A LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN?
There has been plenty of excitement in the near 6
months since the A-League season wrapped on April 22, 2012. Since the final
whistle of yet another memorable Grand Final featuring the Brisbane Roar, there
has been plenty of off field drama/excitement to fill in the gap of quite a
long off season. Gold Coast United, even with the backing of Billionaire Clive
Palmer, went bust after just three seasons in the competition. Ange
Postecoglou, the man who successfully guided the Brisbane Roar to 2 consecutive
A-League titles, resigned from his post as Roar coach and jumped ship to Melbourne
Victory. And most notably on September 5, 2012, One of Italy’s greatest
strikers (Alessandro Del Piero) signed a two year deal with Sydney FC. Amid all
the hype and fanfare surrounding the Italian’s arrival, one must ask whether
this is a genuine move (on Del Piero’s behalf) to better his career or just a
deal for the retirement fund. Since the A-League’s inception in 2005, many
Footballers have washed up (no pun intended) on our shores. Dwight Yorke back
in 2005, Juninho in 2007, and Robbie Fowler in 2009. The one thing they all
have in common? There best years were well and truly behind them. So my next
question would be this, has the A-League become a League of Gentlemen? By which
I mean a league for old footballers who are just delaying the inevitable
(retirement). I for one, hope not. While some Football fanatics argue it’s good
for the game, this concept of bringing big name (over the hill) footballers to
our shores is nothing new. Back in the days of the NSL, players who had well
and truly passed their prime were known to head on over to Australia as a last
resort before hanging up the boots. George Best came to play for the Brisbane
Lions in 1983 before calling it quits. Ian Rush came in 1999 along with Peter
Beardsley that same year, and even World Cup Silver Medallist Nicola Berti came
to Australia in 2001 to end his career with Northern Spirit FC. There have
however been players who have been good for the game and vastly improved the
style of Football of the Club they sign on to. Thomas Broich’s arrival to the
Brisbane Roar in 2010 was regarded by many as the greatest import signing since
the A-League’s inception in 2005. Club teammate Besart Berisha, who followed suit
one year later and also signed for the Roar, has played some of his most steady
and memorable Football in his entire career. Having been the first player to
net 20 goals in an A-League season. So as a new A-League season gets under way
and Alessandro Del Piero gets set to walk out on the hallowed turfs across
Australia, I for one hope this is not just another ploy to draw crowds or
fatten up the retirement fund, but a genuine attempt at building on a career
which dates back to 1992.
Alex Stilianos.
