A League: Ange Postecoglou's A-League Legacy
Paul Williams
While few could argue that Ange Postecoglou left a lasting legacy at Brisbane Roar, and perhaps right across the A-League when he transformed the perennial underachievers into the swashbuckling outfit that took all before them, his greatest legacy to the A-League could be yet to come.
Rightly awarded the Socceroos job after the FFA ran out of patience with German Holger Osieck late last year, never before has an Australian coach had such belief and confidence in the A-League.
Pim Veerbek routinely knocked the league and its quality. Holger gave the odd chance and paid it lip service, but you got the sense he never truly had great faith in it. Ange, the latest incarnation, is a product of the A-League. He got the Socceroos job on the back of his success in the A-League.
And his World Cup squad selections show just how much belief he has in the A-League and the players who play in it. Play well in the A-League and you will be rewarded.
So often over the last 10 years we've seen players choose to go overseas, or stay overseas, to better their Socceroos ambitions knowing they'd have more chance of being selected by playing overseas. Anywhere.
Under Ange that will no longer be the case.
Good form will be rewarded; regardless of whether that's for Crystal Palace or Central Coast.
Just look at the likes of James Troisi and Matt Spiranovic. Both were struggling to forge a career overseas, and on the very fringes of the national team. Both decided to roll the dice, before Ange was appointed Socceroos boss, and return home in the hope that playing in Australia under the eyes of Holger they could force their way in.
Even then, with Holger's reluctance to tinker, it was an outside chance.
Both flourished and when Ange was appointed they were rightly rewarded. Spiranovic has penned a new deal with Western Sydney, while Troisi looks like returning to the A-League on loan. Having "made their name", for want of a better phrase, in the A-League, they no longer have to venture overseas to further their cause.
And the A-League is better for it.
The return of Carl Valeri from Italy is another tick for the A-League and Ange's influence. Having struggled with injury in recent years, the 29-year-old, looking to reignite his career, has turned to the A-League and Melbourne Victory to do just that, knowing that doing so will not harm his chances of earning a Socceroos recall, in fact it could further it.
Yet for all the gains the A-League has made in recent years, the recent comments of James Meredith show that there is still a mindset among some players overseas that needs changing when it comes to the local competition.
The Albury-native, who moved to the UK when he was 16 to sign with Derby County, has largely played his career in the lower tiers of England, most recently with York City and Bradford.
Offered a chance to return home by both Melbourne City (previously Melbourne Heart) and Western Sydney Wanderers, he knocked it back, and in explaining his decision he highlighted the attitude that, sadly, exists in many players overseas.
"There was interest from other clubs - there was strong interest in Australia. Melbourne Heart (City) and Western Sydney Wanderers offered me good deals, probably better," he told his local newspaper, the Telegraph & Argus.
"But it wasn't right for me. I like playing in England and I like playing for Bradford.
"Maybe playing in Australia is something you do when you're a bit older and you want to go back. It's a bit slower."
It's a mentality that existed in a significant number of Australians playing overseas in recent years, but gradually has eroded as the quality of the A-League has improved and examples of A-League products getting their chance with the Socceroos became more regular.
But it still exists.
Under Ange you get the sense the process of changing that mindset will go up a gear or two, as more players view returning home not as a backwards step or a sign of their "failure", but as a legitimate career move aimed to further their national team ambitions.
And in changing that mindset Ange will leave arguably his greatest legacy for the A-League, all while having no active role in the competition. It's a mark of just how important the man is for football in Australia.
Copyright © Paul Williams and Soccerphile.com
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