Summer’s on the way! Not only can you feel it in the air – in most parts of Australia anyway – but the Hyundai A-League football (soccer) kicks-off tonight for its eighth season.
After some off-field dramas at the end of last season, things were not looking so good for the Hyundai A-League 2012 season when new Sydney CEO, Tony Pignata, made an announcement only four weeks ago that heralded a seismic shift in interest from the media, sponsors and fans and brought the season alive. The once glamour club of the competition had scored a major coup by signing Italian superstar, Alessandro Del Piero.
Del Piero, 37 (pictured), is a legend of the game having played for giant Italian club, Juventus, for 19 years of his professional career scoring more than 200 goals in 513 appearances. He has played 91 times for the Italian national side including being part of the squad that won the World Cup in 2006, and was named by Pele as one of the top 150 footballers of all time.
In the past month, not only has Del Piero – along with his wife and three children – arrived, but Newcastle Jets followed it up with another big signing in English man, Emile Heskey, 34. Heskey has played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the English Premier League and 62 times for England.
Earlier this week, the new kids on the block, Western Sydney Wanderers unveiled the signing of Japanese international Shinji Ono, a midfielder who has played in the Netherlands and Germany as well as the J-League and played 56 times for the Japan national team.
The spring in the step of A-League fans continued this week with the announcement of ABC Radio as a match day partner giving the game much needed national free-to-air coverage just as the new television broadcast deal is to be finalised. The new broadcast deal should put the sport’s governing body, FFA, into a position to reduce some of the registration costs of playing the game for mum’s and dad’s as it is expected to reach $60 million per annum, up from the current level of $20 million per annum.
So, armed with all that, if you’re a ‘soccer mum’ who really isn’t that ‘in’ to soccer, here’s our quick 5 point guide to what you need to know about each of the 10 clubs in the competition.
Adelaide United
Home ground: Hindmarsh Stadium
Colours: Red
Coach: John Kosmina
Last season: 9
Players to watch: Cassio, Bruce Djite, Zenon Caravella, Dario Vidosic
Brisbane Roar
Home ground: Suncorp Stadium
Colours: Orange and black
Coach: Rado Vidosic
Last season: 2
Players to watch: Erik Partaalu, Thomas Broich, Henrique, Besart Berisha
Central Coast Mariners
Home ground: Bluetongue Stadium
Colours: Yellow and blue
Coach: Graham Arnold
Last season: 1
Players to watch: Patrick Zwaanswijk, Josh Rose, Mile Sterjovski, Tom Rogic
Melbourne Heart
Home ground: AAMI Park
Colours: Red and white
Coach: John Aloisi
Last season: 6
Players to watch: Fred, Simon Colosimo, Richard Garcia, Dylan Macallister
Melbourne Victory
Home ground: Etihad Stadium
Colours: Navy
Coach: Ange Postecoglou
Last season: 8
Players to watch: Adrian Leijer, Marcos Flores, Marco Rojas, Julius Davies
Newcastle Jets
Home ground: Hunter Stadium
Colours: Red and blue
Coach: Gary van Egmond
Last season: 7
Players to watch: Emile Heskey, Ben Kantarovski, Jobe Wheelhouse, Marko Jesic
Perth Glory
Home ground: Patersons Stadium
Colours: Purple and white
Coach: Ian Ferguson
Last season: 3
Players to watch: Michael Thwaite, Nick Ward, Travis Dodd, Jacob Burns
Sydney
Home ground: Allianz Stadium (Sydney Football Stadium)
Colours: Sky blue
Coach: Ian Crook
Last season: 5
Players to watch: Alessandro Del Piero, Brett Emerton, Adam Griffiths, Joel Chianese
Wellington Phoenix
Home ground: Westpac Stadium
Colours: Yellow and black
Coach: Ricki Herbert
Last season: 4
Players to watch: Andrew Durante, Paul Ifill, Leo Bertos, Mirjan Pavlovic
Western Sydney Wanderers
Home ground: Parramatta Stadium
Colours: Red, black and white
Coach: Tony Popovic
Last season: - (this is Western Sydney's debut season)
Players to watch: Shinji Ono, Tarek Elrich, Ante Covic, Dino Kresinger
For further information about matches and tickets, visit www.aleague.com.au. All matches are shown live on FOX Sports www.foxsports.com.au
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