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“You can see what it means to us,” said skipper Sam Kerr after the Matildas’ nail-biting 3-2 win over Brazil, although a few critics seemed to miss that comment.
The Matildas’ gutsy 3-2 win over Brazil this morning was as courageous a comeback as we’ve ever seen from an Australian national team.
Australia’s 2-1 defeat to Italy in the Women’s World Cup overnight was exactly what a football association that prioritises anything but football deserves.
It’s hard to remember the last time there was so much expectation around an Aussie team, with the Women’s World Cup set to lift football out of the doldrums.
We’ve just witnessed the greatest season in the UEFA Champions League in recent memory, even if Sunday morning’s final failed to live up to expectations.
There’s a World Cup featuring one of our most popular national teams in action over the next few weeks, and another one hosting the Australian cricket team.
Despite last weekend’s A-League grand final being a bit of a snoozefest, plenty of online fans would prefer to believe it was one of the greatest games of all time.
The cat is out of the bag and unless something is done to arrest the A-League’s slide, there won’t be much of a competition to speak of beyond next season.
Sydney FC are champions and you can hardly say they don’t deserve it. Actually you could, since Perth Glory were clearly the best team all season.
More than 60,000 fans packing into a purple-swathed Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday afternoon is proof that the A-League does grand finals better than the AFL or NRL ever will.
Perth Glory taking on Sydney FC in next Sunday’s grand final is the blockbuster the A-League needed, but something must be done about policing at games.
No disrespect to Adelaide United, but the best possible outcome for the A-League is for Perth Glory to win tonight and regenerate some interest in the competition.
Adelaide United’s win over Melbourne City won’t go down as one of the greatest A-League games of all time but it did remind us of the value of finals football.
The A-League’s elimination finals have conjured two of the most intriguing match-ups imaginable, but the question is whether anyone will be watching.
Simultaneous kick-offs are unlikely to happen in the A-League under the current TV deal, but maybe they should after this weekend’s interesting final round.
The best that can be said about Brisbane Roar’s season is that it’s over, and in truth the finals can’t come quickly enough for the sake of the whole competition.
What does it say about Melbourne City as a football club if they retain the services of Warren Joyce as their coach for another season?
Are Perth Glory the best team in Australia by virtue of losing 1-0 to Sydney FC at Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah overnight?
Now that Perth Glory have been crowned premiers, Football Federation Australia better hope and pray they host a grand final at Optus Stadium.
While the Wanderers are running out at ANZ Stadium, the state government will be getting ready to roll out the welcome mat for the Parramatta Eels.
If that’s what you want to focus on, Redondo, that’s your choice.
The Matildas reminded us why we love the world game
You just mentioned them, Nemesis! You simply couldn’t resist?
The Matildas reminded us why we love the world game
Yeah, I didn’t have a problem with it. She was laughing!
The Matildas reminded us why we love the world game
Putting aside the obvious ructions behind the scenes, I think it’s fair to say Stajcic wasn’t universally admired. The 3-2 loss to Chile in Penrith last November went down like a lead balloon and while I suspect be thought he had time to change things, I wouldn’t say the Matildas looked like world beaters towards the back end of his reign.
Matildas disaster was what we've come to expect from football
I don’t think Stajcic has dodged anything – the problems all started under his stewardship. The question now is whether Ante Milicic can do anything about them.
Matildas disaster was what we've come to expect from football
Well generally when someone is employed to write about something, they’re usually expected to write about something.
Matildas disaster was what we've come to expect from football
It’s not a bugbear, it’s just a simple question that FFA could easily answer (but won’t).
Let’s put it in these terms: will Heather Reid be at the World Cup in France?
The Matildas can help us forget all of football's nonsense
Laura Alleyway is definitely out. She’s been replaced by Karly Roestbakken in the squad.
The Matildas can help us forget all of football's nonsense
Well, people in Huddersfield and Watford and Girona and Leganes obviously care. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem with all this talk of a Euro Super League.
It’s all well and good to blithely declare one club or another as a ‘super’ club worthy of playing in some closed-off, purely for profit league. But their stadiums are (mostly) full of local fans. And attendances at big European clubs aren’t on the increase, they’re generally trending downwards.
So unless Barcelona or Manchester City or whoever else can find a way to ship 50,000 tourists in on a weekly basis, all this televised European football that we watch in far-flung destinations like Australia isn’t going to mean much if it starts being played in front of empty grounds.
And that’s a real possibility in countries like Germany, where fans still feel a strong connection to their local club. (A point that seems completely alien to many Aussie fans, judging by some of these comments).
A European Super League would destroy football as we know it
With all due respect Brian, your attitude smacks of someone watching all the action unfold on TV from afar. Having lived in Germany, I can guarantee that fans there still want to watch Dortmund versus Schalke and Bayern versus Hamburg above all else.
A European Super League would destroy football as we know it
…and that the captain of the Titanic was an able seaman with a good sense of direction and a willingness to follow safety procedures.
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
Try refreshing, Lionheart? I’ve got no issues from my end. I’ve got to be honest, in ten years I’ve never had anyone from The Roar act like football isn’t of huge importance to the website.
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
What, a bit like sacking the coach and then having to follow it up with a grovelling apology just over a week out from the team’s biggest tournament in years?
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
FFA have just released an official apology from board member Heather Reid to Alen Stajcic.
They’ve also made a statement re: Stajcic’s sacking as Matildas coach.
https://www.ffa.com.au/news/statement-football-federation-australia-re-alen-stajcic
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
Because I have better things to do with my time than be stonewalled by people who won’t say anything of substance to me.
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
It is on free-to-air. SBS are broadcasting all of Australia’s games.
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
Football Federation Australia are the organisation that sacked the coach of the Matildas without explaining why, so of course they get a mention.
The Matildas: A team all of Australia can get behind
That’s precisely my mantra when I sit down at the keyboard.
It's a myth that the A-League needs positive headlines to thrive
I look forward to reading it!
Sam Kerr can say whatever she damn well likes