Gold Coast players react after Jason Culina scored in the 59th minute to put the Coast 2-0 up during the 1st round A-League football match between Brisbane Roar and Gold Coast United at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Ain’t it a funny world? Jason Culina arrives home in a blaze of publicity and a couple of mil in the bank as the A-League’s finest advertisement. Then he turns around and says it’s a poorer technical standard than the National Soccer League. Gee, thanks for coming, Jason! Who needs Frank? Bring back Labbo!
The Gold Coast United and Socceroos midfielder, who used to get around for Sydney United and Sydney Olympic between 1996 and 1999 so knows what he’s talking about, told SBS’s The World Game on Thursday: “I can already see that Australian football has made giants strides forward. It is run very professionally and the facilities are excellent. The game has also improved from a tactical and physical perspective.
“Technically there are some good players but when you compare them to those who played in the old NSL, I’d have to say there needs to be some improvement.
“There might be plenty of foreigners but in the old days we had plenty of Aussie players who were just as good or even better.”
Which is wonderful to hear, because for some time now old hands who have seen the best of both “old soccer” and “new football” have been saying pretty much the same thing.
And they haven’t just been talking about the 1980s or 1990s; in their view, even back in the 1960s there was better football being played by newly arrived migrants and part-time footballers who drew big crowds to stadiums such as Lambert Park in Leichhardt, in Sydney’s inner west.
I can’t vouch for that personally as obviously I wasn’t around then but in 2007 when I was doing interviews for my book about Australian football with men such as Rale Rasic, Archie Blue, Atti Abonyi, Ray Baartz and other luminaries of the era, it was a common theme in their reflections of the period.
So it really needs to be called into question how far we’ve come as a football nation.
What Culina’s comments do highlight, and it’s a point I’ve been making for years now, is the continued triumphalism of physicality in the Australian game and the commensurate neglect or outright shunning of flair.
If a player has any of those “European” qualities the usual view of indentured coaches is that he won’t cut it in the rough and tumble of Australian football. He doesn’t get a trial, let alone signed. So he is compelled to leave for overseas, where his skills will be rewarded and honed. To stay at home would be to let them atrophy.
So many times I hear stories like this from agents of or people close to young players trying to break it in the A-League, especially footballers of Asian or African heritage. Some of the A-League coaches won’t have a bar of them – too small, too light, too slender, too fancy – so they’re packing their bags for Europe or South-East Asia, where their gifts are more appreciated.
The A-League was supposed to stem the player drain but it could be argued we’re losing more players than ever before. And we’ll keep on losing them till the words of people like Culina are properly heeded and addressed.
AndyRoo
Guest
Those were my thoughts when I read the Courier mail but there was an article in the GC Bulletin that actually quoted him and he clarified. he is not going to cap the crowd he was just making as ong and dance that the rental fee should be pro rata for GCU and the Titans. A pretty fair argument He also says the Titans will probably win the Grand final :)
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Ok Jimbo, thanks for the clarification.
jimbo
Guest
Ben, if you haven't heard, Clive Palmer is talking about capping the GCU crowds to 5K, becasue of a ridiculous Qld Gov charge that when the crowd gets above 5K they have to pay the Qld govt some ridiculous amount of money for "Traffic and crowd control" or something like that. Its more a protest against the govt than FFA, but if you restrict the sale of tickets to 5K, then you are restricting the growth of football and the crowd atmosphere on the GC. Clive Palmer is a real farkwit and should be farked off ASAP.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
que?
AndyRoo
Guest
What he said was really quite mild. I doubt he didn’t know the standard before he came and will be chucking it in anytime soon. If I was him I would be more upset about the Crowd capping. If I was Socceroo who gave up years in Europe to help out the Aussie game I wouldn’t want it to be for a team that was capping the crowd and therefore the growth of the game to save a few bucks. I would want to feel like I was apart of starting something great, the capping the crowd reeks of being a rich mans plaything rather than a football club and I would it find it quite demoralizing.
jimbo
Guest
Jason Culina is entitled to his opinion like any other Dutch football manager but lets put a couple of things in perspective. Jason was 16 years old when he first played in the NSL and left by the time he was 18 to try his luck in Europe. Surely as a 16 year old he would have found the NSL more difficult than the A-League today as a 28 year old and 10 years of professional football in Europe. Jason wasn’t paid very much to play in the old NSL, but chose to return to the A-League for over a million a season. If the A-League is inferior to the NSL then why did he not return to the NSL? Is he admitting he is only coming back to the A-League for the money? I think Jason is having some withdrawal symptoms like Pimbo, coming from a culture and place where football is the major pastime and being treated like celebrities to an Australian culture where football players [and managers] are not treated the same as they are in Europe. I hope these aren’t the first seeds of discontent for Jason with the A-League and the new Australian (Gold Coast) way of life and Jason won’t be leaving the A-League and heading off back to Europe before the end of his first season in the A-League.
Rob
Guest
Midfielder, where on earth did I talk specifically about "physical stuff"? My previous post went more to developing technique being more important at an early age than strength and speed. When you start to get to a more elite level, then, yes, of course physical strength and speed, etc, become more important, and need to be developed. What I was complaining about specifically was the selection of "Talent Identification Squads" on the basis of their size, strength and speed before skill. So I'm not sure what your complaint against me was about. I quite like the German style as well. they play a well organised, technical style of football that mixes a quality passing game with strength and speed. Nothing wrong with that. Ben, I am 100% with you on the coaching. The current coaches need to get their licenses ASAP. And Pip, if the horse hadn't bolted before, the Goldie crew would be off and racing this morning after soundly beating Adelaide 2-0 last night! Sigh...
danny
Guest
be interesting to see also how many current a-leaguers in their prime playing years (ignoring the young up and comers and the returning old guard) were at their formative stage when football in this country collapsed. don't know how much of a role this may have played, but the complete absence of a national league when they were beginning their professional career may have hampered the development of a number of the players. conversely, the presence of a national youth league and an a-league of constantly improving quality will create a generation that, even if it doesn't have absolute world-class players, will be of a higher base level. hopefully.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Midfielder has a good point though in that wen Jason left, a far larger percentage of Australian footballers plied their trade domestically. Now we have talent all over the world in far greater numbers. Hence are we producing less talent or are we simply exporting more? This is an important question to ask in relation to improving the standard of the A-League as one is about development and the other player retention. Also as the A-League is in its formative stages younger payers have less certainty about its role in their development and hence in many cases have been leaving too early, as witnessed by the return of Jameison, Williams and Leijer. For me the big gap isn't in players but in coaches. Lads, if you want to be consummate professionals get your licences.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
and yet go off the Japanese radar when they do. I noticed that despite the regular angst in relation to Japanese strikers, Okada is only now considering Morimoto.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Take it easy Mid - no one said anything over the top!!!
Midfielder
Guest
Pip Spot on .... Rob... what physical stuff ... FFS we can't even talk a players big toe in Australia without the style used to cut his big toe being discussed... Who are the style police anyway ... FOOK me the Germany's plan a style of football I ilke and its not like Spain or whoever ... Style Police .... beware you cause a lot of harm in trying to achieve what everyone is trys to do and accept from maybe 40 or so clubs in the world can ... everyone else just plays physical...
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Rob as long as the hubris doesn't cloud the judgement??!! Maayte - the horse has well and truly bolted!! But let us stick with GCU for a moment - nice looking squad, tore apart a hapless Fury, go through every line and we're looking at quite gifted players (in the context of the A-League), but then we come across names like: Rees; Panta...Pior is so so....Thwaite got dropped from the Victory as they headed towards finals (thank God)... Folks - 25 rounds to go.
Rob
Guest
On the development and selection of stronger/quicker/fitter players, I certainly recall playing at State championships and watching, on the whole, the kids that had developed quicker, and were therefore bigger stronger etc getting picked over and above the weedy but skillful kids. i even recall a kid who was a regular in the state team for the first three years (u/12-U/14), who suddenly disappeared off the map when the other kids caught up in size and strength. That being said, when I was selected for a state academy of sport, the emphasis was much more on skill than size and strength. That stuff was included in the training program, with weights training and fitness/speed work, but the criteria was technique, which is as it should be. An encouraging sign has been the willingness of Frank Farina to play his kids - skillful, technically gifted kids, and little guys like Henrique and Massimo Murdocca over brute force. The Roar play with some style too, despite not always getting the results, mainly due to inconsistent strikers. Gold Coast are playing entertaining football too, much as I hate to admit it. But Gaz, you have to get over the team a little bit. They are not reinventing the wheel down the coast, but maybe have refined it a little. but having been able to pick and choose your personnel with (somewhat) unlimited resources has aided their cause too... This is not a sledge of the Gold Coast, or you, Gaz, but some of the things being said by you, both here and on 442, including this: "No seriously, Culina and the rest of the boys from GCU will change things before this season is over. Bleiberg’s brand of flowing football will show up the limitations of the physical game favoured to date, and suddenly everyone will start playing catchup." ...grate on me because it's as if this flowing football idea is a uniquely Gold Coast invention. It's not, and never has been. there's nothing wrong with supporting your team, which you do well, but there is a level of rose-coloured glasses that gets sickening. They are not the revolution, but a new addition to it. A WELCOME addition too, mind, as long as the hubris doesn't cloud the judgement.
chook
Guest
I think that the platform has been set to build upon. -a proper regulated competition -the introduction fo the FFA. -better media coverage. -better fan base -more interest in the Socceroos and therefore more interest in general the quality of the football does matter but with out the foundations of a well admistered league you got nothing. the quality will improve and so well the fans knowledge. give it time and support and it will improve. The player drain is an issue but if the remeber thier roots and bring back knowledge and football skill back to the game it only good. We are not going to learn it by ourselves quickly.
Midfielder
Guest
On the quality side of things A Elrich returns to our first team tonight ... WOW ...I remember him as a young player ... and have fondly followed his career ... Reason way back when ... my wife was working at TAFE as a part time teacher... anyway in comes ,a well mannered young boy and says he needs to enroll in a course as he had just this minute signed a contract to play for Pattmatta Power and the contract required him to enroll in a course of study.. Well the teachers had just closed off the rolls and it was just pass closing time ... and BTW who the FOOK is Parrmatta Power ... the young man accepted what he was told with good grace and said if there is any chance could they consider ... NOoooooooooo ... my wife stepped in and said ... look Parrmatta Power is a new football club starting out next year and if the boy is this good then can we bend the rules just a little... At my wifes request they let AE enroll 5 minutes late and into an already closed group as it was full. AE thanked my wife and said I will say a pray for you tonight for your kindness ... But through the whole thing when his future lay on the line he was polite and well mannered to everyone he spoke to.. to me I tho this kid has quality ... his career considering in 2006 he was the next player on the plane to the WC has gone down a little bit ... but tho poor club selection (and he is not the only palyer to do that) and injury .... but the little I saw of him last year I saw a touch on the ball and weighting of passes that gave my heart a little skip... I hope I am right but if he returns to his best ..... he will be the best buy any club in the league has made ... and he is with his old trainer from Parrmatta Power in LM....
Midfielder
Guest
Good discussion to date … my two bob’s worth’s is that the article title and some aspects have been taken as the article itself.. Essentially JC was saying in every way the A-League is better than the NSL… aside from there we more talented players in the NSL… maybe he is right … BUT Australian right now has over 50 players under 23 playing in Europe and they left for a variety of reasons. BUT there has never been that many trying there luck overseas at such a young age… The reasons they left fall into three areas as I see it, two are solved, one is new and unsolved. Why they left was because of the corruption and favouritism of the NSL clubs ..””Remember Timmy C could not get a run at Marconi “”.. and secondly the void left in the final years of the NSL / Crawford and the start up of the A-League clubs who had / have (in some cases still) no programs from park to A-League team. The development of the national youth league and national rep selection system will go a long way to solving the path way programs and thus talented juniors will stay.. The new problem has been the constant attack on style by one media broadcaster which has all but said if you want quality coaching take your kids overseas… From my personal viewing but I have top agree with KB … the A-League teams today would beat the NSL teams … maybe around the late 80’s early 90’s when all the players where at home the NSL may have won… but then we had no one overseas.. sorry Craig J … Also remember whose JC dad is and the circles he would have moved in … The technical / style thing is there but with the large number of younger players based overseas … but this is changing … When the Mariners Centre of Football Excellence and the Football NSW Riverstone Academy open … expect more young players to stay at home… But in closing agree with Milly’s & KB’s post …. The A-League is streets ahead and even JC says this .. it’s just a couple of players and that’s changing too. My tip the Marines to beat the Choppers (long ball specialist BTW) 2-1… Matty Sim 2 gaols & Danning the scorer for the Choppers…..
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Just to add my two cents to this illuminating debate, Japanese players are not paid "multiple millions of dollars per year" to stay put. They stay because language issues and cultural barriers often compels an average J. League player (earning a relatively modest income by world standards) to "stay put" and earn their living surrounded by the relative comforts of home. Some players take the plunge - Yoshiaki Ota just left Jubilo Iwata to try his luck in Europe - but by and large J. League players "stay put" in Japan simply because it's easier, not for reasons of remuneration.
dasilva
Roar Guru
i think brenda lin thinks otherwise In any case we all know the "best" mass murderers is from tasmania.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Damn - you beat me!!