Australia’s U23 team (often referred to as the Olyroos, a variation of the senior team’s title “Socceroos”) has had mixed fortunes at the Olympic Games since the U23 format was introduced for the Barcelona games in 1992.

Prior to Barcelona, Australia had only fielded two teams, one in the Melbourne Games in 1956 (where the team made the quarter finals) and again in Seoul in 1988 (where Australia made the semi-finals and finished fourth). Representing the Oceania Federation, Australia were eliminated at the group stage for Atlanta (1996 – won one game), failed to win a game at all in front of home crowds at Sydney (2000) and was knocked out by Iraq in the quarter-finals at Athens (2004).

Beijing “Group of Death”

Australia is playing as part of the Asian Federation at an Olympic Games for the first time. The draw has not been kind to the Asian newcomers. The other teams in Group A are Serbia (2007 UEFA U21 runners-up), Argentina (2007 South American Youth Championships runners-up) and Cote d’Ivoire (comprehensive winners in its qualifying group at the 2008 African Federation’s qualifying tournament), all strong teams with powerful squads.

Goalkeepers

Adam Federici
Reserve keeper for English Premier League side Reading, Federici’s chance at Olympic glory comes at the expense of Danny Vukovic who was sent off in the 2007-08 A-League Grand Final for striking a referee. A former U20 Young Socceroo, he is uncapped at senior level.

Tando Velaphi
Velaphi is the reserve keeper for A-League side Perth Glory. Although he’s played for the Olyroos a handful of times he’s likely to play second-fiddle to the older and more experienced Federici. Velaphi is a handy young prospect who will only get better with age.

Defenders

Ruben Zadkovich
Zadkovich plays on the right, often as defender but also sometimes in the midfield. He recently left A-League club Sydney FC to sign with Championship side Derby (freshly relegated from the EPL). Olympics duty means that he will miss preseason training and at least the first two games. Zadkovich is something of a veteran at the U23 level with nearly 20 caps to his credit which underline his skill and experience (although a vocal minority of Sydney FC fans have been critical of his contribution during the 2007-08 A-League season).

Jade North
A central defender, North is one of Australia’s 3 nominated overage players. He has played for several A-League clubs and currently plies his trade with the Newcastle United Jets. North is very experienced at the international level, moving up through the U17 and U20 squads and was part of the 2004 Olyroos team that was eliminated in the quarter finals at Athens. He became Australia’s first-ever Aboriginal captain of the Socceroos for a 2008 World Cup qualifier against Singapore.

Adrian Leijer
Another central defender, Leijer signed for EPL team Fulham in 2007 (from A-League side Melbourne Victory) and he has played consistently in the reserves. A solid player with a lot of potential, a good campaign in Beijing could see him break through into the first team squad and his first real taste of Premier League action. One to watch.

Mark Milligan (c)
Milligan is the captain of the Olyroo squad. He is a controversial figure in Australian football who trialled overseas in the 2007 off-season without the permission of his club, Sydney FC. Unable to secure a contract, he returned to play the 2007-08 season. A strong central defender, he has been repeatedly linked with high profile teams Arsenal and Lens. Milligan has been capped at the U23 and senior level and was part of Australia’s 2006 World Cup team (although he didn’t play during the tournament). While Australian football fans either love him or hate him, no one can deny that he will play a crucial role in Australia’s Olympics campaign.

Trent McClenahan
Another right side defender, McClenahan is currently unattached. He most recently played several seasons for newly promoted League One team Hereford United. Rumoured to be returning to Australia to play in the A-League, McClenahan will be hoping for a big tournament to raise his profile.

Matthew Spiranovic
Spiranovic is centre back in the squad of newly relegated 2 Bundesliga team FC Nuremburg. Eligible to play for either Australia, England or Croatia due to his parents’ heritage, he eventually elected to play for Australia. Spiranovic has come up through Australia’s youth representative sides. Measuring in at well over 6 foot, Spiranovic’s height will work to Australia’s advantage in the backline.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley
“Top” plays for A-League side Perth Glory and was named “Most Glorious Player” for the 2007/08 season. Topor-Stanley is the only specialist left back in the squad. Another defender over 6 foot, he has also played for the Socceroos. He is an up-and-comer with a lot of potential. A good campaign in Beijing will see Topor-Stanley go places and fast.

Midfielders

Stuart Musialik
A central midfielder who signed with Sydney FC in the off-season, Musialik has made a handful of appearances at the U20 and U23 levels for Australia.

David Carney
Playing on the left, Carney is one of the three overage players in the Olyroo squad. He returned to England with Championship side Sheffield United after two seasons with Sydney FC. Capped at the U20 and senior level, his performances with Sheffield and the Socceroos have reportedly sparked interest from a range of first and second tier clubs across Europe. Another one to watch.

Kristian Sarkies
An attacking midfielder with Adelaide United, Sarkies is on the comeback trail after recovering from a bout of deep vein thrombosis in his arm which put him out of action for several months at the start of the year. A representative of Australia at all youth levels, he was part of the training squad for the 2006 World Cup. Sarkies is strong on set pieces and is dangerous with his free kicks near the box.

James Troisi
Troisi is a handy and skillful player who is a valuable asset down the left hand side. Released by EPL club Newcastle at the end of the 2007/08 season, he will be looking for a big tournament to raise his profile amongst European recruiters.

Neil Kilkenny
A centre midfielder with League One side Leeds United, Kilkenny has been impressive in England’s lower leagues for several seasons. Although not very experienced at international level, Kilkenny is one of Australia’s best young talents.

Billy Celeski
Celeski has been in and out of the A-League over the last few seasons and signed with Melbourne Victory in the off-season. He has international experience at the U20 level. Although unlikely to play a major role at the Olympics, it should be a good development opportunity for this central midfielder.

Forwards

Mark Bridge
A home grown striker, Bridge moved from Newcastle Jets to Sydney FC in the off-season. He has represented Australia from U20 through to the Socceroos. He has not been a prolific scorer at club level and has yet to really make his mark as an U23 rep player.

Archie Thompson
Australia’s third overage player, Thompson was a surprise selection as he had only recently returned from a long-term knee injury. While Thompson has been a prolific scorer at club level for Melbourne Victory and holds the record for most goals scored in an international game (13 against minnows American Samoa in a World Cup qualifier), Thompson has not had much success internationally against high quality opposition. At 29 years of age, he is the oldest player in the squad by 4 years.

Nikita Rukavytsya
Rukavytsya moved to Australia from Ukraine when he was 14 and is a product of the local development system. Currently playing for Perth Glory, he has made a number of appearances at U23 level. He is most likely in the squad as a development opportunity with an eye to bolstering the striking stocks of the senior team in the coming years.

Notable Omissions

Dean Bouzanis
Goalkeeper with the Liverpool reserves squad, Bouzanis is rated by Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez as the best U19 keeper in the world. Bouzanis is in the middle of a tug-of-war between Australia and Greece as both countries try to secure his allegiance. He recently represented Greece in the European U19 tournament. However, under FIFA regulations he is not yet tied to either nation.

Many Australian football fans saw the Olympics as the perfect opportunity to select Bouzanis and demonstrate Australia’s commitment to providing him with a clear path for further career development. The fear is that his non-selection for the Olympics could see him follow the path of other expatriate Australian players now representing other countries like Josip Simunic, Ante Seric and Joey Didulica, who all play for Croatia despite being Australian-born and products of the Australian football system.

Nathan Burns
After a promising start as a teenager with A-League side Adelaide United, Burns signed with Greek Super League side AEK Athens where he will train and play alongside Brazilian great Rivaldo. Despite strong performances in the U23 squad and playing a substantial role in the Olympic qualifiers, Burns was left out of the squad because, at the age of 20, he was adjudged “too young” by Olyroos coach Graham Arnold.

Bruce Djite
Born in the United States and raised in Australia, Djite was eligible to play for four countries due to his birthplace and heritage (his father is from Cote d’Ivoire and his mother from Togo) before choosing to play for Australia. He played alongside Nathan Burns at Adelaide United and signed with Turkish Super League team Genclerbirligi. Seasoned at the U20 and U23 level for Australia, as well as being capped 4 times for the Socceroos, Djite was curiously left out of the Olympic team alongside Nathan Burns for being “too young” at 21 years of age.

Harry Kewell
Returning to form after a horror stretch of injuries during his 5 year term at Liverpool, Kewell was rumoured to be Australia’s key overage player for the tournament.

He withdrew himself from the selection process at the last minute after signing with Turkish side Galatasary, citing commitments with his new club.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Until the 2010 qualifying series, Australia’s road to the World Cup was a twisted, teasing and torturous one. Stuck in a Confederation with only one credible opponent and too far away for anyone else to fly out for friendlies, Australia would dominate its neighbours and be forced to play the also-rans of a stronger Confederation, with Australia knocked by far flung teams such as Scotland, Israel and more recently, Uruguay.

In 2006 FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation agreed to allow Australia to join with Asia following the 2006 World Cup. Australia was faced with a longer qualifying period as well as regular competition with higher ranked teams who had experienced success in previous World Cups (such as South Korea and Japan). It could be argued that qualification for the World Cup is harder than ever before, even if the team now has the chance to win one of 4.5 slots in Asia instead of 0.5 slots in Oceania (5th placed in Asia will play the winner of Oceania, most likely to be New Zealand). Even if the competition is too strong and Australia does not qualify in 2010, there are 6 very good reasons why moving into the Asian Football Confederation is the best thing to ever happen to Australian football:

1. The Asia Cup

Played every 4 years and alternating with the World Cup, the Asia Cup gives the Australian team something to do to keep them sharp between World Cup campaigns. While it can be difficult to get international players to return from Europe for qualifiers, the Cup gives plenty of international opportunities for players in the A-League to press their claims for regular international selection.

2. A larger stage

With member countries including China and India, the Asian Football Confederation provides a potential audience for Australian football rivaled only by the World Cup itself. Which would you prefer – playing in packed Tuodong or Seoul World Cup stadiums, or Blatter Stadium, Samoa? The larger television audience also provides greater sponsorship opportunities for individual players, domestic teams and the Socceroos.

3. Better competition

Australia holds the world record for inflicting the largest defeat with a 31-0 humiliation of the American Samoa in the 2002 qualifying series. In the 2006 round of games, the Socceroos were undefeated from 5 games with a 21-3 record against Pacific heavyweights like Vanuatu, Tahiti and the Solomon Islands (who to their credit finished ahead of New Zealand and played off against Australia for the right to beat Uruguay and qualify for 2006). Contrast this with the recent 3-0 defeat of Qatar and a grinding 0-0 draw against China with a squad ravaged by injury. The 3 highest ranked countries from Australia’s Group in 2006 were New Zealand (91), Solomon Islands (123) and Vanuatu (141). Australia (38) is currently pitting its wits against Iraq (68 and winner of the 2008 Asia Cup), China (80) and Qatar (99). It doesn’t take a genius to work out which is the better preparation for a World Cup.

4. Foreign-based players take games more seriously

The Club vs Country debate has long been a bitter one in Australian football. Many European clubs have been reluctant to release players to fly 30+ hours half way around the world for a mid-week game and then have them fly 30+ hours back and be recovered in time for the club game on the weekend. Add to the that the risk of injury and its not hard to see why clubs would rather the players didn’t travel. Players have also been reluctant to push the issue – who wants to risk first team selection for the sake of an Australia – Fiji game? Now that they are playing in Asia and the stakes are higher, more of the foreign-based Socceroos are prepared to risk the fury of their club coach and insist they be released for international duty. Players nursing niggling injuries are still unlikely to travel though due to the risk of the long plane flights making something worse. Some coaches are still unwilling to come to the party. However, for every manager like Celtic’s Gordon Strachan lying about an injury to striker Scott McDonald, there’s a Rafa encouraging an out-of-form Harry Kewell to play for his country to get some much needed time on the ball.

5. Asian Champions League

The domestic competition might be improving every year but new Socceroo coach Pim Verbeek was right when he said squad training with a Bundesliga team was still better than being out on the park every week in the A -League. The Asian Champions League provides local players with some desperately needed international experience against different styles of play in different conditions. It gives the best teams each season the chance to play out of their comfort zone. Without this opportunity, the best a local player could hope for is another lacklustre encounter with a woeful New Zealand club team in wet and miserable Wellington.

6. More football for everyone

The Asia Cup. The Asian Champions League. Longer qualification process. Higher profile in Asia and globally. All of these add up to more football being played by the Socceroos and Australian players. The Socceroos win because they keep their match fitness and are able to develop and play together as a squad. Australian football wins because we have a better chance of consistently qualifying for the World Cup (the ultimate prize!). The players win because they are testing themselves against a better quality opposition playing styles of football radically different to what they are used to. The biggest winners of all are us – the fans.

We have more world class football to watch than ever before, and in the end, isn’t that what we all want?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Over the past three seasons, Australia’s marquee player system has quickly settled into two clear classes — the overseas marquee players and local players (usually, but not necessarily, returning from stints in one of the many European leagues).

Season 1 — 2005/06

There were two Australian marquee players in the opening season the A-League. Both players were enticed back to Australia from Europe.

Ned Zelic

A former Socceroo who had quit the team due to differences with then coach Frank Farina, Zelic returned to Australia on a 2 year contract with the Newcastle Jets. He played a key role in the defence for the season, which saw Newcastle eliminated in the semi-finals. In the off-season Zelic was released from his contract for personal reasons and returned to play in Europe.

Archie Thompson

A current Socceroo and world record holder for the number of goals scored in an international match (13 in the 31-0 humiliation of Western Samoa), Thompson featured high on the goal scorer’s list while playing for Melbourne Victory. Unfortunately his goal scoring efforts couldn’t drag Victory any higher than second bottom on the table.

Season 2 — 2006/07

Stan Lazaridis

A defensive mid-fielder, Lazaridis returned from the English Premier League to play for Perth Glory on a 2 year contract. Midway through the season Lazaridis tested positive to a banned substance that was in his hair-loss treatment medication and was required to serve a 1 year suspension.

Archie Thompson

Thompson became the first marquee (local or overseas) to front up for a second season from the first game in 2006/07. Thompson scored heavily again in Season 2, including 5 goals in Victory’s 6-0 pounding of Adelaide Reds in the 2006/07 Grand Final. Thompson once again achieved what he was signed to do — score goals.

Tony Vidmar

A very experienced footballer in Europe, including several years with Rangers in Scotland alongside compatriot and then Socceroo captain Craig Moore, Vidmar was ruled out of Australia’s World Cup campaign with a career-threatening heart condition and it was feared he would have to retire. After a recovery period, he was cleared to resume his career whereupon he promptly signed with Central Coast Mariners on a 2 year contract as a central defender. While Vidmar had star power and was solid in defence, the Mariners ended up third from the bottom.

Season 3 — 2007/2008

Once again the local marquee players continued the practice of coming back for another season, an indication of both the players’ commitment to the game as well as their success on the pitch as the clubs were prepared to keep paying them to come back.

Paul Agostino

An ex-Socceroo striker returning for the 2007/08 season from the Bundesliga team 1860 Munich, Agostino scored just 4 goals for Adelaide United Reds in a season that saw his team finish third last.

Ahmad Elrich

Another ex-Socceroo, Elrich returned from a disappointing spell at Fulham where he struggled to get first team action. Signing for Wellington Phoenix for 2 years may not have been his best idea however as Phoenix finished bottom of the table and he was released from his contract in the off-season. Elrich was recently signed with Central Coast Mariners for the 2008/09 season, although it is not clear if Elrich with the Mariners’ marquee signing.

Craig Moore

Former captain of the Socceroos, Moore was a big signing for Queensland Roar. A strong central defender, Moore spent a significant time in Europe, with a lengthy stint with Rangers and a short time in the EPL with Newcastle before returning to Australia. He signed a 2 year contract with Queensland Roar in 2007/08, leading the club to second on the table and its first finals series appearance where it was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Archie Thompson

Returning for his third season as the marquee for Melbourne Victory, Thompson had a quiet season by his own standards, only managing 6 goals which were still enough to finish equal 7th on the list of goal scorers. Victory finished the season 5th on the table, missing out on finals football.

Tony Vidmar

Returning for his second season as the Central Coast Mariners marquee, Vidmar played an important role in defence. The Mariners finished top of the table at the end of the season and went on to contest the Grand Final, eventually losing out to Newcastle Jets (who you will recall had a successful season only after dropping their own marquee player, Mario Jardel). Vidmar retired from football at the conclusion of Season 3.

Final Assessment

The “local” marquees didn’t really fare much better than the overseas marquees with only a 50% success rate. Zelic couldn’t settle and left after a year, Agostino failed to impress anyone, Lazaridis was forced to take a 12 month holiday for using the wrong hair loss treatment and Elrich was missing in action in New Zealand (but who can blame him?) In contrast, Thompson has been a resounding success across all 3 seasons, Moore led his team to its first finals series and Vidmar played a crucial role at Central Coast for two seasons before his retirement.

Put simply, the marquee system is gambling with few consequences beyond “it’s just money”. If the player is an expensive mistake (Jardel) or suffers a lot of injuries (Juninho), at least the salary cap hasn’t been affected. After all, cutting Jardel from the squad actually helped Newcastle!

Will the marquee system continue? In the medium term, my answer is ‘yes’. The salary caps are necessary to ensure that all clubs can remain financially viable while the league consolidates its position in the Australian sporting consciousness. An important part of that consolidation is promotion and big names from both home and abroad play a major role. Until such time as salary caps are no longer needed in Australian football, marquee players are here to stay.

Part 1: Introduction to the Marquee player system
Part 2: Has the overseas Marquee experiment worked?
Part 3: Coming home – the local Marquee players

Shane Perris is the resident geek of techwhimsy.com and journeyman wingback for Narrabundah FC.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

As I have written previously, the Australian A-League introduced the marquee player system as a way of attracting quality players while preventing expensive bidding wars that risked placing clubs in financial danger before the season was even underway.

A well selected overseas marquee player offers more to a club and the League than just razzle and dazzle on the park. A true marquee player draws in the media, attracts attention of the wider public, brings more people through the turnstiles and lends football some credibility. For so long the slave of the ugly sisters of league, union and Australian Rules, a true marquee is the fairy godmother bringing the A-League to the Ball.

Season 1 — 2005/06

There were only two overseas marquee players in the inaugural A-League season in 2005/06. Despite the hype and excitement around the new competition, clubs were acutely aware of the pressure to remain financially prudent. Much was riding on the A League achieving what the NSL could not — a vibrant, successful and sustainable competition.

Dwight Yorke

The first overseas marquee signing was quite a coup for the League and his chosen club of Sydney FC. Attracted by a million dollar salary and a Sydney waterfront apartment, Yorke was a very popular signing. Despite some concerns he would be the precious superstar type, Yorke quickly impressed fans across the country with his high work rate and 7 goals (just two behind the eventual top scorer for the season). Difficulties with management saw Yorke traded at the end of the season to Sunderland where he reunited with former Man Utd teammate and new Sunderland manager Roy Keane. Yorke was a true marquee player — he brought a sense of glamour to the League while continuing to be successful on the field.

Shengqing Qu

Shengqing Qu was a successful striker in the local competition in China in the late 90s and early 2000. He also achieved a level of success with Adelaide Utd as a striker, scoring just as many goals as Yorke did. However, the Australian public’s ignorance of the Asian leagues (understandable at the time as this was the era of Oceania) meant that Qu could never hope to compete with Yorke for the attention of the public.

Season 2 — 2006/07

Despite the success of Yorke, it seemed that clubs were not prepared to splash around big dollars for an overseas player. Perhaps the internal turmoil at Sydney FC left clubs feeling gun shy and unwilling to take too many risks, and risks they were with neither marquee player leaving much of an impression on the League or indeed even their chosen clubs.

Shengqing Qu

Qu returned to China in the off-season but re-signed with Adelaide later in the season. He was plagued by ankle problems and spent large parts of the season on the injured list. Qu’s form dropped to such an extent and didn’t even feature in the top 30 goal scorers, a fatal situation for a marquee striker. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

Scot Gemmill

Something of a journeyman in the Scottish and English Leagues, Gemmill was signed by the New Zealand Knights in their final season before the club ran out of money and had its licence to operate in the A-League revoked (later replaced by the Wellington Phoenix for Season 3). Gemmill did nothing of note at all during 2006/07 and retired at the end of the season after playing for a club that could only muster an average home crowd of just over 3,000 a game .

The above demonstrates that the A-League gained little from overseas marquee players in Season 2.

Season 3 — 2007/08

After the poor strike rate for overseas marquees in Season 2, there were some big name signings in 2007/08. With the League settling in as a worthy competitor for the attention of the sports loving public, clubs had a new-found confidence when it came to spending the big bucks.

Juninho

Juninho was a big signing no matter the league. Signed on a multi-million 2 year contract with Sydney FC, he spent a lot of time in stands injured, much to everyone’s frustration (including his own). The Little Master started with a lot of interest and promise but by season’s end, rumours were that the second year of his contract was in doubt and left Sydney FC questioning the value of big name overseas signings. At the time of writing, Juninho had returned to Brazil to spend time with his family. Technically still contracted to Sydney FC, his position there has been placed in doubt with Australian striker John Aloisi confirmed as Sydney’s marquee for Season 4.

Mario Jardel

Newcastle Jets thought they were signing a former European great who was looking to revive his flagging career. What they got was an overweight and unfit player forced on the manager by the club owner, making no one happy. Newcastle’s suffered in the first half of the season. Jardel made it clear he wished to remain with the club and help out with training and mentoring but was released from his contract. Newcastle’s fortunes changed almost immediately as they went from also-rans to eventual Grand Final winners.

Success?

Looking at the results, it is apparent that the overseas marquee system has provided mixed results over the first 3 seasons of the League. From 5 overseas marquee players, only one, Dwight Yorke, could be considered an unqualified success. He scored goals, brought glamour to and sparked interest in the inaugural A-League season. While Shegqing Qu also scored goals in the first season, he was never going to be a “glamour” signing and spent large parts of his second season injured before returning to China.

Of the remaining players, I hadn’t even heard of Scot Gemmill until I started research for this article. Part of this ignorance is because the NZ Knights were an abysmal team that even no one in New Zealand wanted to watch play, but also because he did nothing all season. Mario Jardel was an example of the kind of marquee player that the A-League should be avoiding — an once-was trading on past glories while trying to be a once-again. Juninho promised so much but spent most of his season on the bench, unable to adjust to the physical nature of Australian football (which is strange when you consider how well he did in the EPL). However I can’t fault Sydney FC for trying. Juninho still has an excellent touch on the ball and inspired passing ability He was a gamble worth taking. If he had been able to keep injury free, he could well have eclipsed Yorke as the greatest marquee signing yet.

It is too early to write off the marquee system just yet. Next time I will look at the Australian marquee and how they have fared in comparison to their overseas colleagues.

Part 1: Introduction to the Marquee player system
Part 2: Has the overseas Marquee experiment worked?
Part 3: Coming home – the local Marquee players

Shane Perris is the resident geek of techwhimsy.com and journeyman wingback for Narrabundah FC.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Australia’s A-League was born out of the ashes of the old National Soccer League (NSL). The NSL was plagued by poor management, ethnic rivalries and a low profile compared to the ‘traditional’ football codes of rugby league, rugby union and Australian Rules football (depending on which state you lived in). Following a Government inquiry, the old Soccer Australia was wound up and the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) was formed along with the new A-League.

The new administrative setup was designed to usher in an era of professionalism in Australian football. In order to ensure that the A-League was able to attract a high enough profile in the early years, clubs needed a way to attract big name players without blowing out the salary cap. As the Australian market is quite small on a global scale, clubs were never going to attract a household name at the peak of their form. However, hopes were high that a retiring superstar or two might be lured to Australia with the promise of a combination of cash, profile and our awesome climate (just stay out of the sun between 10 and 2). The marquee system was designed to enable clubs to attract well known, skillful and exciting players without threatening the financial viability of clubs and the League.

Squad Rules

It is useful to run through some of the rules governing the makeup of each A-League squad to given an understanding of where the marquee player fits in the picture. Each squad must have:

• a minimum of 20 and maximum of 23 signed players
• at least three U20 players
• no more than four international players
• a total salary cap per team of around AU$1.8 million (expected to reach about $2m by year 5 of the competition)
• additional players can be signed as “injury replacement” players for a minimum of 6 weeks if, at the time of signing, there are less than 15 rostered players available for selection.

Added to that mix is the marquee player. The salary for a marquee player does not count towards the salary cap but is included in the foreign player count. Just to complicate matters further, a loophole in the rules means that injury replacement players also do not count towards the salary cap. Confused yet? Good.

Guest Players — Marquees by Stealth

Clubs are also allowed to sign what are known as “guest players”. These players are signed for a short duration (generally 4 weeks) with no expectation that they will stay on beyond the initial terms of contract. I don’t see the point of the guest player myself as any player worth the outrageous dollars is already going to be signed up and unavailable. However, I concede that it might be a good way to road-test an ageing superstar to see if they have managed to retain enough of their touch to be worth signing longer term.

There have been two guest players in the League, both in Season 2 — Romario and Benito Carbone. Romario played a 4 game stint for Adelaide, scoring a single goal in his final game. While his presence attracted media attention, his football was not extraordinary. It was clear he was just marking time until his 1,000th career goal and it was rumoured at the time that Romario had already promised that one to Vasco de Gama.

Carbone signed for an initial 4 game stint with a view to becoming a longer term marquee signing. Carbone was a popular signing for Sydney FC and had an immediate impact. Unfortunately for Carbone and Sydney FC, he badly tore his hamstring in his third game, ruling him out for 7 weeks. During this time, he was unable to come to terms with the club and his time in Sydney was not extended.

Types of Marquee Players

In practice, marquee players can be divided in to two groups: high profile overseas players (for example Dwight Yorke and Juninho) and big name Australian players returning home to give something back to the local game before retirement (for example Ned Zelic, Craig Moore and Tony Vidmar). Generally the overseas players are attacking midfielders or strikers while the local marquees have been selected across the full range of positions including some quality defenders such as Moore and Vidmar.

So there you have it, a quick introduction to the marquee system in the Australian A-League. Tomorrow I will take a look at the contribution of the overseas marquee players to assess what impact, if any, they have had on the A-League.

Part 1: Introduction to the Marquee player system
Part 2: Has the overseas Marquee experiment worked?
Part 3: Coming home – the local Marquee players

Shane Perris is the resident geek of techwhimsy.com and journeyman wingback for Narrabundah FC.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News