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Australia needs more European football friendlies

Chelsea host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Roar Pro
29th May, 2013
15

In July, two of the biggest English football clubs in Manchester United and Liverpool will play friendlies in Australia. Tickets for both had sold out before most had time to blink.

Not only are these games going to boost the profile of Australian football in England and the world, they will boost the interest internally.

It is quite clear that we need more of these friendlies.

Australia may have missed out on its most golden opportunity to boost its profile, losing out in the 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding to Qatar, however they still have the potential to boost the footballing image in the country and worldwide.

Australia, in the past has been visited by some superstars. The LA Galaxy brought David Beckham down under and Everton previously bought some of its stars down under.

However, it has been a while since a truly world-class team visited our shores. That is why the Manchester United and Liverpool games are so important.

It’s unlikely many other teams will visit this pre-season but looking ahead to next year, a variety of teams should be encouraged to come and do a tour of the country. But which teams should we bring?

Practically any team from Europe in enough to cause a stir, even if they are a Championship team fighting relegation. But the FFA and A-League can shoot for the stars.

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Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal could well be targeted to come down under, bringing a host of stars with them to play against our clubs or A-League All Stars.

Elsewhere in Europe, Bundesliga teams such as Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Bayern Munich would also cause a splash, with over 100,000 Australians being born in Germany.

Italian giants AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus would also provide an interesting battle, with Australia having a large Italian population. Del Piero’s presence in the A-League could encourage these teams to come out to.

But to really cause football sensation to sweep across the country, we have to aim for the stars. The Superstars. Spain. Barcelona and Real Madrid would cause the country to lockdown.

These teams carry the two best players in the world and to see them on Australian soil would be incredible. But how are these teams going to come to Australia?

Firstly, the FFA needs to make the A-League All-Stars game an annual event in order to attract the biggest football clubs in the world.

The big European teams are going to be a lot more inspired to play against an All-Stars team, rather than a minor A-League team.

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Secondly, the FFA needs to expand the game, to allow a small round-robin, bringing in two big teams to play against the All-Stars and against each other, providing three spectacles for Australian fans rather than just one.

It would also allow many of Australia’s emerging A-League stars to prove themselves against some quality opposition.

The likes of Terry Antonis, who is heading off to Parma this year, could have proved himself in games like this, giving him a better notoriety.

It also allows many of the best A-League players to unite together against a great team to prove that the A-League has the right level of star power to take on the big teams.

Whilst all of this is just a hope and dream, it has exactly the right potential to build the profile of sport in the country, and all together, reinvest in Australian football.

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