The Sun-Herald

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Schwarzer: England's Number One

So, it's official. The Premier League's top goalkeeper is Australian.

As you can read elsewhere in The Sun-Herald this weekend, Mark Schwarzer was named the best goalkeeper in England last week.

Schwarzer told me on Thursday that he'll take whatever plaudits come his way, especially after being written off by some in the media and at his former club, Middlesbrough.

The Socceroo claimed the crown based on statistical analysis by sports data analysts OPTA. There's no need to be blinded by science - the numbers are pretty straightforward.

Fulham, Schwarzer's club, have the fourth-best defensive record in the league and only Scott Carson, 'keeper at under-the-pump bottom side West Bromwich Albion, has faced more attempts on goal.

According to OPTA, the equation, with saves made and a shots-to-save ratio, looks something like this:

1 Mark Schwarzer (Fulham) 117 80.69%
2 Pepe Reina (Liverpool) 75 78.12%
3 Petr Cech (Chelsea) 69 77.53%
4 Van der Sar (Man U) 61 77.22%
5 Huerelo Gomes (Spurs) 101 76.52%

"The idea is to try and save as many as possible and if that is 150 shots or 100 shots, it doesn't matter, so long as you save a hell of a lot more than you let in," Schwarzer said.

"I have definitely received more recognition this season than previously, without a doubt," he added. "There have been other seasons where I've played equally as well, but not received the same credit.

"Maybe that is to do with the club I have been playing at (He's talking about Middlesbrough - MH). When you're at a club for such a long time maybe you get forgotten about a little bit. I leave those judgements to the so-called experts and I just go out there and play as well as I possibly can and do my job, whether that is for Australia or Fulham."

This is all a bit of a turnaround for Schwarzer, who I still vividly recall struggling to contain his true feelings after Australia's comeback draw against Croatia in Stuttgart at the 2006 World Cup.

The day after that match, which he had been dropped for in favour of Zeljko Kalac, Schwarzer trained on his own after the rest of the squad had the day off. Finishing his workout, he sat on the steps of the team bus, peeling off his kit, still frustrated by Hiddink's call the day before.

No one knew at that stage who the supposedly infallible Hiddink would select to face Italy in the next high-stakes game. Schwarzer versus Kalac became one of the plotlines for Australia's tournament.

Of Hiddink today, Schwarzer will say that the Dutchman is good at getting teams to perform. That's about it.

Some doubted Schwarzer's ability to kick on after the World Cup. Today, as far as Australia's national team, there's no one to even touch him.

The Premier League? Well, statistics, however they are spun, tell a story. This one ends with Schwarzer as the Premier League's Number One.

• by Matthew Hall at 07:14 AM
• Comments (16)

Saturday, April 18, 2009

That Western Sydney-Wollongong 'Merger'

Finally, the truth about A-League expansion can be told.

It took a few weeks, agreed, but we now know what is (as well as what isn't) going on. It goes something like this: There was a lot of talk about the A-League while the Socceroos were in Sydney for the most recent World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan and none of it was about which players were considering returning from Europe to play in Australia.

Much of the discussion was about Lucas Neill's involvement in a new team to be based in Western Sydney and Tim Cahill's role with South Coast FC, a rival bid for the one place available in 2010 (after a second Melbourne team has been guaranteed a place).

Throw in a few questions about Harry Kewell's interest, or otherwise, in such ventures and tongues are bound to wag.

So they did.

The talk was that Neill and Cahill were considering merging their respective bids to form a regional super club. Football Federation Australia loved the idea, apparently, and CEO Ben Buckley even said on record that the governing body had held talks with Wollongong about the idea.

Few people, though, would talk on the record about the plan. There was a reason for this - it might be a dud idea.

But this week, South Coast FC bid chairman Eddy De Gabriele surfaced (after a bit of prodding from yours truly) to explain what is going on. It's quite simple. This was a South Coast idea and South Coast is on its own on this one.

Why? Easy. It's bid appears doomed because of a couple of issues:

- Wollongong's WIN Stadium is currently a shambles (although this may change over time)
- Football Federation Australia is determined to launch a team in Western Sydney.

Oh.

De Gabriele is a fighter, however, and determined to bring A-League football to the South Coast. So, he's thought outside of the box. Why not turn South Coast FC into a regional team with a footprint that extends up through Campbelltown to Western Sydney?

"I can assure you there have been no merger talks," said De Gabriele.

Instead, South Coast wants Western Sydney and wants it bad. So much so that De Gabriele has turned the bid inside out. In his mind, Western Sydney's relationship should be with the South Coast not the city's CBD and East. Part of this theory is down to growing economic links between the two regions, bolstered in part by Port Kembla expansion and the M7 freeway. It's an intriguing mix of local geopolitics.

"For the good of football, this is not against the other bids," De Gabriele said. "Western Sydney might take in the South Coast, and that is possible too. It is for all of us to revisit our model and see what is best for the community and the viability of the bid. Things have changed in the three years since we have started this process."

So, Wollongong gets a team and so does Western Sydney. Sort of. Games would be split between the two regions, with WIN Stadium's upgrade being part of a deal. At least the team might be easy to name - Compromise FC.

On paper, it might appear a great idea but there's one hurdle even if FFA does end up loving it. One word: fans.

Does someone in Western Sydney have much affinity for the South Coast? I think not.

Does someone from Wollongong have any feelings for Parramatta? Not really.

Do we feel strong enough about New South Wales to support a regional super team? It's a hard sell - but maybe for the South Coast, it's the last roll of the dice.

• by Matthew Hall at 05:39 AM
• Comments (11)

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Socceroos Versus Football

No sport has the right to own the name football.

That's what Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley told me during a conversation we had last week.

Buckley is being diplomatic in the face of other sports trying to crowd him out but he's also right.

More importantly, he's also smart.

Asserting that no sport has a monopoly on the term football, even those sports that are more handball than football, should serve as a quiet ssshhh to the paranoid mobs, usually associated with Australian rules football, obsessed with ownership rights.

"The name 'football' certainly makes for good colourful debate," Buckley said. "A lot of codes call themselves football. American football, Gaelic football, rugby league gets called football. I don't think that anyone has a proprietary right to the name."

This remember from a guy who played Aussie rules professionally and was a senior executive at the Australian Football League before joining Football Federation Australia.

What sparked my question to Buckley was a bizarre exchange between a guy called Kevin Sheedy, famous in Victoria as an Aussie rules coach, and Andrew Demetriou, the CEO of the AFL, during an interview published in a Melbourne newspaper.

"Andrew," Sheedy asked. "How do we stop Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley from calling soccer 'football', yet they still manage to call the national team the Socceroos?"

Demetriou, if he was half as smart as Buckley, should have answered 'Who cares?'. Instead, the AFL boss couldn't help himself.

"There were 87,000 people at the MCG on Thursday and a few million watching on television who know what footy is," Demetriou replied, referring to the crowd at an AFL game in Melbourne.

Good luck to the AFL and good luck to Aussie rules.

"Clearly, football is the world game but in Australia everyone can coexist and cooperate," Buckley told me. "I think we all do get along. We all recognise it is a very competitive landscape but every one of the 'football' codes understands that we're all here to stay and can coexist. It is competitive but generally there is a spirit of cooperation when required."

As for the name 'Socceroos'? It, too, is here to stay.

"There is history in the name and it is a very recognisable and identifiable name," Buckley said. "The Socceroos name is a brand that is immediately understood by a lot of people in Australia.

"It is something that is debated from time to time," Buckley added. "Given that over the past few years we have made a very determined effort to have the game known as football, we have discussed whether the moniker should stay.

"But I think it is here for the foreseeable future. There is a lot of equity in the name but it is good to have that debate from time to time. I think we have bigger issues to deal with in football than this one."

That last line? That's the end of it.

• by Matthew Hall at 06:56 AM
• Comments (33)

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Asian Football's Silent War

Asia in April may not be a pleasant place.

With the latest World Cup qualifiers out of the way, the drama will take place off the pitch.

Australia, or specifically Football Federation Australia, will do it's best to stay well clear of the potential mayhem.

This is a good idea. Things are about to get very ugly.

The issue?

Is Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed Bin Hammam, a good friend of Australia, doomed? Possibly.

Peter Velappan, a former Asian Football Confederation administrator, has been making much noise lately for a man who has no official role in the sport.

"Official" being the key word here.

Velappan has been on the outside since Bin Hammam moved him on as Secretary General a few years ago after 30 years in the job.

In scenes eerily reminiscent of the shenanigans that clouded Australian football not so many years ago, Asia is about to get hot and spicy and no cookbooks will be (unfortunately) involved.

Velappan wants revenge. He wants Bin Hammam gone.

His wish has been boosted by the arrival on the scene of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, a relatively young 43-year-old from Bahrain who is challenging Bin Hammam for his seat on FIFA's all-powerful Executive Committee (the same committee who decide where the World Cup will be held).

Bin Hammam has said that if does not retain his place on the Executive Committee he will quit as AFC President.

Bin Ebrahim claims to have the backing of Japan, South Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia. Not exactly regional minnows.

Australia is keeping quiet on its position but, considering Bin Hammam was the man most responsible for Australia's AFC membership, it is in an intriguing situation.

Add to the pot Bin Hammam's support of, and active role in, the re-election of Sepp Blatter as FIFA President.

Stir a little with Bin Hammam's own ambition to perhaps succeed Blatter as FIFA boss.

Sprinkle with a little suggestion that Bin Hammam is being advised by some of Blatter's best friends about how to see off challenges (expect Bin Hammam to perfectly time some public retaliation very soon).

High stakes? This is not family feud. Or is it?

Here comes vengeful Velappan with his view, apparently upset the Qatari has, among other things, considered shifting AFC's HQ from Kuala Lumpur.

"The Asian football family was very united with solidarity and harmony and wonderful friendship," Velappan told Kuwait-TV station Al Watan last month.

"Mr Mohamed Bin Hammam became president in 2002, and until 2006 he was a good president. But since then he has really divided Asia into so many different groups and has marginalized the important associations such as Japan, South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Malaysia.

"I left the AFC two years ago and I am very sad because we gave him a diamond plate, a wonderful Asian football family and new headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, and his first move was to insult Malaysia by proposing to remove the headquarters out of Kuala Lumpur.

"This is really outrageous because it is the home of Asian football and has contributed to Asian football for over 50 years.

"He is my friend, but he does not know the culture of Asian football and has imposed desert values. His policy is to divide and rule and the family has broken up into so many pieces."

Ouch.

The AFC will meet on May 8, in Kuala Lumpur.

Make a date.

Follow me on Twitter here.

**** Update: An SBS TV colleague points out that FFA's Ben Buckley offered support for Bin Hammam in a recent interview with The World Game. Also check theworldgame.com.au for video of an interview with Bin Hammam. The plot thickens...

• by Matthew Hall at 06:56 AM
• Comments (4)