Welcome to A-Leagues Life, where KEEPUP brings you all the latest news and goings on at your club. This is how the week is shaping up across the A-Leagues.
Melbourne City boss Rado Vidosic has urged his team to treat Friday night’s Semi Final first leg against Sydney FC as a mini-Grand Final and become ‘the Real Madrid’ of the competition – as they chase a second Isuzu UTE A-League Championship.
City earned direct passage to the final four as a result of winning a third-straight Premiership, and had the luxury of a week off while their opponents Sydney FC engaged in a do-or-die Elimination Final against Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Sky Blues overcame their arch-rivals to book a meeting with City, meaning Vidosic’s charges will kick-off their quest for the double against the same side they knocked off in the decider back in 2021.
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Despite it being a two-legged tie, the City boss urged his team to treat this game as a ‘one-off’ contest and use it as a dress rehearsal for the decider should they advance.
“I would like us to treat this game as a Grand Final,” Vidosic said.
“So in my mind, we need to win the game on Friday… so then we are ready for the Grand Final, keeping in mind that we know we’re going to play another game in Melbourne regardless of how this game goes.
“But let’s prepare, treat this game as the Grand Final and we need to win this game to win something, win a trophy.
“I haven’t spoken to players about that, but I will talk to them about that just before the game so that we give everything that we’ve got, we treat this game one-off, and we try to do our best on the day.”
Should City advance, they will secure a fourth-straight Grand Final appearance, something Sydney achieved most recently between 2017-21 – where they did so on five occasions.
And Vidosic has called for his team to channel their inner Madrid, who have been the most successful team in European cup history and made a name for themselves for their brilliance in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League.
“You need to be ready for (the Grand Finals) and you need to be like Real Madrid – when you get into that, you win it,” he said.
“I’m not sure that we are there yet, but we’re going to try and hopefully we can become Real Madrid of Champions League in the Grand Finals.
“I think Sydney FC have done that for a few years, Brisbane Roar was quite efficient… It would be great if we can get this second Championship into our trophy cabinet in two or three weeks time.”
Montgomery draws Irankunda-Kuol comparisons ahead of Semi Final showdown with Reds
Central Coast Mariners boss Nick Montgomery said his team won’t focus on getting under Adelaide United young gun Nestory Irankunda’s skin, despite tempers flaring in the last contest a fortnight ago.
Irankunda got involved in a number of spot-fires with Mariners defenders – namely Jacob Farrell – and didn’t have a huge impact on the contest, as the Reds went on to lose 4-1 at Coopers Stadium and surrender second spot on the table to Central Coast.
After the match, Adelaide coach Carl Veart called for “greater protection” for Irankunda from the referees after multiple spot-fires emerged during a physical second-half.
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When asked earlier this week, Montgomery denied they would look to wind up Irankunda, saying he understands what it takes to manage the frustrations of a younger player with enormous hype – harkening back to his experiences coaching Garang Kuol.
“No not really. Nothing changes with us. We’re a competitive team, they’re a competitive team and you talk about a young player there, we had Garang Kuol here so the same thing,” he said earlier this week.
“Media in this country really pump the young players up and he has got talent. I don’t think he’s started a game yet still so similar to Garang, everyone knows he can make an impact off the bench. He is a special talent, managed the right way.
Young players get frustrated, I think frustration has got the better of him a couple of times. I said to him after the game – ‘be careful of what you do’.
“He probably should’ve been sent off in the last game we played him, he’s on a yellow card. But look, you learn with experience and he’s got a good manager in Carl (Veart).
“No doubt, that players like Craig Goodwin, the experienced boys (would) just tell him to settle down because we had to do the same thing with Garang a couple of times and yeah again, we just play the way that we play and compete.
“I think a bit of passion in the game, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
‘The most important thing’ for Irankunda as rumours continue to swirl around future
Nestory Irankunda isn’t only gaining attention from opposition teams in the league, but European clubs who are interested in securing the youngster’s services.
German powerhouses Bayern Munich are one of the teams rumoured to be in the running for the 17-year-old attacker and despite contrary reports, the deal is said to be far from over.
However, the hype surrounding Irankunda only continues to grow, which is something Adelaide United coach Carl Veart has had to manage.
Veart was asked on The Players Pod by host Robbie Cornthwaite about the words of wisdom he’s imparted on the teenage sensation so he doesn’t get too caught up in the external noise.
“It’s just important that Nestor (can still be) a kid, plays his football, does what he does. Doesn’t have to think about it too much and just learn as he goes along,” Veart said.
“Try and take in as much information as he can, because he’ll keep making mistakes, and the best way to learn, is to make those mistakes.
“You’ve seen the improvement over the course of this year from where he was at the beginning, to where he was last week and hopefully again, we’ll get small improvement every week.
“It’s important that we just leave him alone and let him play his football. Let him do his stuff because what he does is… you can’t coach what he does.”
Should Irankunda sign with a European club, he will remain at Adelaide for another season as he’s still not eligible to move due to being under the age of 18.
Veart said another season at Adelaide will be integral for his development, before eventually making the move overseas.
“I think it’s important for his growth that he needs to be in an environment… where he’s safe at home still, in a club that he knows everyone there, and all the players know him,” he said.
“It’s a safe environment for him because he’s still very, very young and still needs to mature a bit more because it is very cut-throat when you go into European football, and he needs some more tools to be able to deal with that.”
Grant weighs in on ‘disappointing’ Ninkovic-Corica feud
Sydney FC’s Rhyan Grant said it has been “difficult” stuck in the middle of former teammate Milos Ninkovic and current coach Steve Corica’s bitter feud, after tensions boiled over in the aftermath of their 2-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend.
Ninkovic was escorted out of the Sky Blues locker-room at CommBank Stadium, after he went in to congratulate his former teammates on securing passage to the Semi Finals.
The two-time Johnny Warren medallist – who joined the Wanderers in the off-season – has been engaged in a feud with Corica since his acrimonious exit with the latter acknowledging post-game that they have “issues”.
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“As someone that’s in the middle of it, being in between Milos and the club, it’s a little bit disappointing,” Grant said.
“He’s still got a very good relationship with a lot of the players. Obviously, what he said in the media about the club and about ‘Bimbi’ (Corica) isn’t great.
“From my personal view, I didn’t really like it, but at the same time, I would take it at face value. He’s never done anything wrong by me, but in saying that, I think there’s a line there.
“Whether he wanted to come into the change room to generally wish us all the best or to rile up ‘Bimbi’, I suppose you could only ask him. It’s a difficult one. It’s a hard one to be in the middle of.”
Matildas & City defender lands in Melbourne’s north
Preston Lions’ NPLW Victoria side have landed a major coup, signing Matildas defender Emma Checker for the 2023 campaign.
Checker arrives at BT Connor Reserve fresh off Melbourne City’s Liberty A-League campaign coming to an end in a heartbreaking Elimination Final defeat to Melbourne Victory on penalties.
The 27-year-old made 15 appearances in the 2022/23 season, starting in the last 12 of those contests and has been capped seven times by the national team.
After being promoted to NPLW Victoria this season from the Victoria Women’s Premier League, Preston sit in fifth place on the standings with three wins, three draws and one defeat.
The Lions are one of Australia’s biggest state league sides and were recently named in the 26 shortlisted clubs for the National Second Tier (NST).
Meanwhile, Western United’s TJ Vlajnic will return to FC Bulleen Lions after playing a key role in Mark Torcaso side’s run to the Grand Final.
Over in New South Wales, Northern Tigers have announced the return of six Liberty A-League players including Adelaide United duo Emilia Murray and Ella Tonkin, Newcastle Jets’ Ashlee Brodigan, Wellington’s Isabel Gomez and Te Reremoana (Mona) Walker, Perth goalkeeper Sarah Langman and Sydney FC’s Shae Evans.
Adelaide’s Socceroos golf club
Is this Australian football’s most prestigious golfing crew?
On this week’s edition of The Players Pod, Adelaide United assistant and all-time national leading goalscorer Damian Mori spoke about the golf crew that he’s part of which features the likes of Tony Vidmar, Joe and Daniel Mullen, John Perin and Paul Shillabeer.
However, Mori said they have welcomed a new addition to the club.
“We’ve just added another footballer down there as well to our golf group. Travis Dodd has just joined our group as well,” he said.
“I think it’d be hard to find, a golf club that has more Socceroos playing on a weekend than what you would at Grange!”
