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.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL SECOND-LEG TICKETS
Central Coast v Sydney FC at Industree Group Stadium!
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium!
Former Phoenix full-back on the move?
Auckland FC have not yet publicly announced any signings ahead of the club’s debut Isuzu UTE A-League season – but according to UK reports, a former Phoenix fullback could be set to join Steve Corica’s side for their inaugural campaign.
Scottish paper The Daily Record reports 24-year-old All Whites defender Callan Elliot (WEL) will join Auckland FC after a five-month stint at Motherwell.
Elliot spent four seasons at Wellington Phoenix; he debuted in 2019 as a teenager and made 47 appearances for the club through four seasons.
The rumour comes after a tough period for Elliot at Motherwell, where the fullback has struggled for minutes under head coach Stuart Kettlewell.
PHOENIX FEATURE: 17 years have led to this moment after A-Leagues club’s ‘real-life version of Survivor’
Bundesliga bound! Aussie duo’s promotion party features celebratory ‘shoeys’
Socceroos duo Jackson Irvine (MVC) and Connor Metcalfe (MCY) are bound for the German top flight after securing promotion to the Bundesliga with St. Pauli – and the celebrations after the victory over Vfl Osnabrück that sealed their promotion were truly incredible.
Metcalfe and Irvine started in the 3-1 win that confirmed their status as one of two teams from the 2. Bundesliga to be promoted; St.Pauli are on 66 points, one point ahead of Holstein Kiel at the top of the table with one game to play, six points clear of Düssledorf in third.
As the full-time whistle blew at The Millerntor Stadium to confirm St. Pauli’s 3-1 win over Osnabrück and promotion to the Bundesliga, the home fans stormed the pitch in incredible scenes of celebration. Irvine was hauled onto the shoulders of a supporter as the festivities began.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-game, Irvine struggled to keep his emotions in check as he came to terms with captaining St. Pauli through a promotion season.
“Oh, f****** hell. Oh, sorry!” He said.
“This is unbelievable, I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“To share this with friends, the community and everybody doesn’t get any better… next week, we go and win the league. That’s what we do.”
And the festivities didn’t stop there; back in the changerooms, the St. Pauli players kept the promotion party rolling – and there was only one thing left for Metcalfe and Irvine to do: share a celebratory “shoey”, drinking beer out of their boots.
Irvine, Metcalfe and St. Pauli face SV Wehen Wiesbaden on the final day of the 2. Bundesliga season, knowing victory will be enough to confirm their status as Champions.
Aussies galore in top 5 Euro leagues
St. Pauli’s promotion to the Bundesliga has continued a stellar run of promotions for Australians in Europe, as they join a swathe of fellow countrymen who could be featuring at clubs across the top five European leagues next season.
Aussie duo Massimo Luongo and Cameron Burgess sealed promotion to the English Premier League with Ipswich in early May, while Alessandro Circati (PER) reached the Italian Serie A with Parma after winning the Serie B title.
Nestory Irankunda (ADL) is on the move to Bayern Munich from Adelaide United following his final season in the Isuzu UTE A-League, joining fellow Aussie Anthony Pavlesic (CCM) at the German giants.
Garang Kuol (CCM) has returned to Newcastle Untied after his loan to Eredivisie side FC Volendam and will take place in The Magpies upcoming friendly against the A-League All Stars at Marvel Stadium on May 24.
Get your tickets to see Garang Kuol and Newcastle United take on the A-League All Stars!
READ MORE: Patrick Kisnorbo named A-League All Stars Men boss as stacked coaching staff revealed
Kuol is one of nine Aussie coaches and players who could feature in the English Premier League next season.
As clubs begin to look towards the 2024-25 season, there are Australians shaping to play or manage across the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga in the new campaign.
See the full list below.
Advantage Marinos in AFC Champions League Final as Kewell steps up pursuit of historic title
Yokohama F.Marinos are on the cusp of AFC Champions League glory – and it’s Harry Kewell (MVC, MCY) who has put the J1 League side in the box seat to do so.
Kewell’s Marinos defeated UAE giants Al Ain 2-1 in his side’s home leg of the two-legged final tie; Mohammed Al Baloushi gave Al Ain an early lead but second-half goals to Asahi Uenaka and Kota Watanabe turned the tie in Marinos’ favour at Nissan Stadium.
Marinos will now shift focus to a pair of league fixtures before the return leg at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Sunday, May 26 (2am AEST kick-off).
The Champions League final pits two old foes against one another, as Kewell’s Marinos face Hernan Crespo’s Al Ain. Crespo and Kewell faced off as players in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final; Crespo with AC Milan, who led 3-0 at half-time, and Kewell with Liverpool, who overturned the 3-0 deficit to equalise by full-time and ultimately defeat Milan on penalties.
Perhaps it’s the memory of that incredible comeback in Istanbul nearly two decades ago – but speaking post-game, Kewell refused to allow complacency to set in despite taking the advantage in the tie.
“I’m not going to sit here and say the game is finished,” he said.
“I’m not silly enough to do that. Of course (Crespo’s) going to say that their team’s confident enough to go out there and get goals, but we’re also confident to go out there and score goals.
“We went out there and played a certain style and I feel confident in my team, not only in this game but throughout the competition, through the league. We’re getting stronger and stronger. So it’s going to be a great test for us, but it’s also going to be a very good test for them.”
Carpenter pursues trophy double after Lyon’s Reims domination
Ellie Carpenter (CBR, MCY, WSW) and Olympique Lyonnais are through to the Division 1 Feminine final after crushing Reims 6-0 in Sunday’s semi-final.
The Matildas fullback played the full game as Lyon cruised to victory, booking a date with Paris Saint-Germain in the league decider on Saturday, May 18 (5pm AEST kick-off).
Carpenter will face off with Matildas teammate Clare Hunt (CBR, WSW) in the final; Hunt’s PSG progressed to the final after a penalty shootout win over Paris FC
It’s the first of two title deciders within six days for Carpenter and Lyon; after facing PSG in the Division 1 Feminine final, Lyon will switch focus to the UEFA Women’s Champions League final, where they’ll meet Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona on Sunday May 26 (2pm kick-off AEST).
As Carpenter chased a spot in the French league final, her fellow Matildas fullback Charli Grant (ADL) took part in a final of her own as Tottenham Hotspur faced Manchester United in the FA Cup decider at Wembley Stadium.
And just for a day, Matildas teammate and Arsenal star Kyra Cooney-Cross put rivalries aside…
Tottenham were beaten convincingly by United on the day; Grant came off the bench in the second half as Spurs trailed 3-0 to become just the 12th Australian ever to feature in an FA Cup Final, and ultimately fell to a 4-0 defeat as the trophy went back to Manchester.
Elsewhere abroad…
Matildas winger Hayley Raso (CBR, BRI, MVC) was a substitute in Real Madrid’s 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid, while San Diego Wave teammates Emily van Egmond (CBR, WSW, MCY, NEW) and Kaitlyn Torpey (BRI, MCY) played out a 1-1 draw with Gotham FC.
Mat Ryan (CCM) kept a clean sheet as AZ Alkmaar beat Go Ahead Eagles 3-0 in the Dutch Eredivisie – his side’s fourth win in a row.
Cameron Devlin (SYD, WEL, NEW) and Kye Rowles (BRI, CCM) played from the start in Heart of Midlothian’s 3-0 win over Dundee in the Scottish Premiership while St. Mirren duo Ryan Strain (ADL) and Keanu Baccus (WSW) both featured in a 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL SECOND-LEG TICKETS
Central Coast v Sydney FC at Industree Group Stadium!
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium!
