The Sleeping Giant

It's amazing how the A-league over here is just starting...my arrival here couldn't be more perfect. Would be going on Tuesday to check out Ivan's video interview with Dwight Yorke, ex-Man Utd player.

Always an exciting time to be part of something like this. The dawn of a new endeavour...
Below is the unedited version of my first writing assignment.

The Sleeping Giant by Chee Yu Qun (305066145) Alvin

My impression of Australian soccer has always been good. Not fantastic. But enough to ward off any pessimism linked to the future of the sport here.

Nevertheless, I was slightly surprised to find the domestic soccer scene in a state of disrepair. Only not too long ago, soccer professionals here were much sought after by South-east Asian countries, including Singapore. Signed as marquee players, they brought with them, amongst other talents, experience gained from a professional set-up. Famous names included Alistair Edwards, Abbas Saad and Craig Foster, just to name a few.

There is a constant stream of Australian players plying their trade abroad. Players like Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka have been able to make a name for themselves in the international scene, building successful careers in their respective European clubs.

This exodus of young local talent hurts the development of Australian soccer. Young kids here don’t have anyone they can watch week in, week out and look up to. Furthermore, the management of the domestic league hasn’t been up to par. Previous national advertising campaigns for soccer have failed due to a lack of support and funding from former National Soccer League clubs focused on promoting themselves to their support base.

This point was highlighted by Ivan Zelic, an ex-professional player I interviewed over the phone. He has played professional soccer for the past 10 years.

“They’ve got wrong people steering the ship for NSL,” Ivan explained. “The clubs had their own ethnic ties. It was wrong marketing style…marketing only went out to certain ethnic communities. And this affected spectator turnouts.”

However, the ex-Socceroo who is now playing part-time and running junior development clinics for kids, expressed optimism for the future of Australian soccer.

“Australia is a sleeping giant,” he says. “Having this new league campaign properly in place is a good first step for Australian soccer.”

Ivan is referring to the new Hyundai A-league which kicks off on August 26.

“Previously, there were no good coaches to reward talent. With the introduction of the A-league, the clubs would have good foreign coaches and players. Exciting times lay ahead…Australian soccer finally looks to be going somewhere.”


I found out that soccer at youth level here is at a very good standard. Soccer claims to be the largest team participation sport in Australia, just ahead of cricket, with a high level of female involvement and many social competitions, but 70 per cent of registered players are aged 17 or younger. It is interesting to see soccer being such a popular sport with the kids but not so much with the adults.

William, a 15 year-old Manchester United fan from Mitchell High School explains to me that he plays because many of his friends play the game. He reasoned that soccer is not too rough or too difficult to play, hence its popularity.

To Ivan, soccer is a great game to play, growing up in your teens. However, he feels there hasn’t been anyone in domestic soccer competitions that teenagers like William can look up to.

Compared to AFL or NRL rugby competitions, the domestic soccer league hasn’t been well managed or supported. And many have the view that soccer is a sissy sport, which Ivan refutes vehemently.

“Soccer is a sport where you can use any part of your body to control the ball.”

Elder brother Ned Zelic, captain of the Newcastle Jets, would be hoping for a lot of that control in the new A-league.

League rival Sydney FC has got ex-Manchester United player Dwight Yorke in their ranks. Incidentally, Ivan has done a video interview with Dwight, who was surprised not to see soccer anywhere in the news. He doesn’t understand why rugby is so popular here when it’s not as international a sport as soccer is.

“It’s surprising it hasn’t been a success when so many kids are playing,” he said.

Well in all honestly, I have been wondering the exact same thing.

Timothy Steains, 17 and Nobu, 21 shed some light on this when I had a chat with them.

Tim studies grade 11 at Gosford High School, and has friends who would go watch the A-league. He on the other hand, probably wouldn’t. He has lost much of the passion for the past year or so. Getting an injury didn’t help, that’s for sure. Priorities have changed for him as well he explains, choosing to spend more time on studies and professional opera singing.

“The domestic league hasn’t been of a good standard so far, hence the lack of interest from adults especially.”

But this former Goalkeeper of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year playing for the Hornsby youth team, thinks A-league may get popular when it becomes a well-managed professional competition close to home.

Nobu, originally from Japan, agrees.

“Australian soccer is not popular or famous because the clubs or national team haven’t made into any major competitions.”

He has been in Australia for 11 years and has actively participated in youth competitions with different teams.

“But it is gradually getting more popular and the standard is getting higher.”

He feels that if Australia makes it to the World Cup, there would be a huge spike in public interest. Otherwise, he thinks, things would likely stay the same.

All three of them, William, Timothy and Nobu have little intention to play professionally in the future. This is such a pity.

Australia possesses a wealth of talented youngsters with all the qualities to make it to the top. Many clubs are recognizing this and are attempting to harness and nurture this raw talent by developing professional structures and giving their players a career path to state, national or overseas leagues.

One club, the Parramatta Eagles, has secured a partnership with one of the biggest clubs in the world, Manchester United. It is now the official youth development partner for Manchester United in the Oceania Region, jointly developing a professional youth development program.

I am sure William would be very interested to know of this development.

Another important development is the move of Australia into the Asian Football Confederation - effective 1 January 2006.

The FFA is hoping that spikes in interest that have traditionally surrounded games played by the national side, broaden into more consistent support with this news.

The Socceroos will begin playing Asian Cup qualifiers from February next year and the top two club sides will qualify for the Asian Champions League.

Ivan thinks this is a good chance to form links with Asian clubs and nations. Closer ties with Asian teams would allow for more quality competitions to be formed, and improve the level of play around the region.

Australia’s World Cup history is one of lost opportunities and much heartbreak. But 1974 will long live in the memory of every Australian soccer fan. The 1974 finals in West Germany remains the one and only time that Australia has made it to the World Cup.

There are signs that Australia can make it. Only recently in 2003, a friendly game between Australia and England saw the Socceroos outplay a star-studded English side which included captain David Beckham, beating them 3-1.

Next year’s World Cup Finals would be held in Germany again. Would history repeat itself?

Football Federation of Australia head of marketing and strategy Geoff Parmenter is someone who would like a positive answer.

Early this month, an advertising campaign worth $10 million was launched, selling Australian soccer to the key audience of 16 to 24-year-olds, a new generation of fans.

“You could view this as a new product launch, but in our minds, it’s even more substantial than that. We’re trying to unveil a new culture.” Mr. Parmenter said.

Families and older supporters as well as young players were part of the broad audience for the new football competition, which needed to make a clean break from the collapse of the former NSL, successive failed World Cup campaigns and ethnic soccer flare-ups that have eroded the sport’s image.

There is a worrying belief that the A-league is lacking in quality even before a single ball has been kicked, Editor of Soccer International magazine John Iannantuono points out.

Some people are still reluctant to embrace change and support the new vision for Australian football, he says. These people want the national team to succeed, want the game to have more exposure, but are unwilling to get behind their A-league club, still choosing to compare quality between the now defunct NSL and European football.

The importance of a successful domestic competition should not be underestimated. A sound domestic league is, in my opinion, the lifeblood of the national team; a never-ending production line of emerging talent. Furthermore, it is the base to which further success can be built upon.

Australian football is undoubtedly in its most exciting period, and the benefits of a successful domestic competition are immeasurable. However, patience will be required from the footballing public if the competition and indeed Australia, as a soccer nation, are to prosper.