One of the enduring benefits of Australia’s acceptance into the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been the improved opportunity to engage with other nations in the confederation.
Also, access to Asia’s World Cup qualifying route; regular matches against tough opposition in often unforgiving climates; battle-hardening our national team; and the chance for Australian clubs to compete in the Asian Champions League. There are even new financial and business opportunities to emerge out of regular contact with regional economic powerhouses Japan, Korea and China, not to mention the oil-rich states of the Gulf.
The dynamics of player movement have also been affected. Theoretically, Australia’s acceptance into the AFC would have opened the eyes of coaches around the continent, both here and abroad, to the unlimited potential this has for footballers in the region.
Half of this has rung true. We have just seen Luke DeVere, Iain Fyfe and Reinaldo cherry-picked by big clubs in Asia. Before them went Sasa Ognenovski, Jon McKain and others. Even Australians playing in Europe have been tempted by the riches and experience on offer in Asia and thrived, like Matthew Spiranovic, Josh Kennedy, Michael Beauchamp and Tony Popovic. Rest assured, Aussie footballers with talent (usually defenders) are not unnoticed by the scouts up north.
But what about player movement in the other direction? A look at the sixteen squad lists for the 2011 Asian Cup reveals some interesting facts and figures on players who ply their trade abroad. Predictably, Qatar (the domestic base for thirteen non-natives playing in the tournament), England, Saudi Arabia (nine each) and Germany (seven) – for various reasons – are well-represented in these terms. Money is no object for many clubs in the Middle East and West Asia, while the attraction of playing in a European country rich in footballing history is obvious.
But how many non-Australians appearing at the Asian Cup play for an A-League club? None. Zero. Dot. An unflattering statistic. What’s more alarming is the fact that the domestic leagues of footballing powerhouses such as Kazakhstan, Syria, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates have players featuring in the tournament. Cyprus! A country that size is lucky to even have a national league, yet its football environment and culture is obviously good enough for international-standard players to run around week-in week-out for half of every year.
On the world stage, middle-of-the-road teams with a cosmopolitan flavour often perform well in big tournaments. The best teams in Asia are at this level. A third of Japan’s squad is foreign-based, eleven Koreans play abroad and there are only four A-League players in Australia’s line-up. The integration of many footballing styles and cultures leads to versatile, quality football and players who are adept at mixing their game up and confusing the opposition.
It is no surprise that the four semi-finalists of this year’s edition have at least a third of their squad playing abroad. By contrast, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, who went in with high expectations, churned out entirely domestic-based squads and were disappointing flops. The development of the game in these countries could easily be stimulated by the presence of national team players in other – different – domestic leagues, such as the A-League.
Asian football tragics Jesse Fink and Mike Tuckerman have both written extensively on the limitless potential that could come from A-League clubs embracing Asian talent. There have been a handful of players from the north-east who have featured in Australia, kicked off by the mercurial Kazuyoshi Miura who had a guest stint with Sydney FC back in season one. Since then we have seen Zhang Yuning, Lei Lei Gao, Hirofumi Moriyasu, Byun Sung-Hwan and several others grace our fields, with varying degrees of success and durability. But it is the broader Asian land mass, beyond these traditional target areas, where the gems can be found at cut price.
More recently, Iraqi Ali Abbas has been recruited by Newcastle and Surat Sukha has turned out for Melbourne – a promising sign, but the overall numbers are still disappointing. More focus has been on recruiting South Americans and Europeans with a past rather than a future, and who usually command top dollar. As far as bargain basement buys go, A-League clubs can’t go past untapped Asian talent – and it is baffling why, to this day, the clubs have failed to cast their net into these areas. A promising Indian player such as Subrata Pal or the aptly-named Climax Lawrence would jump at the chance of a contract with an A-League club and some financial stability, while the number of opportunities for them to develop their football would dramatically increase.
Of course, A-League clubs have an obligation to foster local talent – one reason why there is a cap on the number of foreign players at each A-League club. All clubs should prioritise this. However, imports are necessary to add a bit of flair to our league, and in an environment where the competition is a hard sell and money is tight and precious, nothing is more painful to an A-League club than an expensive European or South American player who hasn’t come up with the goods. It boils down to a cost/benefit analysis: will expensive has-beens or unknown bargains be of better value to the club? We all like having Robbie Fowler here and he has been a breath of fresh air to the league, but one could mount a compelling case that our clubs would be better served punting on some fledgling Asian talent for peanuts rather than an breaking the bank for aging star or an unknown B-Grade international. If things don’t work out, it is much easier for a club to justify a cheap unknown who hasn’t done the job than an expensive flop (Romario, Benito Carbone and Edmundo Zura come to mind).
On the world scene, the A-League will always be a competition for developing players and second-tier stars, rather than the game’s true elite. But by opening its arms to the bevy of talent running around in Iraq, India, Thailand, Jordan, Syria and other countries, the local game may find itself with a shot in the arm at a low cost. Even if just a few diamonds are unearthed, the melting pot that is Australian football will have another strong influence, stimulating interest and energising the game, the fans and the media. This can only be good for the A-League and Asian football in general. How good would it be to see the other fifteen teams in the next Asian Cup sprinkled with the best foreign talent on show here in Australia week after week?
Call me a dreamer, but when the championship-winning Melbourne Heart and Iraq midfielder scores the wonder goal that puts his team into the 2015 Asian Cup semi-finals, we’ll find out.
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