The Roar
The Roar

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Time to redefine the A-League in world football

Roar Rookie
24th September, 2012
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Roar Rookie
24th September, 2012
14

Last season was a disappointment. After all the pre-season hype surrounding Harry Kewell, it just didn’t live up to the expectation. Could this year be the year that the A-League cements its place in world football?

There’s no doubt that the last couple of weeks have really caught the attention of the masses when it comes to the A-League.

Del Piero and Heskey have signed with A-League clubs Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets respectively, and there is now talk that former German captain Michael Ballack could join the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Who wouldn’t be excited about those big names joining our home grown league?

Not only would we see exciting football, but it means more teams will be competitive. Isn’t that what we want? A competitive season with great attacking football? Let’s hope these players can live up to their reputation.

With Clive Palmer behind us, this off-season has been an entertaining one. It started with Ange Postecoglou signing with Melbourne Victory, a win for all Victory supporters.

From there, Victory have signed a number of exciting attacking players, bringing back Marcos Flores to the A-League.

Of course, the other clubs have had to respond, and respond they did.

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Sydney FC enticed Fabio away from Victory, signed Adam Griffiths and lured marquee man Del Piero to Australia.

Staying in New South Wales, Western Sydney signed breakthrough goalkeeper Ante Covic from Victory, Mark Bridge from Sydney FC and managed to bring Tony Popovic to the club as their manager.

Every club has been busy during the off-season, building up their sides for a competitive season.

One of the most exciting things about the upcoming A-League season is another rivalry. We have seen the powerful Victory versus Sydney FC derby, the Victory versus Heart derby, and even the Roar versus Mariners derby. Now an all Sydney derby will kick off.

Western Sydney versus Sydney FC is a rivalry the A-League needs to create and foster. The Melbourne derby has worked a treat, attracting 30,000 plus crowds to every game, and it’s with this fixture that the A-League kicks off on the fifth of October.

In Round three the new club on the block will face Sydney FC in the first Sydney derby.

As a passionate A-League fan it has killed me to see the A-League struggle with so many issues over the past years. Clubs have come and gone and we have never been able to form a stable league.

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This year could be the breakthrough year for the A-League. With the exciting new players lending their services to many different clubs, we may finally have attacking football. It’s what the fans want to see.

Get ready, this season will be a big one.

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