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The return of Lucas Neill to Sydney FC has been almost universally praised as a major coup for the A-League. It certainly is nice to have the Australian captain playing in the national league.
Not since Alex Tobin in the days of the National Soccer League has a long-term captain of the Socceroos played in the domestic competition.
But considering the mixed success of the returning Socceroos in the A-League, is repatriating Lucas Neill the right move for Sydney FC?
The class of 2006 are still revered in most quarters for their unprecedented run in the World Cup. They were truly Australia’s ‘golden generation.’ Tim Cahill became the new Weetbix Kid, while the handsome, softly spoken captain courageous Lucas Neill became a one-man public relations tool for the game in this country.
The Socceroos were everything to everybody in those heady days in Germany. They were worldly, they were multicultural and they were valiant underdogs who always took the game to their more fancied opposition.
Sporting ambassadors to truly be proud of.
Understandably, most Australian football fans wanted their favourite Socceroos to come home to the fledgling A-League in order to give something back to the game, at a time when it needed their profiles the most.
For the most part, the class of 2006 had all left the National Soccer League during the late 1990s.
Mark Bresciano and Vince Grella both moved to Italy from the short-lived Carlton FC, Mark Viduka had been coaxed away to Dinamo Zagreb by the president of Croatia himself, while Brett Emerton went from Sydney Olympic to UEFA Cup glory with Feyenoord in just a few seasons.
It made sense to bring them home to a rehabilitated domestic game.
Lucas Neill was one of many who simply bypassed the NSL, signing for Milwall in England before he had left high school.
In many ways, Neill and Sydney FC are a match made in heaven. Hailing from Sydney’s northern beaches, Neill is one of the few Sydney-born Socceroos not to come from the western suburbs.
Like Kevin Muscat at Melbourne Victory, Neill’s return is something of a homecoming.
Indeed, Neill insists that his motivation in signing for the Sky Blues was for “family reasons.” But we all know it’s not that straightforward.
After being released from two consecutive clubs in just one year, Neill has in fact been clubless for several weeks.
It’s more than a little embarrassing when the captain of your country can’t even get a run in United Arab Emirates.
Indeed, Holger Osiek recently voiced his concern about his clubless captain. It was hardly an ideal situation for Holger, especially when we all know that he is about as likely to drop Neill as he is give his team-talk in Mandarin.
Some will suggest that moving back home will be a step down for the veteran Socceroo. It’s a line we’ve heard before as many of the golden generation have come home looking for game time in the A-League.
In fact, very few have actually stood out from the pack. Most have come back at the end of their careers, and thus have only been able to play for a couple of seasons at most.
Consider the case of Mile Sterjovski, or Josip Skoko, or Brett Emerton.
Worse still Vince Grella or Stan Lazaridis. With no disrespect to any of these players, none of them has exactly set the league alight.
Even Jason Čulina and Harry Kewell – two of the more exciting prospects to return home – have been flash in the pans rather than consistent additions to the competition.
You’ve get to feel for Čulina especially.
Returning to the A-League at a good age, his first club Gold Coast United folded after just two seasons, Newcastle Jets then sacked both him and his father Branko after he suffered a knee injury, and then after a long rehabilitation with Sydney FC, he was released again after a training ground spat with Frank Farina.
With the benefit of hindsight, he probably wishes he had just stayed in the Netherlands.
For Tony Popovic, John Aloisi and Željko Kalac, their contributions look likely to come through coaching, not playing in the A-League. This is perhaps the crucial point.
Rather than clubs paying for these players to see out their twilight years in the domestic game, their experience may be better utilised in developing the next ‘golden generation.’
In truth, the best performers from that class of 2006 have actually been the most unlikely – Ante Čović, Archie Thompson, Michael Beauchamp and Mark Milligan. All received precious little game time in Germany, but have since been tremendous assets to their clubs.
Perhaps our expectations have simply been too high for our returning Socceroos?
In any event, the investment in Lucas Neill should not be considered a sure thing by Sydney FC fans. His return, far from an exercise in football philanthropy, is a last resort for a player on his last legs.
Let’s hope, for the sake of the national team, that he hits the ground running.
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