Del Piero. Hesky. Ballack? Western Sydney Wanderers. Ange at the Victory. You could go on with the talking points but the point is, people are talking.
Last season’s Harry Kewell-inspired pre-season frenzy built the anticipation for the start of Season 7 and it looked like Season 8 would, in comparison, have what smart alecky marketeers in pin stripe suit coats and designer T-shirts would call a “soft launch.”
Yet here we are, on the eve of the NRL and AFL Preliminary finals, and those two August codes are sharing the media spotlight with the A-League.
Who’d have thought?
The signing of Alessandro Del Piero by Sydney FC kicked off the attention and his airport arrival last Sunday was without doubt one of the most memorable off-field events in the sport’s history in Australia.
At almost any other time, the signing of Emile Heskey by the Newcastle Jets would have been major news, no matter what the general opinion is of the fromer EPL and England striker. But it was a mere southerly change compared to the cyclone that is ADP mania.
It seems that the A-League is growing up. As we stare down the barrel of Season Eight, the league is now making its own history. The league has now got enough mileage in its young legs to be able to reflect on its history and ponder a bright future. A history that includes:
50,333
That’s a crowd figure many would have had trouble imagining for ANY kind of football match in Australia a decade ago. But that was the number of people that went to Docklands to see Melbourne Victory take on Sydney FC in a regular season game on December the 8th 2006. While the match ended in a disappointing scoreless draw, the much-maligned captain of the Victory that day Kevin Muscat made the salient point that none of the Aussie players competing in Europe on that weekend would have played in front of a crowd of that size.
All Night-Dwight
The quintessential Bling FC boy Dwight Yorke helped Sydney FC to the inaugural A-League title in 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald then ran a story that tracked Yorke’s week-long celebration of the victory, as he went from bar to night club to club function to bar to night club to… well, you get the idea.
The Nine Goal Thriller
In a re-scheduled game on the 22nd of December, 2007, Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC played what is possibly the most memorable regular season match in the league’s history. Sydney ended up winning 5-4 with a 95th minute winner from the penalty spot by Ufuk Talay.
The Mariners were 2-0 up when keeper Danny Vukovic was sent off. Sydney clawed it back to 2-2, the Mariners went ahead again, then Sydney scored twice to lead 4-3 and that would have satisfied most fans. But Adam Kwasnick scored an 89th minute equaliser before the final cruel twist.
Archie Sinks The Reds
In front of the biggest crowd in Australian club history, Archie Thompson scored five goals in Melbourne Victory’s first A-League triumph, as they thrashed Adelaide 6-0. Five goals? In a final? Where else has THAT happened?
The neutral venue Grand Final
Way back in 1980, the NSL Grand Final was played between Heidelberg United and Sydney City in neutral Canberra. It was the first match ever televised live by fledgling broadcaster Channel 0-28, who we now all know and love as SBS.
Twenty eight years later, the A-League went neutral when the Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners drew nigh on 40,000 to the Sydney Football Stadium for Season Three’s Grand Final, and the footballing cradle of Newcastle finally won that elusive national title.
The first away Grand Final victory
In 2010, Melbourne Victory had already claimed the prize as first multiple A-League winner, with victory in the 2009 Grand Final against Adelaide.
But they were now attempting back-to-back titles, only to be denied by their other arch-nemesis, Sydney FC.
In winning the final, Sydney became the first and so far only club to win the Grand Final on their opponent’s turf. It was also the first Grand Final in which both teams scored, and the first to go to penalties.
Best match in A-League history?
What more could be said about the classic 2011 A-League Grand Final between Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners? A full house at the best football ground in the country, a scintillating match, a four goal extra time, including the Roar’s two goals in the last three minutes, and Michael Theoklitos’ two penalty saves in the shootout. Football at its theatrical and dramatic best.
The Streak and back-to-back premierships
The Roar and their coach Ange Postecoglou re-defined the football style in this country. It was thrilling to watch and was rewarded with an Australian record unbeaten streak for any code of 36 games.
Although the streak was ended by Sydney FC in December 2011, the Roar would create the history denied the Victory two seasons earlier, by being the first club to successfully defend their premiership by beating Perth Glory 2-1 in the Season Seven decider, in front of the biggest crowd to ever watch a football match in Queensland.
With Season Eight a mere fortnight away, the league will continue to write its own history.
The first Sydney club derby since the NSL days looms in round 3.
Sydney FC’s first home game against Newcastle is, if the hype is correct, heading for a sellout at Allianz Stadium, which would be a first for a regular season game in the harbour city.
Sydney FC will become the first club to have paraded two former World Cup winners when Del Piero takes to the pitch in Wellington.
Brisbane will be looking to claim an unprecedented hat trick of titles in Season Eight and thus equal their AFL namesakes, who were the last team of any code to achieve three titles in a row from 2001 to 2003.
The Mariners will be hoping to avoid unwanted history as four-time runners-up, but if the unthinkable happens, at least they won’t be comparable to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills who lost four successive Superbowl finals from 1991 to 1994.
Or perhaps Ange Postecoglou will be looking to create a personal hat-trick, and become the first coach to lead two different clubs to championships in the A-League.
The hype has been great. The season now awaits.
Kasey
Guest
I have lived in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in the lifetime of the HAL and football does get looked after pretty well by the ‘tiser. Adelaide City and Hellas used to get mostly ignored except for the big derby game. The turning point for football in Adelaide was the formation of AU and its success in crossing previous ethnic based barriers into mainstream relevance – Just like Perth Glory did. Right from the off, AUFC were embraced by the public. Our first game has a listed attendance of ~16k, but I would bet a testicle that there was closer to 17k crammed into that stadium: ) Oh what a night that was! Oh we still get the occasional OMG Sokkah riotzz garbage that is peddled by News Limited when for example some little “its all about me and I just don’t care” scrote rips a flare, but after the Champions League run of 2008, when the paper printed GO United posters for everyone, I think the football team is a well accepted part of the city sporting landscape. Even driving around the city you see plenty of AUFC bumper stickers on cars. The Reds are about as mainstream as it gets of the football teams in capital cities IMO. Regardless of which month it is Val Migliaccio (poor journo that he is) does a pretty good job in ensuring there is usually one AU story in the paper every day, even if its light on facts and high on his own suppositions. I guess with the strength of Adelaide City(winning 4 x NSL titles) Adelaide has been conditioned to think of Sokkah as a regular sport more so than the other capital cities. I never watch commercial TV(SBS only for me!), but often if I’m at the folks place and 7/9/10 news is on, they will have their sports reporter talking ‘soccer’ even if its just the EPL highlights/goals with a sentence about AU tacked onto the end. Better than nothing I guess: )
mahony
Guest
Actually Adeliade get a dream run in their State media - much better than any of the three bigger cities. As to the focus on Melb/Syd/Bris - to be fair all three have larger fan bases, and six dunny seats..... As to the absense of ACL coverage of FTA (or the league for that matter) this is slowly changing - but the $$$$ from subscription televtion are very important - as we are learning the hard way this week. Not TV money - definately no regional team sin Aleague at all.
langou
Roar Guru
Become a Freo supporter Nathan and you can bleed purple and white all year round. Much easier than changing blood colours
Kasey
Guest
Or the fans of an SA footy team bashing an umpire in a country footy game over the last weekend? The umpire was quoted as saying ” I’m lucky to be alive” Of course the News(very) Limited press is quick to point out that it is an ' isolated incident and not a systematic problem of the sport of Aussie Rules....the double standards are breathtaking. any incident at a football game no matter the size is reported as "Football's shame!" and OMG SOCCER RIOTS!!
Ian
Guest
so what if there are negatives? every sport has negatives. those positives above are remarkable. i didn't even know all of them above. great reading. riots in soccer? what about parents bashing the opposition team in the under 18 brisbane grand finals for league two weeks ago? probably didn't hear about that one. i'm going to use that one and get heaps of mileage out of it.
hoolifan
Guest
Victory gets Etihad for free. great stadium deal actually. Oz soccer takes its lumps, but it continues to stagger on. agree the eurosnobs do suck, but a lot of the rest of your comment is a little exaggerated.
Evan Askew
Guest
It is my opinion that the ethnic clubs were 100% better for the game. They introduced a degree of professionalism that we didn't have before and never would have had if the clubs that were predominant at that stage had had their way. Despite the negative perception of rioting which I'm sure was a beat up a lot of the time, the clubs in the NSL era while never lifting us to the level of Leauge and Australian rules, at least ensured we were a more major sport than hockey or basketball.
Nathan of Perth
Roar Rookie
Winter is for bleeding blue and gold - summer is for bleeding purple and white - and every day is for bleeding green and gold :) The Red Cross would be most concerned!
Stevo
Guest
I've been known to give the Gory a friendly bagging but you guys have surprised me and you might come close again this year. For all of SFC publicity with ADP it's no guarantee of success on the pitch. I still reckon Roar are right up their and Arnie's Army to do something. I expect Pesky Heskey to find touch and be a handful so Jets with Eggmont at the helm to be hard. Has anybody heard how the Nix have been going? WSW v Heart will be one to watch for maybe all the wrong reasons :)
Nathan of Perth
Roar Rookie
Sportsbet has Perth Glory tipped for a 5th place finish - I reckon they're way off. I have high hopes for this year - hope for both of our sakes that that 5:0 result says more about Glory than Heart :)
Stevo
Guest
From all accounts it was good not to have been there. I'll save my angst for the real games starting 5 Oct :)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ Realfootball As a proud Roman Catholic, I'd like to think of myself as a Crusader. But, thank you for the compliment.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Glory puts in a full XI against Heart's full XI and heads home with a five-nil win... Not a bad pre-season, nine out of ten from a good range of opponents, hopefully gelled nicely!
Realfootball
Guest
Fussball is the football equivalent of the Taliban. He has zero tolerance for perspectives that differ from his own, and zero sense of humour. He is not so much a True Believer as a True Zealot. And I don't think even Fussball would disagree with that assessment.
langou
Roar Guru
Don't underestimate how loud I can be when sportingly clapping the good play from both sides
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football
Guest
This is like watching a car crash. Even though it's bad for my head I feel compellled to check up on "Johnno's latest". Wow!.....just Wow!
Kasey
Guest
exactly Roger, our game has copped it from pillar to post for decades, Johnno should forgive us if we football fans occasionally take time to take stock and enjoy the great strides forward the game has made. We don't need him to point out the deficiencies; football fans are more than capable of being critical(some would say too much) For me I am just reveling in a period of sustained good news for the domestic game only sullied this year (IMO) by recent poor performances of the National team :( As for inventing negatives(riots etc) welI I guess you could say that sadly we are used to that sort of behavior from trolls and the Mainstream media
Roger
Guest
No one is saying that there aren't problems Johnno. I think people are saying despite everything, when you do a stock take of our young league, there are a lot of positives to look back and reflect on. It seems to me, that you would rather focus on the negatives. And even then, rather than look realistically on the actual reality of the issues, you would rather make the negatives seem far worse than they are (WSW riots... hahaha, I still chuckle at your comment). So excuse me if I call "garbage" on your "comment".
MV Dave
Guest
What a great start to the season with 100,000 plus attending a round of HAL games....so many unknowns... PG at Subiaco, WSW first game, Del Piero and Hesky effects? To be even contemplating it is such a positive sign for the future after all the negativity in recent seasons.
MV Dave
Guest