The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

The five most significant A-League marquee signings: touches of quality and a few duds

Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Rookie
10th March, 2023
21

A-League stakeholders can’t agree on much. Any debate is devoid of altruism, as self-interest takes precedence for all parties.

No professional sport is immune, even in leagues that are thriving by comparison. Just look at the AFL and their treatment of Tasmania’s bid to join. “Soccer” is thriving at grassroots level on the Apple Isle, as AFL dies. Yet neither sport has a professional team there, because money is the answer to any question.

Football has too many other points to deal with. Where should the grand final be played? How rich should your parents have to be for you to play youth football? Where should money be invested? And after that money is given to the professional teams rather than grassroots, what should they spend it on?

The early days of the A-League were all about publicity. Conventional wisdom said the new league needed name recognition to prove it was relevant. Clubs tried to lure big names, or just names, on big money. Whether it was money well-spent is open to debate.

The A-League has done worse things for publicity. Remember Usain Bolt? It’s not hard to imagine a world where KSI and Logan Paul line up on opposite sides of the Sydney derby in “YouTube Presents: Rivalry Round”. But let’s hope not.

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt celebrates scoring a goal for the Mariners. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Most experts are predicting a period of austerity for the A-League, as the cost of living soars. Clubs will look to become more sustainable and that’s a good thing, but big names will be less likely. Young players like Garang Kuol, who thrill crowds for a year and generate transfer fees should be the priority.

Are big-money signings a wise investment for the A-League? Were they ever a good idea? Maybe not, but they were fun.

Advertisement

Al-Nassr didn’t sign Cristiano Ronaldo because his best years are ahead of him. People want to see the greats even more as they age; nostalgically reliving former glories, in the hope that they might witness a glimmer of their genius before it dissipates. If Ronaldo played just ten seconds, he’d be the greatest Saudi league player of all-time. That’s not based on his output, just his reputation.

By that measure, here are the five greatest players in A-League history.

Honourable Mention: Nani

Melbourne Victory (10 games*, 0 goals)

When Nani arrived at Melbourne Victory, he was five years removed from playing in any of Europe’s top five leagues. Victory would have been very happy if he could return to the form he’d shown in his two years at Orlando City in MLS, but his most recent stint at Venezia in Serie B wasn’t as promising.

Portuguese football player Nani

Nani of Melbourne Victory. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

In his time at Manchester United, Nani won the Premier League four times, to go with the 2008 Champions League and Club World Cup titles. For Portugal, for whom he scored 24 goals in 112 appearances, he won the European Championship in 2016.

Advertisement

It seemed an odd move at the time, for a club in financial trouble like Victory, to splurge on a fading star. The club requires significant investment in the coming years from private equity to keep it afloat. They already have the biggest supporter base in the A-League and have never struggled to draw big crowds.

Nani failed to score in ten games for Victory, before an ACL injury ended his season. Nani signed a two-year deal with the club, but it remains to be seen if he will play in the A-League again. It doesn’t look like a sensible signing with the benefit of hindsight.

5. Robbie Fowler

North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory (54 games, 18 goals)

It’s hard to leave “God” off a list of the greats. Unlike his namesake, Fowler is known as a finisher, rather than a creator, scoring 163 goals in 379 English Premier League appearances. At Liverpool, he won an FA Cup, two League Cups and a UEFA Cup. Fowler represented England 26 times and scored 7 international goals.

In the A-League, Fowler was the headline signing for the North Queensland Fury’s inaugural season. He scored nine goals in 26 appearances for the Fury. The club’s financial troubles led to his contract being terminated before the expansion franchise’s eventual demise. Fowler launched legal action against the Fury, before signing with Perth Glory. In the west, he again scored nine goals in 28 appearances, before moving to the Thai league.

Advertisement

4. Dwight Yorke

Sydney FC (22 games, 7 goals)

Dwight Yorke was the original marquee signing. The self-described party-boy made headlines for the league in its inaugural season, as he signed for “glamour club”, Sydney FC.

Yorke is best known for his time at Manchester United where he was a member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1999 treble winning side. For United, he scored 65 goals in 152 appearances, after moving from Aston Villa, where he scored 73 goals in 231 league games.

Yorke won three Premier League titles, a Champions League and an FA Cup. He was the Premier League player of the season in 1999.

Dwight Yorke

Dwight Yorke (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

In the A-League, he helped Sydney FC win the first A-League Grand Final. A move to Sunderland saw him reunite with old United strike partner Andy Cole. There he was a member of a Championship winning team that gained promotion back to the Premier League. Yorke retired as a Premier League player in 2009.

Advertisement

3. David Villa

Melbourne City (4 games 2 goals)

Like a British backpacker, David Villa came to Melbourne for a good time, not a long time. On loan from City Football Group affiliate, New York City FC, Villa made just four appearances before an early recall to the Big Apple.

David Villa was world class. For Spain, he appeared 98 times and scored a record 53 goals. He led the line for the 2008 European Championship and 2010 World Cup winning teams.

At Barcelona, he played for probably the greatest club team ever assembled. Under Pep Guardiola and alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, Villa won La Liga twice, a Champions League, a Copa del Rey and a Club World Cup. At his peak, he was one of the most lethal strikers in Europe.

For Melbourne City, Villa scored after less than 15 minutes on his debut, coming off the bench to equalize against Sydney FC, with a typically low, hard finish from the edge of the box. He doubled his return with a half chance against Newcastle, volleying from a similar distance to score an 87th minute equalizer.

It’s estimated that crowds for home games tripled due to his presence. The A-League could do with City sending a few more world class players our way.

Advertisement

2. Alessandro Del Piero

Sydney FC (48 games, 24 goals)

Del Piero was worth every penny and $7 million Australian dollars over 2 seasons is a lot of pennies. He was the A-League’s greatest player, playing as a number 10 and scoring a goal every second game. His world class play raised the level of his teammates, however, perhaps due to his salary, Sydney were unable to provide him with the supporting cast for any success.

As captain, he twice won their golden boot and captained the A-League All-Stars against his old side, Juventus. He also featured heavily on Fox Sports’ short-lived “Hero Cam” which allowed the viewer to follow him around the pitch for 90 minutes instead of watching the rest of the game.

Del Piero was a superstar during his long career with Juventus. He made a club record of 705 appearances for the Old Lady across all competitions, scoring a record 290 goals and providing 134 assists. He won six Scudettos, a Copa Italia and the UEFA Champions League.

For Italy, he played a massive part in winning the 2006 World Cup. His iconic goal in stoppage-time of extra-time in the semi-final, knocked out host-nation Germany and sent his country through. He was twice voted Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year and was named in FIFAs 100 greatest living players list in 2004.

Advertisement

When Del Piero left Juventus for Sydney FC, he was past his physical prime. However, his skills translated perfectly to the open pastures of the A-League, which allowed him more time and space than he was used to in Serie A. Del Piero was able to pick passes and show off his far superior technical ability. His reputation and class made him the ultimate marquee signing.

1. Romario

Adelaide United (4 games, 1 goal)

Those who only know him for his A-League career may not agree with this pick. When Romario took to the field for Adelaide United against the Central Coast Mariners in front of a then record crowd of 13,119 fans and two giant sauce bottles, he was just ten weeks away from his 41st birthday. Twelve years earlier, he was giving Paolo Mandini and Franco Baresi sleepless nights before a World Cup Final. In Gosford, a 36-year old Tony Vidmar was making him look old.

Romario. (Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)

Romario is a legend of the game. FourFourTwo magazine ranked him 39th in a 2022 list of the greatest players of all-time. In 2004, FIFA named him as one of the 100 greatest living footballers.

Romario spent a large part of his career playing in his native Brazil, but his best years came at PSV and Barcelona. For Brazil, he won a World Cup, a Confederations Cup, two Copas America and a silver medal at the Seoul Olympics.

Advertisement

At club level, he won three Eredivisie titles in the Netherlands, a La Liga championship in Spain and a Canpeonato Trophy in Brazil. In 1994, Romario won the Ballon d’Or, the World Cup Golden Ball and was the FIFA World Player of the Year. He finished as the top goal scorer 31 times in all competitions across his career.

In Round 17 of the 2006-07 A-League season, Adelaide faced the Newcastle Jets at Hindmarsh Stadium in Romario’s farewell game. In the 15th minute, Romario was in the right place to bundle the ball over the line and become the only Ballon d’Or winner (so far) to score in the A-League.

The crowd roared, standing and applauding their legendary striker. Romario raised his arms in triumph, saluting the supporters and blowing them kisses. The goal didn’t win the Puskas Award, but when you score 1000 goals, they don’t ask how, they ask how many.

close