On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, Sydney Morning Herald sports reporter Vince Rugari & retired Socceroo Tommy Oar discuss the biggest talking points, including the Juan Mata debate and what could be next for Bruno Fornaroli.
The Juan Mata debate
A debate is raging around how Western Sydney Wanderers best utilise superstar signing Juan Mata after he saw just six minutes of action in the 4-1 rout of Newcastle Jets in Round 4 of the Isuzu UTE A-League, having been withdrawn at half-time the week prior.
The FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League winner has seen 142 minutes of action across four A-Leagues appearances as the former Manchester United, Chelsea and Spain star builds his fitness, while Wanderers head coach Alen Stajcic tinkers to find the right balance for his Western Sydney squad.
It is a situation that dominated a lengthy discussion between host Vince Rugari and Socceroo Tommy Oar on Total A-Leagues ahead of a Sydney Derby in Unite Round.
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“(It) raises more questions about why he is there and the thought that went into his signing,” said Rugari.
“It’s a good football discussion for me in terms of what the Wanderers do with Mata.
“We’re weighing up the demand for intensity and physicality and having a good engine in the A-League versus another school of thought which is if you have a player who thinks quicker than everyone else, do you need to have those other qualities?”
Former A-Leagues star Fahid Ben Khalfallah, who was responsible for bringing Mata to the competition, was critical of Western Sydney’s treatment of the Spanish superstar in an interview with the A-League Off Air Podcast this week.
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Oar, speaking on Total A-Leagues, said: “It’s difficult to have this discussion and not sound too critical of Alen Stajcic because he did do a fantastic job on the weekend. His job is to put 11 players on the pitch to win the game, and he did that. You have to give him a lot of credit.
“But if you look at the big picture, the way the Wanderers are setting up, they’re setting up similar to the way the (Central Coast) Mariners set up when Stajcic was involved there and similar to what he tried to instil at Perth (Glory).
“With the Wanderers, I think his squad is much stronger than the squads he had (there).
“Mata, he has the opportunity, I believe, to really dominate this league. Without Mata, I’m not sure they have the capability to do that but with him, there’s no doubt in the starting line-up I feel like they’re very much capable of doing that.
“Him to play as a number six or defensive midfielder… I believe that’s the position he should be playing but from the start. I think you’ll see the best of the attacking talent the Wanderers have if he plays in that role.
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“Not many players in A-league history have the football intelligence and technical ability of Mata, you just want him on the ball as much as possible.
“For him to be on the bench, I can understand Ben Khalfallah criticisms because he is his agent too but also as a football fan, I want to watch him play.
“It poses the question, did Alen Stajcic sign Mata or was he involved in the process because if he is not a player who fits the mould of his starting XI, then why did they sign him?
“It’s one or the other for me, and I’m not sure what it is.”
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Rugari added: “I love marquees, I think the A-League need marquees to cut through publically in Australia. But the critical part of marquee player is player. The player needs to play. You can’t sign someone because they used to be good and having them on the bench produces good outcomes for your team off the field.
“If you’re going to do that, you’re not signing a marquee player, you’re signing a mascot. You may as well sign Kim Kardashian, seriously. If it’s about boosting your bottom line, there’s all sorts of things you can do there. If it’s about boosting your football team, you need to go and sign a player who’s capable of doing that.
“Now Douglas Costa at Sydney FC. It’s a different scenario of course but he is a winger right, so you can put him on the wing and you don’t have to build the system around him. You can plug and play.
“Someone like Mata, seems to me (that) it’s fair to raise the question, how much was Staj actually involved with this signing to begin with because it doesn’t seem like he thought he would be a central part of the football he’s going to play.”
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Oar continued: “They’ve signed (Mata) and thought where can we put him?
“Like Douglas Costa, you can see he’s the player he can fit the mould of how they were already playing.
“Now they (Wanderers) have him (Mata), whatever the football problem they’re going to come up against… I can’t think of a single football problem where Mata wouldn’t be part of the solution. You have the best technical player in the league, you want him to dictate and take pressure off your defenders. Defensively, I feel like the Wanderers have looked pretty vulnerable.
“Having a player who you can just give the ball to and you know will keep it, not only keep it but probably create a chance, that’s invaluable. There’s not many players in the league who can do that. He just needs to put him in and I think a lot of the problems they’ve had exposed will go away.”
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What happens next with Bruno Fornaroli?
Central Coast Mariners have been touted as a possible landing spot for Bruno Fornaroli amid his ongoing absence from the Melbourne Victory squad.
Fornaroli has not been seen for the past two weeks, with the veteran Victory talisman overlooked by head coach Patrick Kisnorbo, who has preferred new signings Nikos Vergos and Jing Reec in his matchday squad.
The 37-year-old set the competition alight last season, scoring 18 goals to lead Victory to the Grand Final and earn a Subway Socceroos recall for the 2024 AFC Asian Cup but he has found himself on the outer since Kisnorbo replaced Tony Popovic at the end of 2023-24.
“At the end of the day, players have decisions and they can act how they want. But to be fair, he’s been really good. He’s been engaged and working really hard,” Kisnorbo told reporters.
“Unfortunately he was left out (against Brisbane) but it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a game and things change.
“In pre-season, we looked at a few things and Bruno started Round 1 so things change in football very quickly.”
On Total A-Leagues, former Roar, Mariners and Macarthur Bulls midfielder Oar said: “You can say is Bruno Fornaroli the same player he was of the past? Maybe not but I still think he is in the top couple of strikers in the league, and he has proven that as recently as last season.
“I find it a bit baffling. You have this asset and they’re paying his wages. How is he not at least useable off the bench to win a game? He might not be a Patrick Kisnorbo player and press from the front and be as mobile as the player Kisnorbo likes, but he is a fantastic player.
“You can also on the side say, look going forward you’re not really the kind of player that fits into our plans but you’re a fantastic player, I’m going to use you, you need to be ready to play.
“But longer term, if there’s an opportunity for you to move on, you can do that. At the same time, that’s not a reason not to use him now. It doesn’t’ mean from the start but for him to leave him out of the squad altogether is something I find a bit confusing.”
It then raised the question as to who could look to sign Fornaroli should the situation continue heading into the January transfer window.
“The answer is the Mariners… he’d look sensational up front for them,” Rugari suggested.
Two-time reigning champions the Mariners have collected three points from their opening four matches, while they have only scored once so far.
“I think a lot of their problems would go away if he signed there,” Oar added.
“But I think every single club in the league would take him. He’s still a fantastic player.
“If you look across the league, Melbourne City with their injuries and a bit of history there, Western Sydney Wanderers, Brisbane Roar, he wouldn’t look out of place in any of those teams.”
