Welcome to A-Leagues Life, KEEPUP’s new wrap up of interesting news bites in Australian football.
Celtic’s A-Leagues alumni grows
The A-Leagues impact is growing at Celtic.
If Brisbane Roar legend Ange Postecoglou, former Central Coast Mariners sensation Tom Rogic and female star Jacynta Galabadaarachchi were not enough for the Scottish powerhouse, Stuart McLaren has joined the ranks.
Ex-Roar and Perth Glory defender McLaren is Celtic’s new under-18’s manager.
The Scottish-Australian adds to the growing A-Leagues contingent at Parkhead, where he arrives from the Scottish FA after coaching Scotland’s U16s, having also worked as interim manager for the women’s national team.
McLaren crossed paths with Postecoglou in Brisbane, where the 46-year-old departed the Roar a couple of months prior to Ange’s historic tenure.
“I’ve watched with good pride, as a fellow Aussie in a sense, as he’s gone on to achieve the things that he has, and it’s not a surprise to me that he’s started here in the fashion he has,” McLaren said of Postecoglou, who has already delivered silverware in Glasgow.
“I’m sure everyone connected with Celtic is thrilled with the impact he’s made, and we can all look forward to hopefully a period of success that Ange will bring.”
Glory product Circati rubbing shoulders with Buffon
Like Roma prospect Cristian Volpato before him, former Perth Glory youth player Alessandro Circati is making quite the splash in Italy.
Circati signed his first professional contract with historic club Parma, who are playing in Serie B this season and boast legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
The 18-year-old joined Parma in 2020 and the dual Australian-Italian citizen was on the bench for all four of December’s Serie B fixtures against Alessandria, Perugia, Ascoli and Brescia.
“We – in light of our commitment to bringing through young talents – are proud of Alessandro and Ankrah, who have been with the club since 2020 and 2018 respectively, after reaching this great milestone in life and in their careers,” Parma said in a statement, with Circati’s deal running through to June 2024.
Amini back amongst it as Sydney sail through
There was plenty for Sydney FC fans to celebrate on Wednesday – progress to the FFA Cup semi-finals and the sight of recruit Mustafa Amini on the pitch.
While Amini – on loan – did not feature against the Roar midweek, the eight-time Australia international trained prior to the quarter-final showdown at Jubilee Stadium, where Elvis Kamsoba settled the game.
“A lot of these boys have just got out of isolation from having Covid-19 and then three days later they are playing a game, that’s probably the reason it wasn’t the best of games tonight,” said Sydney head coach Steve Corica.
“We went down to 10 men tonight as well which made it a little bit harder for us in the last ten minutes or so.
“In the end though we got the win and we move into the semi-final of the Cup which is great against Central Coast. We play Brisbane again in three days, and we’ve just got to prepare right and it was only a 1-0 win tonight.”
Glory women still preparing for Liberty battle
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the A-Leagues and there have been positive cases with Perth Glory women’s team.
However, the Glory are still prepare for Sunday’s Liberty A-League contest at Newcastle Jets.
It comes as their male counterparts – desperately waiting to get back onto the pitch – prepare for another weekend without football, dating back to December 8 as a result of Saturday’s postponed Isuzu UTE A-League fixture against Wellington Phoenix.
