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In a year which started so brightly, and promised to be a game-changer for Australian football after the success of the Asian Cup, 2015 turned out to be a bizarre twelve months for fans Down Under.
While world football was embroiled in controversy following the ongoing FIFA scandal, which recently saw Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini banned for eight years, Australian fans had to put up with their fair share of drama.
Indeed, Australian football may well have experienced its watershed moment, a saga which could act as a catalyst to transform football for the better.
Amid the seemingly unending turmoil, however, there were scattered a number of positives.
Highlight of the Year: International competition
The big success story was, of course, the Asian Cup victory, with Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos triumphing at home to make football history.
It may have started with the team conceding an early opener to Kuwait in the first game, but from there it was an enjoyable, competitive journey towards victory over South Korea in the final on January 31 at Stadium Australia.
Among the obvious elation over the results was a massive win for the FFA in the organisation of the tournament and its reception. In response to negative press leading into the Asian Cup about potentially disappointing attendances, football fans showed up in strength.
More than 650,000 came through the gates as even the lesser games and minnow nations were enthusiastically supported. This showed the best of football and Australia’s multicultural community showcased traits unrivalled in any other code.
Then came the Matildas, whose squad of committed, talented and passionate players rivalled the Socceroos’ exploits in many way during the Women’s World Cup in Canada.
With less wages, less fanatical support and against bigger odds, the Matildas became the first Australia team to win a game in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
They managed to get out of a strong group involving Sweden, Nigeria and the USA, before toppling Brazil in the round of 16. A spirited performance against Japan in the quarter-finals ended in a last-gasp, devastating 1-0 defeat, but the team could head home proud of their achievements.
Kyah Simons and Elise Kellond-Knight emerged as stars alongside the established Lisa de Vanna and the future looks bright under Alen Stajcic.
The Joeys also showed promise in the Under-17 World Cup, reaching the knockout stages after navigating a tough group including Germany, Mexico and Argentina. Despite a rigid devotion to 4-3-3, which highlighted tactical naivety, the technical abilities of some players were exceptional. However, Tony Vidmar and his coaches must stop ignoring overseas talent in favour of AIS products.
Stars of the Year: Massimo Luongo and Elise Kellond-Knight
Even those who had watched Massimo Luongo’s early, impressive forays into the national team could not have predicted his stunning rise to Asian Cup hero.
There were many calling for his inclusion into the starting XI after watching his silky skills in previous months, yet for most Australian casual football fans the name Luongo was still unknown. His stunning opener in the Asian Cup final sealed his burgeoned reputation.
Coaching changes at new club Queens Park Rangers and being played out of position with the Socceroos has resulted in a less fruitful second half of 2015, yet Luongo is still the major success story for Australia football.
Meanwhile, Kellond-Knight led the way for the women’s side of the game in 2015. The number six was easily the classiest player in the Matildas squad during the World Cup, making the All-Star team and showing off her vast repertoire in both defence and attack.
A big move to German giants 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam followed, as well as being nominated for Asian Player of the Year.
Surprise of the Year: Matching the world champions
The 2-2 draw against Germany in March was a coming-of-age performance for the Socceroos. The result was merely symbolic, with the manner in which Postecoglou’s team not only took the game to the world champions but matched them the real highlight.
Played out in Kaiserslautern, the scene of Australia’s first World Cup victory, the moment was given extra meaning. As Mile Jedinak said, “If they didn’t believe, they will now”.
Unfortunately, the highlights in 2015 have largely been overshadowed due to the more recent depressing lowlights, and there has been plenty of them. The resounding success of the Asian Cup, both on and off the pitch, failed to see Australia football reach predicted new heights.
Ongoing Issue of the Year: Ownership
It had been close to three years since the A-League had had to deal with serious ownership issues, but developments at the Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar did not arrive out of the blue. Both were slow-burners and the FFA was slow to react.
Nathan Tinkler had been given numerous chances to sort out flailing financial problems and he attempted to disrupt the Asian Cup in January with provocative remarks about the A-League. Tinkler then went on a crazy PR campaign whereby he made one last attempt to convince fans he was genuine – instead, he came across deluded.
The sorry saga has not finished, either, with FFA taking control of the Jets and failing to negotiate a sale. New coach Scott Miller got off to a fantastic start but is limited from making further progression thanks to a threadbare squad and lack of future certainty.
Similarly, the Bakrie Group was given ample time to get its finances in order at Brisbane Roar, despite consistently missing staff payments and threatening to pull out. All is well at the moment, and John Aloisi has proved the doubters wrong in his second management stint, but the drama is far from resolved.
Along with the Wellington Phoenix debacle, including Frank Lowy’s rebuke to Graham Arnold voicing his legitimate opinion about a third Sydney team, and the FFA has a lot to sort out.
Scandal of the Year: Perth Glory’s salary cap
Everyone knows the details, everyone knows the fallout. Perth Glory paid overs, including payments to Andy Keogh’s family, and were deducted points and handed a hefty fine.
Yet we are still to be enlightened how and why the FFA missed the breach – they were notified due to excellent investigative work from reporters Dominic Bossi and Joe Gorman – and we are also yet to hear what measures have been put in place to avoid a repeat.
Embarrassment of the Year: PFA dispute
Another crisis well covered and one which was embarrassing largely because it dragged on for way too long and both parties represented themselves with the antics of a toddler. The he said, she said back and forth was immature, while the inability to negotiate was unbefitting of professionals.
The saga arrived just before the start of the A-League season and forced the Matildas to boycott a lucrative trip to play world champions USA, while Postecoglou was forced to publicly retract comments that the FFA did not appreciate. In a word, a farce.
Controversy of the Year: Lowy’s succession plan
To be fair, there is little controversy here, with Steven Lowy’s road to replacing father Frank well documented over the past year. The controversy is more in the late response from A-League clubs and state federations in proposing alternative options, and they only have themselves to blame if they are not happy with the outcome.
If they had been so concerned then a bit of action in the preceding year, rather than the preceding month before elections, should have occurred. One unsavoury factor was that the 10 A-League clubs were only afforded one vote between them – hardly a fair representation for the game’s major stakeholders.
Bungle of the Year: Grand final scheduling
The FFA’s failure to plan for a grand final in Melbourne saw football fans direct a lot of vitriol towards the powers of the AFL, yet this was entirely an own goal.
The AFL could have been more accomodating and won a lot of goodwill, yet they were not the evil protagonist here. As a result the grand final was viewed by just 30,000 fans, yet it was not all bad news.
Unfortunately, the FFA let through another own goal later in the year with the 2015 FFA Cup final, however, as fans faced extortionate ticket prices for what is still a fledgling competition. The late slashing of ticket prices only worsened the situation and less than 16,000 fans turned up.
Watershed Moment of the Year: Boycotts
The drama began pre-season with a dispute between police, Western Sydney Wanderers and active support group the Red and Black Bloc.
It was then exacerbated through Rebecca Wilson’s provocative and questionable article on November 22, which split the football community and threatened to derail Australian football.
Protests turned into boycotts, with just 40,000 fans turning up over five matches in Round 9, as relations between FFA and active support reached a depressing low. Chairman Steven Lowy was required to immediately prove his worth in a five-hour meeting with fan representatives, ending in an amicable truce on December 10.
This is a chance for the game to become stronger, and has the potential to become a defining moment in the history of the A-League and FFA. We can only hope. Hero of the Year goes to Mark Bosnich, who played a crucial role as mediator between disgruntled fans and the embattled FFA.
There is plenty of work for the FFA, starting with a board meeting in February which will determine changes to the banning process of errant fans, before turning to the future of the Newcastle Jets, Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix.
Then talk about possible expansion, as well as negotiations for a new TV deal can begin.
On the field, it is more uplifting. The A-League is on track for its most competitive campaign in years, while the Olyroos and Matildas face tough tasks to qualify for the Rio Olympics and the Socceroos must secure first place and progression to the next stage of 2018 World Cup qualifying.
Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and Adelaide also have an exciting year ahead with the Asian Champions League, a competition Australian football fans must embrace more seriously.
Looking back on 2015, what started with much positivity descended into chaos, yet there are signs that this year could be historic in enforcing necessary and substantial change in Australian football.
The next twelve months will be decisive in determining how the events of 2015 shape our beautiful game.
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