Meet the soccer stars who have slammed the A-League – after Dwight Yorke’s ‘pub team’ spray
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Dwight Yorke’s ‘pub squad’ sprinkling before departing as head coach of A-League side Macarthur FC has seen the Manchester United legend become a major talking point among many football fans in Australia.
But Yorke is far from alone: many prominent personalities in the world game have publicly unloaded on national competition in recent years.
Whether it’s the late former Socceroos manager Pim Verbeek or goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac, criticism of the tough competition has been constant in some quarters.
Even Graham Arnold, who pulled off a sporting miracle guiding Australia to the round of 16, in a team of A-League players, at the World Cup in Qatar, hasn’t pulled any punches when it comes to the team of 12. competition.
He told Daily Mail Australia last year that the A-League “destroys national teams” after pointing out the ridiculous length of the off-season, from May to October.
Arnold was spot on.
It comes as a fed up Yorke, 51, labeled the Bulls a “pub team” and criticized the standard of professional soccer in Australia after his team’s loss to Adelaide United last Friday.
The day after the defeat, Yorke held a meeting with club chairman Gino Marra where it was decided to mutually terminate his contract after just 13 games.
Dwight Yorke’s ‘pub squad’ sprinkling before departing as head coach of A-League side Macarthur FC after just 13 games has seen the Manchester United legend become a major talking point in circles soccer.
When asked about possible improvements to the quality of football in the A-League, former Socceroos manager Pim Verbeek replied: “Do you have an hour?”
Individual players were singled out for criticism in a withering spray thrown in front of Marra and CEO Sam Krslovic.
The Macarthur job was Yorke’s first foray into management after a brilliant playing career.
He won the Australian Cup, the Bulls’ first piece of pre-season silverware, and collected five league wins, leaving the club in semi-final contention at the time of his departure.
Yorke is now reasserting himself to replace Steve Corica at the helm of Sydney FC, where the Trinidadian star was the club’s first standout player.
Verbeek was not a fan of the A-League when he was in charge of the Socceroos between 2007 and 2010.
The Dutch coach once called the performances of local players Archie Thompson and Danny Allsopp “absolutely hopeless” after an international match against Indonesia.
Goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac once said that he believed players would learn more simply by practicing with the best players day in and day out in Europe instead of playing in the A-League.
Archie Thompson (pictured right) was a star in the A-League for Melbourne Victory, but a Socceroos performance against Indonesia was called “absolutely hopeless” by then national team manager Pim Verbeek.
He also asked why decorated Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina would leave the Netherlands, where he played for giants PSV Eindhoven, to return and play in Australia in 2009.
When asked about possible improvements to the quality of football in the A-League, Verbeek replied at the time: “Do you have an hour?”
Harry Kewell echoed manager Verbeek’s blunt assessment of the A-League in 2008.
Kewell, then on Liverpool’s books in the EPL, backed Verbeek’s assertion that foreign-based Socceroos play, and even train, at a higher level than A-League hopefuls.
When the Socceroos winger played in the competition a few years later in two seasons with Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart (now known as Melbourne Victory), he expressed “surprise” at the level of play.
Kalac once said that he believed that players would learn more by training with the best players day in and day out in Europe instead of playing games in the A-League.
Both men were heavily criticized for their views, but as veteran SBS football reporter Philip Micallef pointed out, no one was able to conjure up an effective argument to prove them wrong.
With A-League players training full-time and having access to world-class facilities, the reality is that the standard should be much better.
Comparisons to the EPL, La Liga in Spain, or Italy’s Serie A are meaningless, but since the competition started on local shores in 2005, the games shouldn’t be hard to watch.
Soccer great Harry Kewell was initially critical of the A-League when playing in Europe.
However, they are. Weekly.
Technically the A-League lags far behind the J-League, for example, and with Arab nations like Qatar and Saudi Arabia pouring millions into their competitions to attract superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, there is genuine fear that Australia will left behind in the world. stage.
After the Socceroos’ success in the World Cup, the A-League level needs to improve for the code to thrive.
Not playing games during the summer months would be a start.
Beyond that, the creation of a second national division is essential, with essential promotions and relegations.
To you, Football Australia, the clock is ticking.