Few A-League fixtures produce the pumping scenes and vibrant atmosphere that materialise when the city’s east meets westForget for a moment about what Sydney FC’s victory over Western Sydney Wanderers in Saturday’s elimination final means for the rivalry. First, let’s postulate on why Wanderers midfielder Miloš Ninković was frogmarched out of the Sky Blue’s dressing room by two Sydney attendants in its aftermath, hurling remonstrations as he went. The silent footage released by the A-Leagues’ media arm Keepup offers few hints, which is perfect because speculation is much more fun.Did Sydney boss Steve Corica see his former player waltzing into his inner sanctum as an act of disrespect after their year-long war of words? Was Ninković congratulating his former teammates...
By moving to Western Sydney Wanderers the Serbian playmaker has ensured any bond built with the Sydney FC fanbase will evaporateWhat do Sol Campbell, Luis Figo, and Miloš Ninković have in common? They fill the not-so illustrious turncoat archetype; players that with one stroke of a pen abdicated their chances to become legends of their club and, at best, cast a cloud across their legacy. In swapping Sydney FC for Western Sydney Wanderers, Ninković has arguably come as close as any in the A-League Men to rivalling Campbell’s move from Tottenham to Arsenal or Figo’s switch from Barcelona to Real Madrid. Plenty have played on both sides of the Harbour City in the past, but none have possessed the kind...
With their ACL and ALM finals hopes hanging by a thread, Australian football’s most successful club finds itself in an unfamiliar positionCertain points in the history of the A-League Men can be seen as seminal moments that have forever altered the competition’s young landscape. Brisbane Roar turning to a manager whose most recent gig had resulted in relegation from the Victorian Premier League is one example. The bitter congress wars of the late 2010s and resulting independence of the leagues from Football Australia is another.The decision by Sydney FC in 2014 to appoint Graham Arnold as their manager is yet another. For all the notoriety gained from Alessandro Del Piero’s two-year stint at Moore Park, the double-winning campaign of 2009-10...
Carl Robinson and Bernie Ibini had a fiery return to McDonald Jones Stadium. Can a Covid-era crowd light up the first Sydney derby of the season?Three years ago Sydney FC fans endured what was, in their eyes, an unforgivable betrayal. Vedran Janjetovic, having lost his spot in goal to Danny Vukovic, defected to Western Sydney. The move, completed in December after much speculation, was sacrilege, a contravention of the golden rule: do not cross town.Janjetovic was seen as the ultimate deserter, a turncoat of the highest order, and supporters made their dissatisfaction known in his first Sydney derby as a Wanderer. Related: A-League's prodigies showcase local potential – but will the public respond? Continue reading...
There is nothing much left to say about Sydney FC’s winningest A-League season, but Graham Arnold’s methods are worthy of unconventional appraisalCongratulations Sydney FC. The runaway premiers enjoyed the first of what should be two presentation ceremonies this season on Saturday, hoisting the premiers plate aloft after a typically methodical dismantling of Newcastle Jets.It’s good manners in moments like this to laud the best team in a competition, especially one a record margin ahead of its nearest challenger. But what more is there to say about the winningest team in an A-League season that hasn’t been said already? We’ve talked up the coach, drooled over the marquee No10, and marvelled at the collective ability to seize the moment. Anything else...