After Western United were beaten 4-0 by Sydney FC in the Liberty A-League decider, Mark Torcaso put his side’s feats into perfect context in his press conference.
For a coach who had just been beaten 4-0 on the biggest occasion of his career, Western United boss Mark Torcaso spoke with a remarkable amount of clarity in his post-match press conference.
Across nearly 10 minutes speaking with a strong media contingent in the bowels of CommBank Stadium, the mastermind behind the fairy tale story of this season’s Liberty A-League delivered a crystal-clear summary of exactly what his team’s achievement meant to him.
WATCH: A-LEAGUES ALL ACCESS, EPISODE 24: RISE TO THE OCCASION
LIBERTY A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL
MATCH REPORT: Sydney FC crowned champions after demolishing Western United
ANALYSIS: Emphatic answer to question Sydney couldn’t escape
REACTION: ‘There was no chance they were going to win’
RECAP: Re-live all the action from the Grand Final
“For myself, this is the first time I’ve been exposed to this environment and its been intense,” Torcaso said.
“Six or seven months of every morning waking up to go to training compared to going to your normal job. For me, it’s been absolutely mental.
“So (what’s next is) having a good break, switching off, going to watch a lot of NPL Victoria games because it is the central part of the world when it comes to football. For the players, it will be lots of rest and relax(ation), a few girls will go back to play in the NPL either here in New South Wales or Victoria. They will obviously prepare themselves for a coming season.”
He continued: “It has been unbelievable, a brilliant ride.
“Some girls out there had never been exposed to an A-League environment before, so having them be exposed to a full season of football. Some haven’t even stopped, they’ve literally gone from an NPL season to playing an A-League season so I take a huge amount of enthusiasm going into next season because some of these girls have just outshone what I believed that they could do.
“They’ve been amazing; it’s quite emotional for me because I’ve got an attachment with a lot of these girls for many years, ever since some were 14. So, to be able to put them on a big stage, in front of cameras and a big crowd, I’m just proud of that and I can’t wait to do it again for them next year.”
Indeed, Western United’s journey from unknown underdogs to grand finalists is one that will likely inspire so many throughout the Australian football landscape.
If a side jam-packed with players plucked directly from the NPL – namely Calder United in Victoria – can not only match it with the established forces of the top flight, but actually pip them to become the first team through to the big dance, then all other teams across the nation are entitled to dream.
They may have fallen short on the night, but in front of a record 9,519 spectators just over 80 days from a home World Cup, there was a bigger picture to see – and Torcaso summed it up expertly.
“I think it’s a credit to female football as a whole,” he said.
“The whole environment, the setup in every state. Three teams in Victoria in the finals series is a credit to our league as well. The game is growing. To have so many young girls out there watching is very important for our club and nation.
“The one message I’ve given to our girls from the start, being an inaugural team, was set the tone for the next player that wants to play the game or wants to wear a Western United top.
“I think we’ve done that. Being located out there in the west, it’s a growing area, there’s a lot of young people, for us it’s about that. Just creating the next young girl who wants to play in a Western United shirt or a Matildas shirt. That is the exciting part for us.”
He concluded: “A young girl who played for us out there today Kahli Johnson, 18 or 19 year old that played four games for Sydney FC last year, has ambitions of going to the World Cup still.
“To have a player like that to think that way and still believe she can make it regardless that she probably thinks it’s a little bit too far away – that’s what we want. If that has an influence on a five-year-old, if its from here or somewhere else in the country, then we’ve done our job I guess.”
Indeed, so much of this Liberty A-League campaign has revolved around the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup for obvious reasons and Western fans are entitled to wonder what could have been had their most likely member in Australia’s squad been fit to play on the night.
Between Chloe Logarzo, World Cup winner Jess McDonald and the injured Angie Beard, Torcaso’s side were missing an invaluable amount of experience.
Asked how close Logarzo was to playing in this Grand Final, the Western boss replied: “She actually was a chance.
“She trained yesterday. She looked ok, but she has a World Cup to prepare for. I don’t think its fair for us to put her in a situation that could jeopardise that. We had a really long discussion about that, myself and Chloe. We’re just proud to have her part of our change room and be involved in every part of it.
“Yesterday (and) probably also this morning, I was going to push her and thought ‘na, better not’.”
