- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
The A-League Men competition continues to supply a steady stream of young, talented and Socceroo-bound players.
Noah Botic has begun scoring in fine style at Western United, Jordan Bos’ trajectory appears likely to bring representation in the near future and the under-20s squad, so unluckily knocked out of the Asian Cup on Saturday night, featured a host of young men cutting their teeth in the domestic league.
When that pool of players is added to the young men recently granted opportunity abroad, names like Lachlan Brook, Lewis Miller and Tass Mourdoukoutas, the future for the Socceroos looks promising.
Along with an impressive list of young and already capped Aussies that includes Kye Rowles, Keanu Baccus, Nathaniel Atkinson, Garang Kuol, Joel King and Cameron Devlin, coach Graham Arnold will have plenty of talent with which to work over the next phase of World Cup qualification.
Of course, with such a passionate desire for the team to continue to develop under Arnold and have another successful tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026, much expectation has been placed on certain players.
Kuol’s Newcastle United move was immense, yet perhaps required much tempering for the naïve few who expected to see the young Aussie thrust into Premier League play immediately.
It was a similar level of unfair expectation to that placed on the shoulders of Daniel Arzani, who left Australia in 2018 as a teenager, before injury and limited opportunity eventually saw him return to the A-League to resettle and start all over again.
Sometimes it is hard to believe that Arzani has just turned 24.
Daniel Arzani during his time with Melbourne City. (Photo by Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Now, the teenager creating headline after headline is Nestory Irankunda, the Tanzania-born Adelaide United player that coach Carl Veart uses from the bench in the most effective of ways.
Irankunda was at it again on Saturday night, scoring in the 65th minute to ice the Reds’ win over the Jets.
He already has seven A-League goals to his name after just 26 matches and at the current rate, would have somewhere near 40 by the time he reaches his 20s.
That is a frightful thought for opposition teams, especially considering that such a number would place Irankunda somewhere near the top 20 all-time A-League scorers before he had even entered his third decade!
Physically, Irankunda is more mature and powerful than the average A-League teenageer. His explosive power off the mark, speed across the surface and ability to maintain balance on the run, while also creating considerable power, are simply not gifts granted to the average professional footballer.
His threshold is unknown and another two seasons under his legs with wise counsel from players like Socceroo Craig Goodwin in Adelaide could well be the best preparation for what we hope will one day be a long and profitable international career.
However, the local game had best enjoy his presence while it lasts, as the chances of the 17-year-old being in Australia and playing football when he is 20 are slim.
People will have been watching and noticing his extraordinary gifts. Before too long, a club will note his extended minutes, maybe even a starting spot or two, and feel that the time is right to take a punt on what looks assured to be precocious and superstar talent.
(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
Sadly, it could well be the path to short-term disappointment that so many players before have experienced. The A-League remains the place where many of the most gifted young players show their potential, before returning a few years later to rebuild careers that have lost direction.
In between the two lies the frustration of hard training in a foreign land, often with limited opportunity. What follows for many Aussies is a meandering career laced with loan after loan, as the parent club attempts to ensure a tidy return on their investment, even if the athlete never actually represents the club for whom they originally signed.
Frankly, the pattern has ruined many a young professional’s early life and some would have been far better developed as had they remained in Australia as a star in the domestic league.
Experience abroad is required to add the touch of class that Graham Arnold needs, yet leaving the country early for riches and opportunity is fraught with danger and Irankunda looks likely to be the next player forced to make a significant career decision, potentially before he is able to understand the pitfalls.
He would be best to remain an A-League player for at least the next two seasons, yet that seems unlikely, with each goal merely adding to his already substantial reputation.