For a competition that began just seven years ago, the A-league’s rapid improvement as not only a domestic, but international league has been notable.
It has created a breeding ground for Australia’s finest talent and has also been established as a destination for talented older players who wish to play here during their twilight years.
But the stock of talent that has arrived in the past, and the talent that is arriving now are vastly different, just like the quality of local Australian talent being raised in the continent today.
The A-league has been significantly more effective in attracting international talent and high quality players than the National Soccer League that was formally Australia’s prime competition.
10 or 11 years ago, people wouldn’t have dreamed about players like Liam Miller, Robbie Fowler or Dwight Yorke coming to play for South Melbourne or the Marconi Stallions.
At the same time, people would also not have expected that Australia would have a league with enough quality to raise talent so effectively that they would be poached by giant clubs.
Among a sea of names, Mustafa Amini and Liam Miller are standouts for me.
Amini has been rated as one of the most talented local talents since Harry Kewell, and the fact that at the age of 18 the Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund have pushed though a move for him, is testament to not just his quality, but the way he’s been able to develop as a footballer at the Central Coast Mariners.
A player like Amini would probably not have developed as effectively in the National Soccer League if he had been born 10-15 years earlier, and as a result may not have attracted attention from overseas clubs, and may also have attempted to get a trial overseas too early in his career.
His departure to Borussia Dortmund provoked Central Coast Manager Graham Arnold to state: “It’s brilliant news for Musty (Amini), the A-League and the Mariners.”
Liam Miller on the other hand, who has joined Perth Glory, should be seen as a revolutionary move in terms of recruiting overseas players.
Although, the A-league has attracted more talented footballers such as: Juninho, Robbie Fowler, Romario and Dwight Yorke during its tenure, Liam Miller is a player who is still at an age where he is capable of playing close to his best football.
All those previously mentioned players who arrived were all over 34 and their best football was well and truly behind them.
Liam Miller was playing for Manchester United just five years ago, was a regular in the Scottish Premier League last season and was playing for Ireland just two years.
At 30, he still has a lot to give as a footballer. The fact that a player like Miller who you would expect would have had offers from the English Championship was attracted to play in Australia is evidence of how far we’ve come as a league.
Although the A-league has been labeled a mere hub, for old players to retire and young players to leave, people fail to realise the quality of who’s leaving and who’s arriving.
Amini and Miller are an example of a prodigious young talent that the A-league can boast for producing, and a stalwart who was enticed to play here despite the attraction of the established leagues in Europe.
We’ve come a long way.
Evan Askew
Guest
I think this is a good article and it is true that the A league is massively improving every season. Someone said that the season just finished was the breakthrough season in quality but I have to say the season before that when Culina came back to Oz was also a good quality season. And it is true that the imports coming to the A league are of a very high quality. I do agree with you though that the NSL produce top class young talent, and it would seem that this was due to the much malinged ethnic origins of the clubs in question. Zelic, a product of Croatian backed Canbera Deakin walked straight into the first team at Borrusia Dortumund from Sydney Olympic. Okon took half a season to break in to Club Bruuge in an age when the Belgian league was a much higher standard than it is now. Emerton went straight from Olympic to first team football at Feyenoord. Farina, Slater, Krencevic and Mitchell from an earlier generation also went on to successfull European careers from the NSL so, no I don't think the HAL has yet eclipsed the NSL in producing better players. But give it time and they will, and whats more, the greatest legacy of the HAL will be its ability to produce very good Australian players that will remain in Australia for a large part of their careers.
JoMa
Guest
I agree about the point that the league is stronger today in attracting o/s players with some quality players coming in their twilight, but also unearthing some talent from all over. However to say the NSL could not produce talent such as amini, kruse (to use another example), langarek, etc. Is a bit of an insult. Where do you think the socceroos of 2006 came from? The NSL has produced many quality players, they simply were not put in the spotlight like the current crop are. The A-League is improving, but it's not yet produced a crop of players like the NSL already has. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Roarchild
Guest
I do remember Ian Rush playing a couple of games for Sydney Olympic and Zelic moved from OZ to a pretty decent club. Last season really felt like a break through for the HAL though. The overall level of recruiting has stepped up a notch and there seem to be a lot more young prospects coming through. List of exciting players to have emerged, shone or really entertained in the last few years is quite long. Flores, Broich, Cullina, Perez, McKay, Kruise, Leckie, Amini, Ifil, Fowler, Smeltz, Traore, Cassio, Hernandez, Terra, Carle, ibini, Brosque, Rojas, Cernak, Oar, Franjic, Rose, Archie ..... there's actually quite a few more as well as top quality pros like Theo and Galekovic. Even a guy like Andy Todd would have been considered a massive signing back in the NSL days. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Eamonn
Guest
Dario Vidosic, Jason Culina, Archie Thompson not bad pick ups either
Dean
Guest
Not too mention the quality of o/s coaches like jvs rini coolen and franz . Also I think thomas brioch should also be included as another o/s player coming here in his prime as well as cullina and hopefully kewell too maybe the fan base isnt growing but I think the fans we have are becoming more passionate and dedicated each year
Midfielder
Guest
James Well written article and enjoyed the read.... I think Hal has got better each year and next year looks frightening the way PG & MV have build their squads and AU recent signings .... My Mariners largely kept the first team first team in place from last season but hugely improved the bench players... meaning getting in the run on side will be hard.. Just on the Musty loan thing, the loan is actually an endorsement of our league - Dortmund think enough of us that it's better that he play here than train over there, and they like our kids enough that they want to lock him up for themselves before someone else gets their mitts on him. A long way from Pim's training in the second team in Europe is better than playing in the A-League...
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Good article James----yes the new Football HAL is building momentum. This is streets ahead of the old Soccer NSL. I just love seeing oversees teams come to Australia for preseason hit-outs and being beaten by our HAL teams. This is sending out a clear message around the world that the HAL is a quality competition, with locally produced Australian born quality players, playing in quality Australian teams, playing in Australia's Premier football competition, the A-League.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Thanks, James, for a providing a true and fair overview of the HAL - using facts to validate your conclusions. And, as Michael Lynch stated in yesterday's Melbourne Age newspaper ... in the past, during the NSL years, when famous football clubs from Europe & Sth America toured Australia they the local NSL teams were not deemed good enough to share the pitch and these o/s clubs would only organise exhibition matches against some version of our Senior National Team. After 6 years of the HAL, we've had some of the world's most famous football teams come to play HAL teams, including teams from: EPL (Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Fulham), SPL (Rangers, Celtic), Italy (Juventus), Greece (AEK), Argentina (Boca Juniors). And, we have achieved this after just 6 years, with negative media stories and zero marketing!