A LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN?

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.