Welcome to A-Leagues Alumni: A weekly piece that keeps you up to date with the best stories from our products flying the flag abroad. The acronyms of the A-Leagues club(s) each player has represented are in brackets after their name.
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Circati leads Parma back to the big time
Subway Socceroos defender Alessandro Circati (PER) will be playing in Serie A next season after Parma secured their spot back in the Italian top flight.
The 20-year-old centre back has played more than 30 games for I Crociati this season, including the full 90-minutes in the club’s two recent 1-1 draws, the first of which saw them secure their spot back in the big time and the second, against Cremonese, saw them officially clinch the title.
It’s been a brilliant 12 months for Circati both domestically and internationally with the 20-year-old winning his first cap for the Socceroos which he can now sit proudly on his mantlepiece alongside his newly minted Championship medal.
Furthermore, Circati’s performances have certainly not gone unnoticed this season with reports earlier in the year suggesting Premier League clubs Everton and Brentford were keen on acquiring the young gun’s signature while there was also rumoured to be interest in him from several clubs in LaLiga.
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Coach catching the eye in Japan, Socceroos legend hits rough patch while forward opens his account
A 2-1 away win over Consadole Sapporo at the weekend has Tokyo FC flying in the J-League this season and Aussie head coach Peter Cklamovski is at the heart of their revival.
Following previous victories over Niigata and Kyoto Sanga, Sunday’s win means Cklamovski’s side have now won three-straight matches in the J-League for the first time in three years.
Their strong start to the season leaves Tokyo FC four points behind league leaders Machida Zelvia, who defeated Kyoto Sanga 3-0 thanks to a goal from Socceroos striker Mitch Duke (CCM, WSW).
The former Mariners and Wanderers forward us yet to start for his new side this season but finally opened his J-League account, bagging the third goal of the game to ensure his side remained two points clear of Vissel Kobe at the top of the league.
Finally, he may have steered Yokohama F. Marinos to the final of the AFC Champions League but Socceroos legend Harry Kewell (MCY, MVC) has hit a bit of rough patch domestically.
A recent 2-1 away loss to Urawa Reds has left Kewell’s Yokohama side down in 11th spot on the ladder and now nine points off top spot.
Furthermore, the loss to Urawa means Kewell’s side are now in the midst of an unwelcome four-match winless run in the competition and in poor form heading into the first leg of the AFC Champions League final with UAE side Al Ain on May 10.
Bos adds another belter to his collection
KVC Westerlo may have little left to play for this season in the Belgian Pro League but one man continuing to grab the spotlight is Socceroos defender Jordan Bos (MCY).
The 21-year-old scored another absolute pearler during Westerlo’s recent 2-2 draw against Sint-Truidense VV at the weekend taking his tally to the season for three from 24 games played.
Following the completion of the regular season the Belgian Pro League now splits into three sections; Teams ranked 1st-6th compete for the title, 7th-12th battle it out for a spot in the UEFA Conference League whilst the teams who finished in the bottom four now scrap to avoid relegation.
After finishing 11th during their regular season campaign Westerlo narrowly avoided being dragged into a relegation battle and as such are competing for a spot in the Conference League, however four losses and two draws mean they currently sit bottom of their mini-group.
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Aussies help provide dramatic twist in WSL title race
Manchester City were forced to keep the champagne on ice in the UK at the weekend after Arsenal’s Aussie trio helped cause a big shock, defeating City 2-1 at home to severely dent their title hopes.
After taking the lead in the first half City had several good chances to double their advantage after the break with Matildas attacker Mary Fowler (ADL) among those to be stopped by Arsenal keeper Manuela Zinsberger.
Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy (SYD, NEW, WSW, PER, MCY) was brought on to help close out the game late on while the Gunners introduced Steph Catley (MVC, MCY) and Caitlin Foord (CCM, SYD, PER) in an attempt to claw themselves level, while striker Stina Blackstenius was introduced in place of Kyra Cooney-Cross (MVC, WSW) – and the changes worked.
A late corner saw Catley and Foord win their respective headers before the ball dropped at the feet of Blackstenius and she promptly flicked home an 89th minute equaliser.
Things then got even better for the Gunners as Blackstenius bagged her second of the game just three minutes later to seal a dramatic 2-1 win for Arsenal.
The result means Manchester City remain top of the pile with one game left to play but the chance to secure a first league title since 2016 is now no longer in their own hands.
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Chelsea’s 8-0 thrashing of already relegated Bristol City leaves Emma Hayes’ side second and three points behind City but the Londoners have two games left to play this season, meaning they will clinch the WSL Title in Hayes’ final season in charge should they win both matches.
Elsewhere in the WSL Matildas goalkeeper Teagan Micah (BRI, WSW, MVC, MCY) played the full 90 minutes as Liverpool secured a huge 1-0 win over fierce rivals Manchester United.
Mackenzie Arnold (PER, CAN, WSW, BRI) started as West Ham drew 1-1 at home with Leicester while Clare Wheeler (NEW, SYD) played the full 90 minutes during Everton’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham, a game which also saw defender Charli Grant (ADL) come off the bench for Spurs.
Former Mariners marksman suffers Grand Final heartache at the expense of former City man
Jason Cummings’ (CCM) 12th goal of the season wasn’t enough to seal the Indian Super League (ISL) cup for Mohun Bagan after they succumbed to a 3-1 loss to Mumbai City FC, a side now coached by former Melbourne City assistant Petr Kratky (MCY).
A vicious, dipping effort from the recently crowned ISL Player of the Year Dimi Petratos (SYD, BRI, NEW, WSW) was fumbled allowing Cummings to pounce on the stroke of half time to give the Super Giants the lead.
However, three second half goals for Mumbai City FC saw them crowned ISL Cup winners for the second time in their history, preventing Mohun Bagan from doing the double after they defeated City in the final round of the season to win the Premiership.
Cummings ended an impressive campaign in India with 19 goals and four assists from 37 games in all competitions while teammate Petratos scooped the league’s top individual honour after scoring 10 goals and contributing seven assists.
