It’s some assignment – to pick the men who could score the goals to shoot down Barcelona. These are the sharpshooters on the shootlist whom fans of the Isuzu UTE A-League can vote for, and pick a front three to face the Spanish giants.
The 21-strong contingent covers a broad range of nationalities and ages – but the common theme is the route to goal, and former A-League Golden Boot Roy O’Donovan reckons they could get chances against he visiting powerhouse.
WHO MAKES YOUR ALL STARS XI? IT’S TIME TO VOTE: HERE’S HOW
The shortlist
- Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United)
- Hiroshi Ibusuki (Adelaide United)
- Luke Ivanovic (Brisbane Roar FC)
- Jason Cummings (Central Coast Mariners)
- Marcos Urena (Central Coast Mariners)
- Craig Noone (Macarthur FC)
- Al Hassan Toure (Macarthur FC)
- Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City FC)
- Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City FC)
- Marco Tilio (Melbourne City FC)
- Nicholas D’Agostino (Melbourne Victory)
- Marco Rojas (Melbourne Victory)
- Olivier Boumal (Newcastle Jets)
- Beka Mikeltadze (Newcastle Jets)
- Antonee Burke-Gilroy (Perth Glory)
- Bruno Fornaroli Mezza (Perth Glory)
- Adam Le Fondre (Sydney FC)
- Jaushua Sotirio (Wellington Phoenix)
- Benjamin Waine (Wellington Phoenix)
- Tomer Hemed (Western Sydney Wanderers FC)
- Aleksandar Prijovic (Western United FC)
O’Donovan: ‘You need ruthlessness in front of goal’
Perhaps surprisingly, O’Donovan believes Barcelona might leave holes for the All Stars forwards to exploit – which means selections on form are paramount.
“With a front three, there’s a few ways you can play it – two actual wingers with a No 9 (striker), to make sure you get the width, or play with a second striker on one side if one of your fullbacks is particularly attacking,” he said.
“In a 4-3-3 system you’ll have a No 10 behind the forwards, so the central striker needs to be a poacher.
“I think Barca could leave a bit of space in behind and you need someone who is ruthless at converting whatever chances come along.
“You need players with good movement, and with the experience to be able to work out how to play with each other very quickly in a team like the All Stars.
“It helps if they’ve had some experience together, maybe a Socceroos camp, so they can hit the ground running.”
O’Donovan’s front three (or four)
Left wing: Craig Goodwin
“He can hog the line, put quality balls in to the box, score goals and be a constant menace as he has all season. He’s an experienced player so he’ll be focused and ready for the opportunity to break away.”
Central striker: Jamie Maclaren
“I think you have to go with the Golden Boot winner, a player with clever movement – an 18-yard box player whose only role is to finish chances. If the formation was slightly different, I’d love to see Bruno Fornaroli in behind Jamie, for his hold-up play.”
Right wing: Nick D’Agostino
Based purely on form I’d have ‘Daggers’ cutting in from the right, as a second striker/winger. His goal against Sydney FC at the weekend exemplified that and showed he has the creativity as well as the drive.”
