A-League
The A-League is Australia’s premier national football competition, having replaced the defunct NSL in 2004. Kicking off its inaugural season in 2005-06, the A-League currently features nine teams from Australia and one from New Zealand.
Expansion teams, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, joined for the 2008-09 A-League campaign, while further expansion is expected in the near future. Prominent A-League players have included Dwight Yorke at inaugural champions Sydney FC and Robbie Fowler at North Queensland Fury.
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 (3 hours ago)
Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina is confident he’s made the right decision to prepare for the World Cup by training with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven rather than playing in Asia or the Middle East.
National team coach Pim Verbeek made no secret of his belief that A-League players contending for the World Cup squad should stay active [...] Read article
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 (3 hours ago)
Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) boss Brendan Schwab says a schedule which has A-League grand final hosts Melbourne Victory leaving the country within hours of the decider is unacceptable.
Schwab said the combination of big matches a few days apart, interspersed with a long haul flight, was a recipe for bad injuries and a poorer quality of [...] Read article
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 (3 hours ago)
A-League grand finalists Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC have had their successful seasons reflected in the players’ team of the season.
The Victory have four members of the 16-man squad, including skipper Kevin Muscat being named captain, while the Sky Blues have three, including their retired leader Steve Corica.
The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) team was voted [...] Read article
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 (3 hours ago)
I can see it now, when the microphones are turned off, perhaps many in the Sydney-based football media will be kicking every ball as it passes from the feet of the likes of Kisel, Bridge and Brosque hoping for a Sydney win.
And just as Mike Tuckerman’s article suggests, perhaps the FFA are as well [...] Read article
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
I can see it now: Karol Kisel finds Mark Bridge in midfield, and the Sydney striker jinks past his marker. Bridge looks up and sees Alex Brosque in space to his left, and lays off an inch-perfect pass that bobbles horribly on the Etihad Stadium surface as the chance is lost.
It’s been an up-and-down [...] Read article
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Chris Payne channelled Thierry Henry on Saturday night at the Sydney Football Stadium to help ‘hand’ Sydney FC a berth in the A-League grand final, reigniting the debate over the ethics of an intentional handball.
Payne, an early substitute for the injured John Aloisi, reinstated Sydney FC’s lead in the 30th minute with what was a [...] Read article
Monday, March 15th, 2010
I doubt many were surprised when news broke last week that Michael Theoklitos had finally parted company with Norwich City after a nightmare stint.
The former Melbourne Victory goalkeeper, who has since decided to return to Australia by signing on with Brisbane Roar, had been out of favour with the Canaries since his horror debut at [...] Read article
Monday, March 15th, 2010
There was a fair bit made by Ricki Herbert about Chris Payne’s hand-ball goal on Saturday night, and how it changed the game. He obviously had a point, but I felt that focus deflected the attention away from some serious errors in the Wellington game-plan.
Watching the early going from my vantage point at [...] Read article