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Was Marc Janko marquee material?

Alexander Pink new author
Roar Rookie
28th May, 2015
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Marc Janko won't be back at Sydney FC next season - who will replace him? (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Alexander Pink new author
Roar Rookie
28th May, 2015
1

Marc Janko won the A-League’s golden boot in his first and only season at Sydney FC, with a goals-to-game ratio that ranks second in the history of the competition.

While his record back in the European leagues is checkered, the Austrian captain clearly stands out as one of the A-League’s best.

So why have Sydney FC decided against renewing Janko’s contract?

Coach Graham Arnold says it is because of how Janko’s international commitments will affect Sydney’s 2015-16 season, which includes an Asian Champions League campaign. Arnold’s decision is bold and flies in the face of the star treatment marquee signings have been afforded in years gone by.

But is Janko really marquee material? And what does this decision say about Australian clubs’ attitudes to European internationals?

Janko was Sydney’s marquee signing for the 2014-15 season, replacing the larger-than-life figure of Alessandro Del Piero. Since the inception of the A-League, no club has matched Sydney for the star quality of their marquee signings. From Dwight Yorke to Juninho onto arguably the most decorated footballer to play down under, Del Piero, Sydney have always had big names.

Janko’s signing was underwhelming, not in the sense that he wouldn’t perform for them, but in that the average Australian football fan had no idea who this gangly Austrian was.

Janko was a mid-level European striker. His career featured nothing much of note until the 2008-09 season when playing with Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, when he netted 39 times in 34 games, including five hat-tricks, scoring more goals than any player in any league worldwide that season.

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From then on his record remained decent (though nowhere near as spectacular) for Salzburg and at Dutch club FC Twente, where he played afterwards.

After his time in the Netherlands he became a journeyman of mid-tier European teams, playing for Portugal’s FC Porto and Turkey’s Trabzonspor. Neither of these spells where successful and largely contributed to why no European clubs would bother with him.

He seemed a flash in the pan and was entering his 30s.

He came to Australia old, out of touch and unwanted. But he found his level here, excelling in the A-League. His goal-scoring record speaks for itself, scoring in seven consecutive games, breaking Bersart Berisha’s record. Along with Berisha’s transfer to Melbourne Victory, Janko was one of the signings of the season, but unlike Berisha, he continued his international career, jetting off to Europe to play for Austria.

His allegiance to his country made his position with Sydney FC difficult to manage. He was a talisman figure for Sydney, although not in the same way as Del Piero, but while he performed on the pitch, management were understandably not thrilled about his trips back to Europe to play for Austria.

But what if Del Piero was still being picked for Italy? Could you really see Graham Arnold trying to hold Del Piero back from playing for his country? It wouldn’t happen. But Janko is no Del Piero and Austria doesn’t have the same pedigree as Italy when it comes to football.

Sydney FC wants to attract players that have star quality. They don’t need to be at the peak of their careers, they just need to have a name that will attract the Australian public. Janko wasn’t going to be this type of player; he doesn’t command the amount of attention. Coupled with European sojourns, Sydney FC have decided to cut their losses and move on.

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It is indicative of A-League clubs’ attitudes towards European internationals. We have very few European players in our country playing international football and it is likely to become even rarer from now on. This decision puts the writing on the wall: ‘If you want to play international football, don’t come to the A-League.’

It’s a step in the wrong direction. Clubs should celebrate players good enough to play for their country, regardless of how good or bad their country may be at football.

Marc Janko is aggrieved at the Sydney FC board and rightly so. Is he being punished because his name isn’t sellable to the Australian public and because he wants to play for his country?

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