With the transfer of Alex Brosque to the J-League finally confirmed, Sydney FC needs to think long and hard about its next signing. The issue for Sydney, as most people probably realise, is that it is not enough just to win games but they have to play entertaining football and they need big names to build the club’s profile.
Sydney’s signing of Dwight Yorke in season one was a success on and off the field. Now they need to pull off a similar coup to get the crowds back to the SFS. It won’t be enough to bring a player similar to Brosque in profile, talent and marketability. They need a huge name that will guarantee column inches and get people talking.
In recent times it has been other clubs that have drummed up interest with talk of potential signings, like the Newcastle Jets with Michael Owen/Paul Scholes/Kevin Phillips etc. This needs to be Sydney’s domain. No other club in the A-League faces more competition in the marketplace.
Sydney needs to sign an Owen or another entertaining, attacking player to bolster both their front-line and their public profile. In the past few years it has been Major League Soccer in the US that has captured some big names in European football – like Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and David Beckham. Sydney needs to complete a comparable transfer.
Who could they potentially bring in? Spanish star Raul Gonzalez is now plying his trade for Schalke in Germany. The Real Madrid icon is 33 and would be a great fit in the A-League. Likewise, former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is now playing in Germany. He’s 34 and would be a star attraction.
Whether Sydney is able to pull off these sorts of transfers is hard to stay. It would be far from easy. But Sydney needs to think big. They need to sell Australia, sell the lifestyle and beauty of Sydney as a place to live to get these kinds of players interested. Maybe they could use Aussies who have played overseas to leverage their contacts, like Mark Bosnich.
Whatever they do, Sydney needs to make their next signing a massive one or drab crowds will become the norm at the SFS and their media profile will sink even lower.
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