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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Ok. It's SFC - I don't care.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Yorke is the only one who ticked all the boxes. Del Piero brought in the biggest crowds but it was almost like playing with 10 men without the ball. Yorke played as a dm for part of the season as that was where he was playing for the national team and then he followed that up at a world cup.
WMM
Guest
No worries Brain Fart. You da man!!! Stay golden pony boy, stay golden !!!
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The first season Del Piero pulled out of the Adelaide match , the Adelaide Juventus fan club complained bitterly about buying tickets to an Adelaide United match and then said they woudn't attend. I think match could have been a sell out as well.
jbinnie
Guest
Brainstrust - If you take one part of your comment. It has long been forgotten that in his initial year at Sydney FC, ADP 'helped" nearly every club in the A-League enjoy their record "home" crowd for the season when he appeared. The rather strange one exception was when he visited Adelaide and the huge local migrant population did not follow suit, That to me was the measure of him being the most successful "guest" in the A-League. Cheers jb
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Can you actually name a single marquee that was performing at a high level club before they came here and then failed. This theory is beyond ridiculous.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
You say its quite extraordinary that Fury lured Fowler, Fowler was a has been at the stage. The fact that Fury were actually already out of money early in their first season and being bailed out by the FFA makes it a very foolish decision. No one has thought to blame excessive spending on Fowler for Fury being out of the league. If you look at the pattern Gold Coast millions on CUlina- Club gone. Serpisos - money on Beckham match ,lost club went broke. Tinkler the trio of CUlina , beckham match, Heskey, lost club Sage spent huge money on endless marquees can run out of money at any moment. MV Nani club has huge debt and have to sell . Its show the sheer stupidity of marquee spending. Yes Del Piero had a great effect particularly for the rest of the league who didnt pay a cent of his wages and got huge crowds. The irony is everyone having a go at Danny Townsend over the only good thing he has done sell the A-league grand final. The clear massive error he made was 2 million a year on Nani from APL money. Its not that Nani got injured its what he attracted before the injury 3k at Macarthur is their standard crowd. That shoud be the sacking offence.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Big names, value, fun - rarely shall the twain meet. Alex Del Piero's probably the only one who ticks all the boxes. Given the contributions of Broich, Berisha, Castro, Ninković, Et Al, the lesson is surely that players with a decent pedigree in strong European leagues can become big names in Australia and provide far greater value overall.
WMM
Guest
I find it somewhat amusing how easily fans refer to marquee players that have had solid professional football careers as duds. Elite players all over the world sometimes struggle to adapt to new leagues in different countries for a variety of reasons after having big money spent on their transfers. The main reasons a lot of marquee players in Australia don’t meet expectations in the A League is usually they’re well past they’re used by date, here for a final payday and a holiday in the sun, the heat- if Australian based players are struggling and complaining about the hot conditions, as well as the fans, then imagine the shock to the system for players who have player their football in UK and European winters their whole careers prior to arriving to our great country, and the way the game is played in Australia is a huge factor. And before everyone starts calling me a Euro snob and the A League is producing cracker games, the truth is the vast majority of these players are used to playing at a much higher level with a better calibre of player as team mates, which I’m guessing can be another shock to the system especially when you’re team mates are playing 3-5 seconds slower with their decision making etc to what they are use to. So do all these factors make the marquee player a dud ? Or is the teams recruitment department that signed the players who were not a good fit for the team in the first place the actual problem ? I agree a lot of money has been wasted on marquee players in the A League, and players haven’t lived up to expectations, but these players aren’t duds. They arrived here with solid resumes and having had solid professional careers. The truth is the A League teams have poor scouting and recruitment departments that aren’t fit for purpose, they haven’t done the required research to ascertain if the player was a good fit for the club and the league they were coming to. The amount of money that’s been wasted would’ve been better spent on their academies and youth development producing their own home grown players that would also be a benefit to our national teams. If clubs are going to recruit marquee players, and I believe the A League needs them, then make sure they recruit the right players, and make sure you have the right people making the right decisions before wasting money on the wrong recruits.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
In terms of attracting crowds,ratings and publicity its clearly Del Piero no 1. Others that attracted crowds Yorke, Romario, VIlla, Kewell, Fowler, Ones that didnt Heskey, Cahil, Nani, Honda In terms of attacking play Del Piero again,Yorke, Heskey, Villa, Fowler In terms of not being a liability in defence Yorke, Heskey
Redondo
Roar Rookie
"If influence is to extend to winning silverware, then it’s really hard to go past Broich." Ninkovic beats Broich on that score, but I'd rate them as equal and top.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Dwight Yorke and Alessandro Del Piero for SFC who can ever forget? All others paled into insignificance. These two were simply the best, for the Australian game. It's a bit of a shame our few golden generation players, could not equal their popularity when they returned to play for Australian clubs. In some cases booed, which I could never understand.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
Hi Luke These sorts of topics always make for good discussions, and there is rarely a right and wrong answer, which is all the better. The titles can cause some confusion, but also, personally speaking, this particular article lacks a clear objective. I think if you are going to do a top 5 list, great, go with that. But if you are going to discuss the merit or otherwise of signing marquees, well, that is probably a worthwhile topic in its own right - it's a touch too confusing to attempt both in an article of some 500 words or so. There's just not enough real estate to manage such a breadth of discussion. Similarly, a discussion of duds would warrant an article of its own (given it's such a massive list). Just my two bobs worth.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
If we're talking about influence, I'm not really sure how Villa and Romario make the top 3. The other three are fair enough. Looking back, it's quite extraordinary that the newly established Fury managed to lure Fowler to the club. If influence is to extend to winning silverware, then it's really hard to go past Broich. Then Victory can trace their two first championships to two decent recruits: respectively Fred and Carlos Hernandez. As for duds, oh my goodness, the list is a very long one. Every single club can nominate 3 or 4 players to that list.
Luke Deards
Roar Rookie
This article was originally titled: The Five Greatest A-League Players: Are marquee signing money well-spent?
Grem
Roar Rookie
Absolutely agree. The shame is the cost of a real marquee is probably out of our reach now, but that increased rivalry in Melbourne, if it happens, may lead to your prediction happening.
Brendan
Roar Pro
Agreed, Grem. An influx of funds would add considerable spice to the Melbourne derby. Victorian’s love their football, & will even pack-out a round MCG for blockbuster matches. Del Pierro certainly was a gentleman. Good times for the A-League. Even the media was onboard, highlighting our code. Same, I was quickly educated by others on Del Pierro’s legendary status. ADP was our “World Cup”, & the party lasted a couple of years. What a high. I just wish the former FFA planned for the next genuine marquee a tad better. Now the Australian Professional Leagues call it a “sugar hit”. Maybe that’s misguided. I’d like to think fans deserve nourishment - a healthy commitment of coin to strengthen our game.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
You can't make a list about famous players that had a debatable impact to grace the A-League without including Mario Jardel. Signed by the Jets' owner after essentially being out of the game for five years, he seemed to have spent that time 'overindulging', and laboured to get through ten minutes at the end of games.
Grem
Roar Rookie
It is interesting with the possible purchase of Victory by Newcastle’s sponsors. I wouldn’t mind seeing a battle like that. I’d buy those Melbourne Derby tickets already. And yes, Del Pierro was amazing. I was so lucky to see him each week for two years. A great player who was articulate and charismatic – the best ever marquee. The funny thing for me was – as someone who doesn’t follow overseas football I initially had no idea of who we had signed. So who is this Del Pierro? I soon learned.
Brendan
Roar Pro
As time progresses, it becomes clearer how influential Alessandro Del Piero was on the A-League. Not just for Sydney FC, but the entire code. Which team acquires the next golden marquee player? In the future, either City or Victory, I predict. An increased overseas investment is probable, selling Victory to a wealthy nation. This will create a Cold War between both Victorian clubs, testing egos. Each will continuously dip into their savings to outdo their rivals.