2010 critical for perceptions of football in Australia

 
Adrian Musolino Columnist

By , 6 Jan 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert

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The new coach of A-league team John van't Schip (right) takes questions from the media in Melbourne, Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. Dutchman van't Schip has been appointed coach of Melbourne Heart team whose syndicate hopes to gain entry to the Soccer A-League. AAP Image/Julian Smith

The new coach of A-league team John van't Schip (right) takes questions from the media in Melbourne, Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. Dutchman van't Schip has been appointed coach of Melbourne Heart team whose syndicate hopes to gain entry to the Soccer A-League. AAP Image/Julian Smith

Not since 2005, when the A-League came to life and the Socceroos faced their crucial World Cup qualification playoff, has football in Australia faced as a decisive year as it does in 2010. More important than 2006? Absolutely.

The 2006 World Cup was the icing on the cake of World Cup qualification in 2005.

As long as the Socceroos were competitive, it didn’t really matter what happened in Germany. The perception of the Socceroos, for many Australians, was as the wide-eyed returnees for whom just being there was reward in itself.

It was just an added bonus that they provided us with four games of such differing emotions against Japan (the thrill of such an incredible comeback victory), Brazil (their best performance of the tournament, despite losing, against one of the world’s best), Croatia (pure drama) and Italy (controversy and heartache).

But 2010 will be different.

Expectations will be higher with the non-footballing public who tune in for their once every four year taste of the round ball game expecting that the Socceroos should match or exceed their 2006 exploits, or at least match the drama of their last campaign. As previously outlined, matching that drama and intensity will be no easy feat.

The media spotlight will be ever brighter too, and it’s interesting to note that even the News Limited press is onboard with a dedicated Socceroos site running since the 2010 World Cup draw was made in December.

2010 is also more crucial than the 2006 World Cup as its impact needs to be greater on the A-League.

In 2006, the A-League was still in its infancy.

Today, as Les Murray has made the salient point arguing, the novelty has well and truly worn off.

The inevitable bandwagon support that will carry on from the World Cup into the A-League season and the inclusion of Melbourne Heart (when are they going to announce their name?) will inject a bout of novelty into the league’s sixth season, but the A-League needs to be seen to be definitively reversing the downward crowd trend.

More important than the arrival of Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, Heart’s arrival is a critical moment in the A-League’s short history as it breaks the one club per city platform.

I’ve written previously of how difficult it will be for the Heart to distinguish themselves from the Victory, and there is genuine uncertainty, even from within the Heart franchise surely, about the supporter base they can attract.

The crucial barometer of Heart’s success may not be the crowd they can pull, but rather what impact it has on the Victory’s.

Assuming the Victory are destined for another Grand Final appearance this season and a competitive run in the Asian Champions League, will the crowd they attract at their brand spanking new CBD stadium be down on their average from this season?

If so, then that’s a great concern. The A-League needs to be seen to be expanding its fanbase with the inclusion of Heart, not merely splitting the current base from one Melbourne side to another.

Throughout all this will be the shadow of Australia’s bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

If the fallout from Andrew Demetriou’s comments regarding the impact the Cup will have on the AFL is anything to go by, the World Cup bid won’t be far from the headlines in 2010, and the public response to the fluctuating fortunes of our bid and how the FFA works with the AFL and NRL will continue to gauge how football is perceived by the masses in Australia.

The announcement of the hosts for 2018 and 2022 in December will obviously be the critical moment of Australian football’s year, with its implications for the future of the code perhaps too great to ponder at this moment in time.

The only guarantee is how crucial 2010 is for football in Australia.

The novelty and innocence of 2005 and 2006 is gone, making the events of 2010 that more crucial.

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