Start Date: 10th October
Honours (13/14): Brisbane Roar (Champions)
Teams qualified for Asian football (ACL 2015): Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney Wanderers, Central Coast Mariners
Australia’s A-League celebrates its 10th Birthday this season on the back of a promising World Cup campaign which may have left them with 0 points, but instead with an exciting young squad eager to make an impact at their home Asian Cup in early 2015. Many of the young squad either honed their craft in domestic football or are emerging as stars on the continental stage, testament of the great strides made by the A-League in the last few years.
In its decade of existence the A-League has generally drawn comparisons from outside of their Asian/Oceanic region, usually with that of the United States’ MLS club competition. While the rest of Asia have developed layered pyramid leagues, with relegation/promotion spots to fight for, Australia have continued with a much smaller single division structure (including only 10 teams) who compete to finish in the top six, gaining entry to the end of season playoffs.
While a similar structure has flourished in America over a longer period, the A-League has merited praise for its own achievements. Where the MLS have designated players, the A-League have followed with an arguable improvement upon the model with their very own Marquee players. A-League teams are now allowed to register one overseas player and one domestic player outside of the league’s salary cap, alongside a designated spot for a junior (under -23) member of the squad to be paid higher than his peers.
This is an interesting development that is hoped to enable A-League clubs to hang on to their valuable assets for longer, seen most recently in Australian international Matthew Spiranovic committing long term to his club side Western Sydney Wanderers as a Domestic Marquee player. While there have been some headaches with the system, such as clubs losing their better players after being restricted on paying only a few the extra salaries, the system is slowly bringing success.
Australia’s achievements on the national stage have been notable, with their bright young side under forward thinking coach Ange Postecoglou, impressing in Brazil and raising hopes of going further in the next World Cup cycle. It has also had an affect regionally, with Western Sydney Wanderers currently bidding to become the first Australian finalists of the Asian Champions League (ACL) in the coming week. Football is on the rise in Australia, but the temptation to run before they can walk is still a nagging sideshow, as fans push for league expansion.
Regarding the upcoming campaign, the favourites for glory are last season’s champions Brisbane Roar, who secured both the regular season crown before clinching the A-League trophy in the final play-off series. Their success was built on the creativity of German Thomas Broich from midfield, and the goals of Albanian striker Besart Berisha. For the upcoming season, Roar will have to settle for only one of their established overseas stars, after Berisha’s Marquee player salary demands were unable to be met by the league restrictions put upon Roar. Consequently they saw the striker move to title rivals Melbourne Victory, what was a bitter pill for Brisbane to swallow.
The return of Australian international Adam Sarota will ease Berisha’s exit, he will line up with fellow international Matt McKay in the Roar midfield, while goal scoring duties will now be taken on by Macedonian striker Mensur Kurtisi. Brisbane’s return to the ACL provides a step up in expectations of Australia’s most successful club, not just for their own benefit, but to push for an extra ACL qualification spot for future A-League campaigns.
A process that Western Sydney Wanderers, who lost out in the A-League final early in the year, can’t be criticised for straying from. A true underdogs tale has seen them battle through this year’s ACL to within a second leg appearance at home against Korean giants Seoul of a final appearance. Wanderers, led from the back by Matt Spiranovic have enough in their armoury to challenge for the title this season. Dutch winger Romeo Castelan is a constant threat, while Brazilian Vitor Saba and young Tomi Juric in attack have gained rave reviews for their continental displays.
Joining Roar and the Wanderers in the ACL next year will be Central Coast Mariners, who despite the a lack of big name stars have punched above their weight continually by producing a number of youth talents that have subsequently broke into the national team picture. Current Australian number one Maty Ryan honed his craft with the Mariners, and two further national team call ups; Trent Sainsbury and Bernie Ibini-Isei have left for pastures new in the off-season after decent campaigns. The next rookies to be rolled off the production line are centre back Zachary Anderson and striker Mitchell Duke, who himself has been capped by the Socceroos.
Of those who didn’t qualify for continental football, the likely challenge will come from Australia’s second city. Melbourne Victory are the usual heavyweight of the region, with another couple of star names coming in to supplement an already talented squad. Besart Berisha will be trusted to replicate his fine goal scoring form of last season with his new club, while former Bundesliga champion Mattheiu Delpierre has been brought in to add experience in the backline. Box-to-box international Mark Milligan has turned down the chance to move to Europe and will again be one of the most influential players in the A-League season.
Across town, this season’s new franchise is starting to take shape. As part of Manchester City’s expansion into overseas markets, Melbourne Heart have rebranded as Melbourne City with a flood of new signings entering the league. The big name transfer on everyone’s lips is Spanish striker David Villa who has joined on loan from one of City’s other sister projects New York City until the end of the year. Alongside Villa, Melbourne have brought in former Premier League regulars Robert Koren from Hull City and former Irish international Damien Duff from Fulham.
Elsewhere, Sydney FC are often touted as the side to break into the ACL spots, but after a below par campaign last term despite the high profile capture of Alessandro Del Piero, they’ll be hoping for much better this year. The lesser name of Austrian striker Marc Janko has come in to replace the Italian’s goals, while their home contingent of Sasa Ognenovski and returning winger Alex Brosque should push them forward. Newcastle Jets, another who scored plenty last term will also be without their main firepower after Emile Heskey and Adam Taggart exited at the end of last season. Ecuadorian striker Edson Montano will take up the mantle to replace their lost goals.
The only New Zealand based club; Wellington Phoenix haven’t fared too well since their introduction to the A-League but do possess a couple of familiar names in the form of Costa Rican Kenny Cunningham and former-Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera. Adelaide United and Perth Glory make up the standings, and with a host of new signings between them, they could also challenge for a playoff position finish.
The A-League is clearly a league on the up but in its relative infancy further struggles await. The league remains highly competitive due to the restrictions on Marquee players; while this has improved the standard of youth players coming through, it arguably has had a detrimental effect on Australian clubs’ efforts in the ACL. With Western Sydney Wanderers progressing well in this year’s competition, it could prove a catalyst going into an important season for Australian football.
Ones to Watch:
David Villa (Melbourne City) – World Cup and Champions League winner who is expected to be a revelation in his short time in the A-League. Brought in to fire goals in during the early part of the season before returning to New York City.
Bernie Ibini-Isei (Sydney FC) – Youngster whose break-through season with Central Coast Mariners impressed enough to be selected in a recent Australian national squad. Another fine season, this time in the capital could see him move to Europe soon.
Besart Berisha (Melbourne Victory) – Was in-sensational form with Brisbane Roar last season scoring 13 goals in the league. This year fans are expecting similar figures after he joined Victory to double his wages over the A-League salary cap.
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