Month: May 2017

Australia national team coach Ange Postecoglou says that the Australian A-league will always find it hard to replace a player like Thomas Broich.

The former Brisbane Roar coach was responsible for bringingBroich to the A-League. His presence was extremely important in the team managed by Postecoglou, and it went on to achieve a lot of success. The 36-year-old may not have appeared for the German national team, but he became a club legend at Brisbane. After having made more than 60 assists since moving to the club in 2010, Broich has quickly became the top goal creator in the A-League history.

Australia national team coach Ange Postecoglou says that the Australian A-league will always find it hard to replace a player like Thomas Broich.

The former Brisbane Roar coach was responsible for bringingBroich to the A-League. His presence was extremely important in the team managed by Postecoglou, and it went on to achieve a lot of success. The 36-year-old may not have appeared for the German national team, but he became a club legend at Brisbane. After having made more than 60 assists since moving to the club in 2010, Broich has quickly became the top goal creator in the A-League history.

After having been at the A-League outfit for the last seven years, he announced his exit from the club at the end of the campaign. This led to a lot of tributes for the player, with the most important coming from his former manager Postecoglou.

The national team coach says that he is aware thatBroich’s contribution to Brisbane has come to an end, but he is hoping that the 36-year-old continues to carry on playing for the next couple of years. Postecoglou is extremely proud of having convinced Broich to move from the German Bundesliga to the Australian A-League at the prime of his career.

Since coming to the Australian outfit, he has managed to win the Australian premiership twice and the Championship three times with the last title coming in the 2013-14 season.“Hopefully he’s not done yet. Obviously he is (finished) at Brisbane. I think we’ll miss him because he brought so many special moments and there’s been a consistency in his brilliance that no other player in the A-League has matched. There’s a uniqueness in him that we won’t be able to replace because I don’t think anyone will have the longevity of him,” said Postecoglou.

Just weeks after failing to progress beyond the Elimination Finals, Melbourne City have begun to make some significant changes to their playing staff, confirming that four members of last season’s squad will leave the A-League club.

Despite being tipped to mount a real challenge for the title this season, City never looked like competing with the league’s best teams, eventually being outplayed by Perth Glory in the first round of the finals.

With the club’s ambitious owners clearly not happy with another season of relative failure, aside from winning the FFA Cup, it looks as though it’s going to be a busy few months at AAMI Park.

Just weeks after failing to progress beyond the Elimination Finals, Melbourne City have begun to make some significant changes to their playing staff, confirming that four members of last season’s squad will leave the A-League club.

Despite being tipped to mount a real challenge for the title this season, City never looked like competing with the league’s best teams, eventually being outplayed by Perth Glory in the first round of the finals.

With the club’s ambitious owners clearly not happy with another season of relative failure, aside from winning the FFA Cup, it looks as though it’s going to be a busy few months at AAMI Park.

The four players that have been released – Steve Kuzmanovski, Corey Gameiro, Nicolas Colazo and Josh Rose – will hardly be surprised by the news that they won’t be at Melbourne City next season, but it does highlight the need for the club to get busy in the transfer market. Despite boasting a roster containing some top names, including the likes of Tim Cahill, Bruce Fornaroli and Anthony Caceres, City have again failed to compete with teams boasting much more modest squads. If the club are going to be able to challenge for the title next season, it looks like another offseason of change to the playing and possibly the management staff.

The fact that the club’s city rivals, Melbourne Victory, will now face Perth Glory in the Grand Final, in a match they will start priced at 11/10 with bet365 to win, has only made this season more painful for City’s fans and owners. When you look at how the City Football Group, headed by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, run their various clubs, it would be a surprise if they were satisfied with how things are going in their Australian experiment. So, while their A-League rivals will be pleased that City haven’t been able to instantly buy success, they will be expecting some big changes going forward.

Indeed, certain players are already starting to make way. Steve Kuzmanovski and Corey Gameiro’s release comes after the duo missed the entire 2016/17 campaign with serious knee injuries. While Kuzmanovski will be confident of finding a new A-League club before next season, that might not be an easy task for Gameiro, who is coming off his third major knee surgery in four years. Marquee winger Nicolas Colazo is another set to depart Melbourne, returning to Argentinean club Boca Juniors after failing to live up to expectations since making the loan move to Melbourne last year.

Also joining those departing AAMI Park will be experienced left-back Joshua Rose, who has come to the end of his one-year contract at the club. Despite making over 20 appearances for City last season, the 35-year-old has been allowed to leave, casting doubts over the former Central Coast defender’s future in the league. As well his presence on the left of the City defence, Rose brought a lot to the club in terms of his experience, something that will be harder to replace. But the gap left by Rose is just one of a number of positions in this team that the City management will be looking to strengthen before next season.

Sydney FC are set to go head to head with Melbourne Victory at the Hyundai A-League final in the Harbour City.

The big question is if the Sky Blues can get the result one more time this term. Both sides have met three times already this season with Sydney winning each occasion. Ahead of the grand final on Sunday, will they be able to maintain their dominance?

Sydney FC are set to go head to head with Melbourne Victory at the Hyundai A-League final in the Harbour City.

The big question is if the Sky Blues can get the result one more time this term. Both sides have met three times already this season with Sydney winning each occasion. Ahead of the grand final on Sunday, will they be able to maintain their dominance?

“They’re going to say it’s a one-off game but of course we’re going to take a lot of confidence from beating them three times. You can say that the season doesn’t matter but we’ve got a fantastic record at home,” Sydney defender Alex Wilkinson boasts ahead of the clash.

Wilkinson added that their defensive record, and huge fan base at home would increase their already confidence when they meet Victory. “Obviously they’re going to have to come up here and beat us on our own patch, which no one has done yet. We’re going to go in very confident,” he said.

This is the time for Wilkinson after three times. He was in the 2005/06, 2007/08 and 2010/11 sides that lost the grand final. He has played in Asia in China and South Korea before he returned home. He was with Melbourne City last year before he move to Sydney FC.

The experienced defender said it has been a “great year” for him, adding that he has enjoyed himself. He refused to give much credence to dangerous Victory striker Besart Berisha, saying the focus is one them and not the opponent. He said the team would respect their opponent but that the work lies in the team focusing on what they would do with the ball and when they lose it.