It couldn’t have been scripted any better. Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory in the final game of the final round this Sunday with two points separating the two biggest Australian cities. But what are they playing for – the minor premiership or Premiership? Listen to the media and you won’t get a straight answer.
Peruse the various A-League forums in cyberspace, and many fans are claiming that this Sunday’s minor premiership showdown between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory is the most important match in the A-League’s five-year history.
I still don’t get it. Almost everyone feels like the integrity of the A-League has been compromised by Nik Mrdja’s pseudo-loan move to the Victory. Yet, as I wrote on Sunday, this isn’t new.
Central Coast won their first match in 10 games with a 3-0 victory over a 10-man Newcastle at Bluetongue Stadium on Monday night.
Sydney FC chief executive Edwin Lugt predicts this Sunday’s A-League premiership showdown against Melbourne will be one of the biggest games in the club’s history.
When the A-League’s Young Footballer of the Year is announced at the annual awards night a week from today, it should be a decision between the two outstanding youngsters of season five, Tommy Oar and Mathew Leckie.
Football Federation Australia has no plans to change the A-League’s controversial injury replacement rule despite the furore surrounding Nik Mrdja’s late-season switch from Central Coast to Melbourne Victory.
Little more than a year after earning the boos of his own fans, striker John Aloisi was hailed a hero after his match-winning double gave Sydney a vital 3-2 A-League win over Perth Glory on Sunday.
The race for the A-League minor premiership will go down to the wire with Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory set to fight it out in next Sunday’s blockbuster match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
More Football
Sydney FC hoping for season-best crowd
Sydney FC and Melbourne to battle for top spot
Aloisi goes from Sydney FC’s villian to hero
Hardly gun-shy after running foul of Football Federation Australia all week, Gold Coast United came out firing after their A-League minor premiership chances were dashed by a 1-0 loss to Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.
Tim Cahill’s recent goalscoring touch evaded him in front of an open goal as Liverpool ended Everton’s nine-match English Premier League unbeaten run with a 1-0 win at Anfield.
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If Karl Marx, the communist ideologue and the father of modern communism, were more open-minded and observant, he would have described sport (particularly soccer) as the opium of the masses.
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The Premiership Plate is fast becoming the most sought after trophy that the clubs want to win with first ACL spot up for grabs. This season’s HAL Ver. 5 holds the most exciting finish to an Australian Football season yet.
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The planet’s biggest single-sport event begins on 11 June and makes 2010 the most important year in South Africa since 1994. Some have even coined the FIFA World Cup as South Africa’s “second miracle”.
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We’ve been busy of late bringing the Sydney Rovers F.C. to life. But we promised to check in with you from time to time to keep you up to speed with our progress, so here’s the latest installment.
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Branko Culina is one of us – one of the many football supporters in this country. Sure Branko is a former professional footballer and current football manager, most recently with the Newcastle Jets, but Branko is a supporter of Australian football above all else.
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Finally, round 19 has been completed. The round that began way back on December 16, included two games pre-Xmas and three in the last fortnight, with all matches midweek.
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A football coach with the name of Ferguson benches a player because he has decided to play a different system, and feels said player is jaded. The player refuses to sit on the bench.
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Diego Maradona’s worldwide ban from football has ended. The former Argentine football playing idol had been put out to pasture since FIFA forbade him from any involvement in world football after his foul outburst in a broadcast news conference in November.
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I recently chatted with Neil Cordy, an ex AFL player who currently works for Channel 10. Channel 10’s dedicated sports channel ONE will screen a magazine style football show in February where Neill will contribute some stories.
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Each year, the A-League supplies an increasing number of young Australians who start to shine. And this season is no different. In fact, I’d say we have more quality young guns coming through than ever.
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In 2011, when the Melbourne Rebels run on the imaginatively named “Melbourne Rectangular Stadium”, they will represent the fourteenth professional football club to be based in the southern capital.
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The drawn-out saga of West Ham United’s ownership came to a foreseeable end today with David Sullivan and David Gold purchasing 50 percent of the club, with the option to buy the other half at the end of the season.
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If the FIFA World Cup comes to Australia during 2018 or 2022, the four football codes could be in for a big dispute, with each other, with FIFA and with the government.
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Much has been reported about the concerns of the AFL surrounding the impact of hosting the World Cup during their season. The Herald Sun reports on another aspect of the bid that is equally worrying to all taxpayers: Government lobby groups.
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This was the most important week of the A-League so far. Gold Coast are running hot, signing Charlie Miller and maybe even Adam Griffiths as the season gets serious, and now they beat Sydney in Sydney 1-0.
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Not again. Just like last year, this year’s Hyundai A-League looks like being another very close competition and a fight to the end for three teams to win the Premiership Plate.
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Ocean 11. No, not the movie, but a football team to be based in New Caledonia. The A-League may have a new entrant from New Caledonia if ex-France 1998 World Cup football winner Christian Karembeu has his way.
