It is a great time to be a football fan in Australia and the news that David Villa will be playing a 10-game stint for Melbourne City is just another little win.
I pondered this while helping babysit my three-year-old nephew.
Today, I bought him his first little football and, along with my wife, had taken him to a suburban park to try it out.
I decided to show my nephew how David Villa scored his goal against the Socceroos. Facing the ball but not the goal, Villa stepped over it with his left foot then dragged it with his right in almost a back-heel style motion. This seemed as good a point as any to start my young protégé’s education in football.
So I asked him to roll the ball towards me. Of course, things didn’t go to plan; my left foot landed on the ball, I rolled my ankle then fell like a shot bird to the ground, knocking the wind out of me.
From this literal grassroots vantage point, I could make out hundreds of pairs of football-booted legs stretching out as far as my slightly dazed vision could see. At Queens Park in Sydney’s east, home of the Queens Park junior football club, there are dozens of playing fields constantly in use on a Saturday morning, with hundreds of boys and girls playing football. It is a scene played out all over the country.
When I was growing up, girls used to be dragged along to ‘watch’ their brothers play. In 2014 things have changed completely. You see almost as many girls as boys playing, and up to a certain age girls and boys play together. It becomes a great winter family activity – and perhaps provides some gender respect lessons along the way.
And what of the women’s senior game in Australia? There is now a national competition, the W-League, and with less theatrics and on-field bickering it is refreshing to watch. Our national team, the Matildas, are going like a house on fire, having been Asian Cup winners and currently ranked ninth in the world. The women’s game in Australia has never been better.
Just two weeks after the World Cup final, the first games of the FFA Cup competition proper will commence. A nationwide knockout competition with clubs from all levels of the game, it will go some way towards bridging the gap between ‘old sockah’ and new football. It is something other sports in Australia could not hope to pull off.
The A-League itself has come a long way in 10 years. As a Sydney FC fanm we were taught early on that we must hate the Melbourne Victory. It made sense – since we could never beat them in Aussie Rules and they couldn’t touch us in rugby, football was the only sport (other than Sheffield Shield cricket) that we could have a fair contest.
Then a few years ago there was a new kid on the block. We didn’t need to be told to hate the Western Sydney Wanderers, it just seemed a natural fit. With their noisy fans and the fact they could play a bit, you couldn’t help but respect them.
Come 2014 and the intensity is raised again. The daggy old Heart are gone, transformed by overseas capital into the suddenly sexy Melbourne City. With their fancy badge and marquee signing (who I hold responsible for my throbbing ankle) you would think they are trying to out-bling Sydney FC. Hey, there is room in the A-League stable for only one show-pony you know.
However it gives us a chance to hate another team. We have big hearts in Sydney and have plenty of room to hate all three clubs. Clubs and the rivalries between them are feeling less manufactured all the time. Heck, even names such as Roar, Victory and Glory are starting to grow on me.
Of course the hatred lasts for only 90 minutes and when the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League come around, I like many fans around the country, will put aside differences to cheer for the Wanderers. If you had suggested that local teams would be playing in a continental knockout competition even just a few years ago you would have been laughed out of town. Now, it is a reality.
After the inaugural FFA cup final in December, we move on to the Asian cup. Yes, Asian teams under-performed at the World Cup but this is a chance for redemption. Australian fans will be able to see first-hand the team that provided such excitement in Brazil. Before our entry to the Asian confederation we could only dream of hosting such a prestigious tournament.
Since the birth of the A-League in 2004, the football landscape has improved immensely. There has never been a better time to be involved in football in this country. Sure there are still some issues, but my optimistic view is that for every one step back the FFA has taken two steps forward.
My nephew was getting a bit tired. When asked what he wanted to do next he said, “Could you do that falling down thing again?” I took it as the cue to leave.
As we trudge up the hill towards Bondi, a whole panorama opens out. On this absurdly warm and sunny winter’s day, you can see all the way to the Blue Mountains.
In the foreground, near the light towers of the SCG, you can make out the saddle roof of Allianz stadium. This is Sydney’s footballing theatre of dreams, home to Sydney FC and occasionally the national team.
I look down at my nephew, exhausted from his first ‘grassroots’ football experience at a suburban park, back to the stadium, and in my mind draw a line between the two. It’s a connection you wouldn’t bother with when I used to play.
Yes, football’s star has never burned brighter.
Griffo
Roar Guru
This just coming in - not so much a boast for football, but interesting what some countries consider their most popular sport (data from 2006): http://www.vox.com/2014/7/3/5868115/most-popular-sports-world-cup
Brian Orange
Roar Guru
That's not what he said Pat Malone, people who don't like football or any sport for that matter, are not Neanderthals. What he said was there are people who behave like Neanderthals, who attack football, even though they don't follow it and know very little about it. These people become more prevelent as the sport becomes more popular, because they feel threatened, They will get more attention when football gets more attention, such as during World Cups or at finals time.
Brian Orange
Roar Guru
Hakoah is an ancient Hebrew word for "strength" and there are over 20 football clubs around the world that have Hakoah in their name and not all of them Jewish. I don't see that as particularly ethnic or likely to incite violence? Marconi was a universally famous inventor, Nobel Prize winner and the father of radio transmission. He actually lived most of his life in England and converted from Catholicism to Anglicanism. The FFA rules on naming football clubs apply to new clubs, not existing clubs. What is the relevance of all this to the topic anyway? You don't think football has made significant progress in Australia in the last decade? Please discuss.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
Thanks JB and a pretty good point you make. I wonder how it works in the backstreets of São Paulo? There must be a wealth of football knowledge that gets passed down through the generations. My own experience of coaching my daughter's team was that none of the other parents knew anything about the game. I gave it a crack but unfortunately was not qualified to teach the finer skills of the game. Perhaps it will just take lots of time.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
@Fuss "A-League off-season, WC reaching its climax .. but football never sleeps" And there lies the problem. Sleep is something I need a whole lot more of at the moment. In fact it's something I have been dreaming about. Never mind, a long sleep in for Saturday morning.. wait there are some more games on! I don't know how my Sat. morning kick around will go ths week....
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
A-League off-season, WC reaching its climax .. but football never sleeps. Young Socceroos to meet USA, Chile and Bermuda in an Invitational Tournament 14-18 July in California. Squad: Daniel ALESSI Shannon BRADY Brandon BORRELLO Jordan BROWN Devante CLUT Daniel De SILVA Shayne D’CUNHA Scott GALLOWAY Ben GARUCCIO Hagi GLIGOR Paul IZZO (gk) Awer MABIL Marc MARINO Stefan MAUK Christopher NAUMOFF Liam ROSE Jaushua SOTORIO Jordan THURTELL (gk) Benjamin WARLAND Riley WOODCOCK http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/article/young-socceroos-to-meet-usa-chile-and-bermuda/4okh6wfvngc11ibjn47i1z88p
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Football Chap Ok, thanks. I see what you mean. Absolutely, the quality varies from club-to-club. It's also varied from year-to-year. I've seen my team MVFC win the double twice, yet the football we played last season prior to Christmas was better quality than anything in the years we won trophies. We also beat the Champions of Asia in the ACL last season, yet played some awful ACL football in the years we won trophies. I've watched a lot of European football over the past 30+years. I can tell you that the quality of European football - within domestic leagues, between different leagues .. even in the Champions League - can vary between clubs. Right now the Preliminary Rounds of the 2014/15 UCL have commenced. The standard is totally different to the football we'll see in the Group Stages. That's football. Every league, every year will have teams that are super - they win the trophies; and teams that are rubbish - they finish bottom.
Football Chap
Roar Rookie
Hi Fuss, you ask the question earlier, 'a-league compared to what' and my answer would be, compared to itself. You may be watching the premier competition but there is tremendous variability within the league. Some matches are indeed hard to watch and I love the league. Of course, you can't have the sweet without the sour and there are bad games everywhere. I enjoy the league much more these days compared to the early seasons and one of the main reasons is the better quality of the football.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
The cracks could help the Reds
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
No. I agree. The All-Stars game is a poor fit in most football markets, but I accept that in Sydney it appeals to another group of fans who stump up handsomely for the match. Fair play to them. FFA make a buck too which is useful. More exposure for the game etc...
Bill
Guest
Attempted sporticide.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
Ben I am sure the bounce will be true with some high scoring. Look for it to take some spin towards the end of the match.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Malaga? Wow, great news indeed. Hopefully the Adelaide Oval turf is up to scratch.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Kasey Unfortunately, it looks like you'll miss out. ANNOUNCEMENT: AUFC v Malaga Friday, 25 July 2014 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Kick-off: 7:00pm http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/adelaideunited/news-display/Adelaide-United-FC-v-M%C3%A1laga-CF/91032
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
Jokes. Hindmarsh is great. Been to a few games there. Don't mind Adelaide either :-)
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
My instinct in no. I would be happy to be wrong. An alternative might be for a Melbourne Knights to come up?
Midfielder
Guest
Even better and staying on the local theme.. the Canberra Times has been given the FFA Cup decent coverage a typicla example.. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/injury-woes-plague-underdogs-canberra-fc-before-federation-cup-final-20140702-zstmw.html Injury woes plague underdogs Canberra FC before Federation Cup final Canberra FC faces an uphill battle when it takes on the in-form Belconnen United in the Federation Cup final at Hawker on Thursday night. FC has been in a “slump” in recent weeks, having lost two of its top players, Antonio Barbaro and Ryan Keir, to interstate clubs, and striker Daniel Bennett, the league’s leading goal-scorer, is under an injury cloud. Adding to the Deakin side’s woes, Josip Jadric is likely out for the rest of the season after rupturing a disc in his back on Tuesday night. It leaves difficult decisions for coach Ray Junna, as his team also have to play a rescheduled National Premier League match this weekend. “We’ve got a couple of injuries we’re weighing up because we’ve got a tough game on Sunday as well,” Junna said. The biggest decision is whether to play Bennett, who has missed the past two weeks with an ankle injury, on the less-forgiving synthetic Hawker surface. “To play him back on plastic, I’d rather not do that and keep him for Sunday," Junna said. "Whether we put him on the bench and give him 10, 15 minutes, that’s what we’ve got to weigh up. We definitely want to win the game, no doubt about it – we’ll go in to win it and whatever comes out on Sunday, we’ll deal with what we’ve got." Belconnen United goes in as firm favourite for the trophy, and is looking for an edge over its premier league rivals. “It’s a cup final so there’s no points, but it’s always nice to get a psychological advantage over your opponents,” Blue Devils coach Dean Ugrinic said. “Obviously [playing] someone like Deakin who have been the benchmark of the competition over the last few years, it’d certainly be nice to get a good result and get some silverware for the season.”
Punter
Guest
Great story Mid & you are truly the best at bringing us the grassroots developments, which is our future.
Midfielder
Guest
Great story http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/article/schools-football-strategy-scores-a/1k3zqtlzan4s913xdw6qyagm7n
Griffo
Roar Guru
Thanks to Asian Cup it looks like the pitch will finally get reconstructed, not without the usual political and economic wrangling. Just hope someone makes the right decision on turf choice. It is a great stadium for access; the south east gate has a massive ramp which disperses the crowd in and out of the sections easily and are not hidden away. Not sure if your up to your usual contradictory cheek AZ on McDonalds :-P but nothing bar a good gozleme stall is going to improve the horse fodder they sell there. Those churros make my arteries quaver just looking at them but people seem to line up to fang out on them :mrgreen: