For a competition that began just seven years ago, the A-league’s rapid improvement as not only a domestic, but international league has been notable.
It has created a breeding ground for Australia’s finest talent and has also been established as a destination for talented older players who wish to play here during their twilight years.
But the stock of talent that has arrived in the past, and the talent that is arriving now are vastly different, just like the quality of local Australian talent being raised in the continent today.
The A-league has been significantly more effective in attracting international talent and high quality players than the National Soccer League that was formally Australia’s prime competition.
10 or 11 years ago, people wouldn’t have dreamed about players like Liam Miller, Robbie Fowler or Dwight Yorke coming to play for South Melbourne or the Marconi Stallions.
At the same time, people would also not have expected that Australia would have a league with enough quality to raise talent so effectively that they would be poached by giant clubs.
Among a sea of names, Mustafa Amini and Liam Miller are standouts for me.
Amini has been rated as one of the most talented local talents since Harry Kewell, and the fact that at the age of 18 the Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund have pushed though a move for him, is testament to not just his quality, but the way he’s been able to develop as a footballer at the Central Coast Mariners.
A player like Amini would probably not have developed as effectively in the National Soccer League if he had been born 10-15 years earlier, and as a result may not have attracted attention from overseas clubs, and may also have attempted to get a trial overseas too early in his career.
His departure to Borussia Dortmund provoked Central Coast Manager Graham Arnold to state: “It’s brilliant news for Musty (Amini), the A-League and the Mariners.”
Liam Miller on the other hand, who has joined Perth Glory, should be seen as a revolutionary move in terms of recruiting overseas players.
Although, the A-league has attracted more talented footballers such as: Juninho, Robbie Fowler, Romario and Dwight Yorke during its tenure, Liam Miller is a player who is still at an age where he is capable of playing close to his best football.
All those previously mentioned players who arrived were all over 34 and their best football was well and truly behind them.
Liam Miller was playing for Manchester United just five years ago, was a regular in the Scottish Premier League last season and was playing for Ireland just two years.
At 30, he still has a lot to give as a footballer. The fact that a player like Miller who you would expect would have had offers from the English Championship was attracted to play in Australia is evidence of how far we’ve come as a league.
Although the A-league has been labeled a mere hub, for old players to retire and young players to leave, people fail to realise the quality of who’s leaving and who’s arriving.
Amini and Miller are an example of a prodigious young talent that the A-league can boast for producing, and a stalwart who was enticed to play here despite the attraction of the established leagues in Europe.
We’ve come a long way.
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