A stepping stone. That wsa the plan anyway. So how are A-League players supposed to become Socceroos when they are not even eligable. I'm talking about all the A-League players that have come from overseas to play in our national league. We have, playing in the A-League with no hope of Socceroos selection, players from 12 different countries other than Australia :
Portugal
Switzerland
Columbia
Scotland
Netherlands
Germany
Ireland
Brazil
New Zealand
China
England
South Korea
These foreigners, numbering over 30 in total, are taking spots in our teams when deserving Australians, who could be future Socceroos are left out of the teams and thus, the spotlight.
How are these young talents supposed to be discovered when they aren't being allowed to play decent football where they can show off their skills?
Maybe, instead of each team being allowed one marquee player, perhaps they should only be allowed one international player. Sure that means the Roar would have to replace about half their players but hey, an Australian: Chris Grossman replaced a German: Marcus Wedau and look how well he served us.
I know that all the coaches and management are looking for is players that will help them lift the trophy at the end of the season, but they are forgetting the fact that the A-League is supposed to discover players, not teach them English.
Should an international player limit be enforced then maybe deserving Australians, and even future Socceroos would be able to take their first step onto the stone that is the A-League.
N.B. New Zealand was not counted in this. They currently have 6 Australian players on their team. But they also have 17 players who aren't Australian. Only 4 of these are from New Zealand.
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3 comments:
You're not alone Jecce. Sepp Blatter has been talking up a universal club limit on players not elligible for the respective national team. Whatever that limit should be, it seems like a reasonable idea. The Knights in particular would I think have gelled more as a team and possibly attracted more local support if it had included more Kiwi players from the beginning.
But it's a bit of a dance I reckon, and a balancing act. If the internationals are good they can expose the Australian football culture to skills and styles from diverse coaches and teams around the world. This can only benefit future Socceroos.
But meanwhile, if as in the example you use, Grossman is better than Wedau, it doesn't require any rules to ensure that Grossman wins the day.
I'm for a limit of three or four internationals per side rather than the one you suggest anyway. It's a balance between opportunities for future socceroos and well-rounded environments for future socceroos.
Hey there!
The German national team has been "struggling" for years apparently because of their Bundesliga being inundated with internationals, not allowing their youth to develop.
From memory, their concerns came before the 2002 World Cup, but then they made the final...
At the same time, the point of the A-League at the moment, is to ensure that a fan-base is built, and a solid one too. This means that teams need to be competitive and consequently more experienced players required.
Though Queensland's best performers on the weekend were all youngsters, this isn't normally the case in top notch competitions such as the EPL.
Great topic Jeccy. Got me going. I have responded as a post on my blog.
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