and more recently leading Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. He played 14 times for the Netherlands, including every match of the 2008 European Championships. His last match for the ""Oranje"" was in 2010. Heart boss John Aloisi says a player of Engelaar's pedigree is one of the most accomplished to have come to the A-League during its eight-year existence. "The club has worked hard for a number of seasons to attract a player who can dominate and control matches from midfield and we believe that we have found that player,"" Aloisi said in a statement. "You don't pull the strings in the midfield for the Dutch national team unless you have some special qualities,"" he said. Engelaar spent time in Melbourne during the off season before returning to Holland to make up his mind about moving to Australia. The imbroglio between Football Federation Victoria and some of its leading clubs is set to drag on after FFV refused to bow to a demand to scrap its proposals to move to a new elite level competition, the NPVL. In a statement, the clubs responded that they would now press ahead with legal action.