It's not exactly been the start Juninho-led Sydney FC had anticipated with under-fire coach Branko Culina wasting little opportunity to continue his war of words with the Sydney media after the 2005/06 champions finally recorded their first win under his charge.
It took a classic backs to the wall away effort, a goal from Brazilian substitute Patrick with his first touch and an outstanding display in central defence from Socceroos defender Mark Milligan to snatch a 1-0 victory in Brisbane over the unfortunate Queensland Roar.
Before the round had begun, Sydney were propping up the eight-team table following two draws and two losses and mischievous hacks had started to circle the embattled club like vultures around road kill.
The depressing scenario was a million miles from Culina's first game in charge when in March he guided his new side to a shock 2-1 win over Shanghai Shenhua in the opening round of the AFC Champions League.
Barely six months later, Culina has this season been forced to defend himself like a boxer caught on the ropes - and over the weekend he wasn't about to spurn an opportunity for some counterpunching.
The primary accusation thrown in the Sydney coach's direction has been one of arrogance as rivals have gleefully turned on the team which proclaimed itself the 'glamour club' of the league two short years ago.
With 'all night' Dwight Yorke and, briefly, Kazu among their ranks, Sydney certainly did dominate column inches, generated the largest crowds and at times played some delightful football under German Pierre Littbarski.
But that was then.
Littbarski is now a distant memory, crowds in the harbour city are down and represent only half what reigning champions Melbourne Victory regularly draw since their move to the Telstra Dome and the omnipotent front and back page presence of Yorke is long gone.
Away from football, Sydneysiders are often on the receiving end of claims of arrogance so perhaps there's nothing new in Culina's confident swagger.
But snipers, chiefly comprising the Melbourne football fraternity, have happily leapt on his comparisons between Sydney and Manchester United with boardroom unrest, a shoulder injury to Juninho and an under-funded pre-season recruitment drive also under the microscope.
Sydney were lucky to beat Queensland over the weekend, the visitors pouncing on home hesitancy in defence to somehow scrape a victory after a lacklustre first-half.
What then, one Brisbane-based reporter from tabloid The Courier Mail quizzed, was the content of Culina's half-time rally cry.
"I said let's be arrogant," the FC coach mocked theatrically. "Isn't that what you guys wanted to hear?
"After all didn't I do a half-an-hour interview with you yesterday and all you wanted to write was about how arrogant we were," he continued. "There's a bit of a difference between being confident and arrogant."
A fired up Culina maintained he could handle the heat of coaching under the spotlight but cunningly distanced himself from references to the English champions, saying they were only made to underline the constant media interest in the club based in Australia's most populous city.
"It's being sarcastic or arrogant when we say it is important that Sydney does well - or at least it is for us - because of what it represents in population," he backtracked.
"I didn't say we were Manchester United or all of that, I simply said the pressure is on Sydney. I mean which other state would have been writing about getting rid of a coach other than Sydney."
It doesn’t much help that New South Wales rivals the Central Coast Mariners lead the league by four points.
By contrast former coach-of-the-year Lawrie McKinna rarely comes a cropper in the tabloids and the club are engaged with the local community in a way no other franchise has yet managed.
The Mariners boardroom is united, corporate funding is flooding in and the side boast a strike force to rival Melbourne's after former Sydney attacker Sasho Petrovski swapped the frenetic atmosphere of the NSW capital for a laidback lifestyle on the Coast.
In truth, Petrovski has not been the only person turning his back on Sydney of late.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Samba madness down under
They are inimitable nicknamers, are loved the world over for their seemingly peerless brand of individual brilliance and have, finally, arrived en masse down under.
It's taken two seasons for the fledgling league to finally wake up to the unique combination of attributes Brazilian footballers of almost any standard can deliver to a new competition.
Like any nationality, Brazilians vary enormously in playing power - but they almost never fail in generating an unrivalled marketing hype and booming interest from the footballing fraternity.
With the A-League's kick-off less than a fortnight away, season three will be the judge of just how good the dozen or so new South American arrivals are, particularly as the bulk have been awarded just single-year contracts despite champions Melbourne Victory falling foul of such a decision during the close season.
Melbourne's Fred - full name Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva - was undeniably the player-of-the-year last season, only missing out on the league's official award by virtue of the competition small print which disallows players who've served a suspension from being nominated.
But he subsequently switched to the Major League at the end of last season - after snubbing a three-year contract with the Victory - thanks to the bulging wallets of DC United where he reportedly became the club's third-highest earner.
The disappointment surrounding the departure of Fred, a cult hero with the Melbourne faithful, was tempered considering his countrymen who arrived in Victoria at the same time - defender Alessandro and striker Claudinho - failed to reach the same playing standard.
But many believe that even if only one-in-three of the new Brazilian recruits make a similarly meteoric impact as Fred this coming season, the league will have taken a definite step forward on all measures.
Particularly, of course, given the marvellous pick-up by Sydney FC of 2002 World Cup winner Juninho, the little magician who originally burst into consciousness during his first Premiership spell with Middlesbrough.
Little needs to be added of Juninho that hasn't already been said about a career which has taken him from Sao Paulo to Palmeiras via Boro, Athletico Madrid and Celtic and bought 50 national team caps including a winner's medal in the Far East five years ago.
Sydney have tempted the 34-year-old to the Harbour City with a marquee deal reportedly worth in the region of a million Australian dollars for his one-year stint.
On the other hand, his compatriots couldn't have arrived in a more contrasting manner.
If pre-season form acts as an accurate barometer of what is to come, Adelaide's free-kick taking left full-back Cassio, or Jose de Abreu Oliveira if you will, is making Australian football fans take notice with goals in each of his past three games.
The 27-year-old defender, who has also enjoyed brief spells in the Mexican and Paraguayan domestic league, is understood to have been recommended to Adelaide by former Brazilian national team coach Marcos Paqueta.
Queensland Roar playmaker Marcinho is also being touted as pivotal to the club's ambitions of breaking into the top four for the first time.
Partnered by countryman Reinaldo in Queensland's frontline, the 26-year-old former Sao Paulo junior has bragged to local reporters that his best mate is Real Madrid's Robinho and that he wants to claim Fred's mantel as the league's premier overseas recruit.
Another classically-skilled Brazilian No.10, Daniel Lins Cortes, is a veteran of the Campeonato but has also played in Europe and, briefly, the national team with a friendly appearance off the bench against Saudi Arabia during the 2002-03 season.
Daniel is one of a quartet of Brazilians signed by canny coach Ricki Herbert for newcomers Wellington Phoenix with perhaps Cleberson, a central defender who's represented PSV Eindhoven, the other likely first team candidate.
But the signing which has polarised local opinion is that of striker Mario Jardel who has turned up at the Newcastle Jets on a one-year deal.
Everyone knows the quality of Jardel's scoring record (he has twice been the recipient of the European Golden Boot award but then again so has Kevin Phillips) but it is his continued off-field troubles which marks his acquisition as a huge gamble.
The 33-year-old has not played a full season since the disappointment of missing out on a place in Brazil's squad for the 2002 World Cup and has a notorious tale of poor fitness and suspect self-discipline.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
It's taken two seasons for the fledgling league to finally wake up to the unique combination of attributes Brazilian footballers of almost any standard can deliver to a new competition.
Like any nationality, Brazilians vary enormously in playing power - but they almost never fail in generating an unrivalled marketing hype and booming interest from the footballing fraternity.
With the A-League's kick-off less than a fortnight away, season three will be the judge of just how good the dozen or so new South American arrivals are, particularly as the bulk have been awarded just single-year contracts despite champions Melbourne Victory falling foul of such a decision during the close season.
Melbourne's Fred - full name Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva - was undeniably the player-of-the-year last season, only missing out on the league's official award by virtue of the competition small print which disallows players who've served a suspension from being nominated.
But he subsequently switched to the Major League at the end of last season - after snubbing a three-year contract with the Victory - thanks to the bulging wallets of DC United where he reportedly became the club's third-highest earner.
The disappointment surrounding the departure of Fred, a cult hero with the Melbourne faithful, was tempered considering his countrymen who arrived in Victoria at the same time - defender Alessandro and striker Claudinho - failed to reach the same playing standard.
But many believe that even if only one-in-three of the new Brazilian recruits make a similarly meteoric impact as Fred this coming season, the league will have taken a definite step forward on all measures.
Particularly, of course, given the marvellous pick-up by Sydney FC of 2002 World Cup winner Juninho, the little magician who originally burst into consciousness during his first Premiership spell with Middlesbrough.
Little needs to be added of Juninho that hasn't already been said about a career which has taken him from Sao Paulo to Palmeiras via Boro, Athletico Madrid and Celtic and bought 50 national team caps including a winner's medal in the Far East five years ago.
Sydney have tempted the 34-year-old to the Harbour City with a marquee deal reportedly worth in the region of a million Australian dollars for his one-year stint.
On the other hand, his compatriots couldn't have arrived in a more contrasting manner.
If pre-season form acts as an accurate barometer of what is to come, Adelaide's free-kick taking left full-back Cassio, or Jose de Abreu Oliveira if you will, is making Australian football fans take notice with goals in each of his past three games.
The 27-year-old defender, who has also enjoyed brief spells in the Mexican and Paraguayan domestic league, is understood to have been recommended to Adelaide by former Brazilian national team coach Marcos Paqueta.
Queensland Roar playmaker Marcinho is also being touted as pivotal to the club's ambitions of breaking into the top four for the first time.
Partnered by countryman Reinaldo in Queensland's frontline, the 26-year-old former Sao Paulo junior has bragged to local reporters that his best mate is Real Madrid's Robinho and that he wants to claim Fred's mantel as the league's premier overseas recruit.
Another classically-skilled Brazilian No.10, Daniel Lins Cortes, is a veteran of the Campeonato but has also played in Europe and, briefly, the national team with a friendly appearance off the bench against Saudi Arabia during the 2002-03 season.
Daniel is one of a quartet of Brazilians signed by canny coach Ricki Herbert for newcomers Wellington Phoenix with perhaps Cleberson, a central defender who's represented PSV Eindhoven, the other likely first team candidate.
But the signing which has polarised local opinion is that of striker Mario Jardel who has turned up at the Newcastle Jets on a one-year deal.
Everyone knows the quality of Jardel's scoring record (he has twice been the recipient of the European Golden Boot award but then again so has Kevin Phillips) but it is his continued off-field troubles which marks his acquisition as a huge gamble.
The 33-year-old has not played a full season since the disappointment of missing out on a place in Brazil's squad for the 2002 World Cup and has a notorious tale of poor fitness and suspect self-discipline.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Friday, March 23, 2007
Culina's Sydney: bold and brave
Whether Sydney FC have the stamina to outlast their Group E colleagues remains a question for debate after their pulsating 2-2 draw with J-League champions Urawa Reds. But the inaugural A-League champions have already banished the memory of an uninspiring domestic campaign under sacked coach Terry Butcher and made a real statement of intent for this year's Asian Champions League.
"Pleased and disappointed," was interim coach Branko Culina's balanced reaction after only his second match in charge of the club. "Pleased that we played well in the first half and pleased with the result.
"But disappointed that we let slip a two-goal lead."
Sydney's studious manager must feel like Arsene Wenger to Butcher's Sir Alex Ferguson. The technical director of Soccer New South Wales and a regular TV pundit, Culina is a man well versed in doing his pre-match homework. As perhaps Sydney's display in Shanghai a fortnight ago demonstrated, Culina is also patently not fazed by restarting his top-flight management career in the heat of the ACL.
"Tsuboi, Tanaka, Nene, Suzuki, Ono, Abe, Ponte, Washington, Nagai ... do you want me to keep going?" he coolly responded to questions about Sydney's opponents the day before the game.
That's Culina. He exudes a quiet calm in front of the cameras while preaching a classic pass-and-movement philosophy the Sydney squad have taken to like ducks to water. And although he's been spending plenty of his evenings running the rule of his group rivals, he's also been quick to overhaul the club's stagnant style under Butcher and impart an altogether more entertaining system.
"Our game plan worked to perfection in the first 20 minutes," Culina continued confidently after the match. "Our plan was to attack them down the right-hand side in the first 20 minutes where Nene didn't have the pace or the defensive requirements to put up with Brosque.
"We changed Carney and Brosque around for that reason as well - we wanted to confuse them a little bit. But in the end we weren't quite good enough."
Culina, the father of Socceroo midfielder Jason, is certainly tactically astute but he has also inherited the bulk of the 2006 championship-winning squad. There have been a couple of further outgoings following Dwight Yorke's early season move back to the UK, but in essence Sydney's roster - albeit a little thin - has been together for more or less two years.
Of the club's three up-and-comers who will have the caught the eye of neutrals, Culina picked out supplementary striking duo Alex Brosque and David Carney for special mention. The third member of a triumvirate on the fringes of regular Socceroos recognition is midfielder Mark Milligan. National team coach Graham Arnold admitted this week he was planning to look at all three before Australia's scheduled match against Saudi Arabia next Wednesday was scrapped.
Milligan is no stranger to the senior Socceroos after receiving a last-gasp phone call from Guus Hiddink on the eve of last year's World Cup. Having now dropped back to captain the under-23s on their qualifying path to Beijing 2008, the unflappable 21-year-old showed in the opening minutes against Urawa he's more than just a midfield enforcer. It was his slide rule through ball which found Carney who finished with aplomb within 60 seconds of kick-off. Milligan too highlighted his versatility by playing at right-back after half-time
Sydney's second goal was concocted by Carney's individual brilliance with a helping hand from Brosque in the build-up. In between time Brosque, who gave Nene the run around before the Brazilian defender was replaced by Japanese international Makato Hasebe just before the interval, might have had one of his own after shooting wide with the hosts well in the ascendancy.
The Sydneysiders tired after the break and despite gifting the Reds an equaliser ended up holding on for a draw. Still, unbeaten and joint-top of arguably the toughest of this year's seven ACL groups, is a fine achievement. As Culina said, "When you consider it is someone who spends $65million on players against someone who spends $6.5million, the result is not too bad."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
"Pleased and disappointed," was interim coach Branko Culina's balanced reaction after only his second match in charge of the club. "Pleased that we played well in the first half and pleased with the result.
"But disappointed that we let slip a two-goal lead."
Sydney's studious manager must feel like Arsene Wenger to Butcher's Sir Alex Ferguson. The technical director of Soccer New South Wales and a regular TV pundit, Culina is a man well versed in doing his pre-match homework. As perhaps Sydney's display in Shanghai a fortnight ago demonstrated, Culina is also patently not fazed by restarting his top-flight management career in the heat of the ACL.
"Tsuboi, Tanaka, Nene, Suzuki, Ono, Abe, Ponte, Washington, Nagai ... do you want me to keep going?" he coolly responded to questions about Sydney's opponents the day before the game.
That's Culina. He exudes a quiet calm in front of the cameras while preaching a classic pass-and-movement philosophy the Sydney squad have taken to like ducks to water. And although he's been spending plenty of his evenings running the rule of his group rivals, he's also been quick to overhaul the club's stagnant style under Butcher and impart an altogether more entertaining system.
"Our game plan worked to perfection in the first 20 minutes," Culina continued confidently after the match. "Our plan was to attack them down the right-hand side in the first 20 minutes where Nene didn't have the pace or the defensive requirements to put up with Brosque.
"We changed Carney and Brosque around for that reason as well - we wanted to confuse them a little bit. But in the end we weren't quite good enough."
Culina, the father of Socceroo midfielder Jason, is certainly tactically astute but he has also inherited the bulk of the 2006 championship-winning squad. There have been a couple of further outgoings following Dwight Yorke's early season move back to the UK, but in essence Sydney's roster - albeit a little thin - has been together for more or less two years.
Of the club's three up-and-comers who will have the caught the eye of neutrals, Culina picked out supplementary striking duo Alex Brosque and David Carney for special mention. The third member of a triumvirate on the fringes of regular Socceroos recognition is midfielder Mark Milligan. National team coach Graham Arnold admitted this week he was planning to look at all three before Australia's scheduled match against Saudi Arabia next Wednesday was scrapped.
Milligan is no stranger to the senior Socceroos after receiving a last-gasp phone call from Guus Hiddink on the eve of last year's World Cup. Having now dropped back to captain the under-23s on their qualifying path to Beijing 2008, the unflappable 21-year-old showed in the opening minutes against Urawa he's more than just a midfield enforcer. It was his slide rule through ball which found Carney who finished with aplomb within 60 seconds of kick-off. Milligan too highlighted his versatility by playing at right-back after half-time
Sydney's second goal was concocted by Carney's individual brilliance with a helping hand from Brosque in the build-up. In between time Brosque, who gave Nene the run around before the Brazilian defender was replaced by Japanese international Makato Hasebe just before the interval, might have had one of his own after shooting wide with the hosts well in the ascendancy.
The Sydneysiders tired after the break and despite gifting the Reds an equaliser ended up holding on for a draw. Still, unbeaten and joint-top of arguably the toughest of this year's seven ACL groups, is a fine achievement. As Culina said, "When you consider it is someone who spends $65million on players against someone who spends $6.5million, the result is not too bad."
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Sydney FC v Deportivo Saprissa
Sydney FC v Deportivo Saprissa
On a freezing night at Toyota Stadium, Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa defeated Sydney FC 1-0 in an a match that did little to raise the temperature of the subdued 28,503 crowd.
Christian Bolanos scored in the 47th minute for the CONCACAF champions from a long ball from defence and the Costa Ricans could easily have extended their lead on the counter as Sydney desperately pushed for an equalizer in the closing stages.
Sydney's task was made all the harder when defender Alvin Ceccoli was sent off with ten minutes to go for an adjudged elbow on the Saprissa goalkeeper. Dwight Yorke attempted to pull the strings from a deep-lying midfield position for Sydney but lacked support from his team-mates in an uninspired and one-paced midfield.
FC Sydney's Kazu Miura failed to make much of an impression in front of his home fans and Saprissa will now take on European Champions Liverpool in Yokohama on Thursday.
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On a freezing night at Toyota Stadium, Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa defeated Sydney FC 1-0 in an a match that did little to raise the temperature of the subdued 28,503 crowd.
Christian Bolanos scored in the 47th minute for the CONCACAF champions from a long ball from defence and the Costa Ricans could easily have extended their lead on the counter as Sydney desperately pushed for an equalizer in the closing stages.
Sydney's task was made all the harder when defender Alvin Ceccoli was sent off with ten minutes to go for an adjudged elbow on the Saprissa goalkeeper. Dwight Yorke attempted to pull the strings from a deep-lying midfield position for Sydney but lacked support from his team-mates in an uninspired and one-paced midfield.
FC Sydney's Kazu Miura failed to make much of an impression in front of his home fans and Saprissa will now take on European Champions Liverpool in Yokohama on Thursday.
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Monday, July 4, 2005
Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke has arrived in Sydney from Birmingham City to take up his position as Sydney FC's marquee player in the inaugural Australian A-League.
The 33-year-old former Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United striker has promised to concentrate on scoring on the pitch rather than the dance floor.
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