On this week’s episode of The Official Isuzu UTE A-League Podcast, host Daniel Garb is joined by Sacha Pisani and James Dodd to discuss Craig Goodwin’s rampant form, Sydney FC’s dismal derby display and more. Listen below.
‘He reminds me of a young Gareth Bale’: Arnold urged to give rising A-Leagues star a run in Socceroos friendlies
It’s the “Welcome Home” tour designed to pay tribute to the Socceroos who did their nation proud in Qatar – but opportunity knocks for head coach Graham Arnold to usher in the next generation in two friendly fixtures against Ecuador in the coming days.
Australia face the South American nation in Sydney and Melbourne on Friday, March 24 and Tuesday, March 28 respectively. Arnold’s selections reflect, in essence, the squad which reached the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup – but also includes plenty of fresh faces – including a rising Melbourne City star whose potential came into full focus on this week’s episode of The Official Isuzu UTE A-League podcast.
Host Daniel Garb was joined by KEEPUP’s Sacha Pisani and James Dodd to dissect Arnold’s squad preparing to take on Ecuador, which features plenty of A-Leagues talent.
Melbourne City duo Aiden O’Neill and Jordan Bos receive the call-up along with returning Socceroo and Wanderers star Brandon Borrello, Adelaide United keeper Joe Gauci and Manchester City midfielder Alex Robertson.
There’s even a spot in the squad for Adelaide’s Nestory Irankunda, who will work under Arnold as a “train on” player across the March camp.
“Being a bit biased, I think I want to see some of the A-League boys getting a really good crack,” said Pisani. “Players like Aiden O’Neill in midfield coming up against players like (Moises) Caicedo for Ecuador, a really good challenge. Jordy Bos as well, it would be good to see significant minutes, not just the last five or 10, a really good chance to run out.
“Even Joe Gauci (and) Borrello back for his first international appearance since 2021.”
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“Sach is absolutely right,” replied Dodd. “You want to see the players that have worked really, really hard to put on a performance week in, week out, be consistent in the A-League Men and get a chance with the Socceroos. If that is an Aiden O’Neill, that’s what football is about. It’s about seeing these players put on the Socceroos shirt for the first time.”
Dodd added: “I get the sentiment around the welcome home series, to say thank you to the players who did such a magnificent job over in Qatar.
“But I also think fans would really want to see Jordy Bos have a go. They’ve seen (first-hand) how massive this player could potentially be.
He reminds me of a young Gareth Bale the way he plays. He’s getting bigger in physical stature week in, week out.
“I think it’s a no-brainer that he’s not going to be in the A-League next season.”
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Has Craig Goodwin’s ‘all-time A-Leagues season’ put the Reds skipper in box seat for Johnny Warren Medal?
This week, Craig Goodwin returns to Socceroos camp for the first time since the 2022 FIFA World Cup – and he does so in the form of his life.
The Adelaide United captain is putting up incredible numbers as he fires his side into trophy contention; since returning from Qatar in December, Goodwin has banked seven goals and five assists in 14 games, helping the Reds on their way to a 10-game unbeaten streak which includes three consecutive wins in which they’ve scored 13 goals and conceded five.
League-leaders Melbourne City dropped points in Round 21, allowing Adelaide to close the gap at the top to just four points heading into the last six rounds of the season.
Adelaide have romped into contention since the World Cup break – and Goodwin has led their charge from the front. He now has 10 goals and nine assists to his name this season, and will be amongst the hot favourites for the Johnny Warren Medal, awarded to the best player in the competition at the end of the campaign.
“Craig Goodwin is putting in an all-time A-League season,” Garb said. “Ten goals, nine assists.
“I’m looking through the list of Johnny Warren Medallists and the kind of players that have produced seasons like this, you have to go back for me to Adrian Mierzejewski at Sydney FC who put up similar numbers, maybe not as eye-catching but similar numbers. Diego Castro for a couple of years at the Glory, Thomas Broich.
We’re talking A-League legends there… that’s the kind of campaign he’s putting in.
“He’s delivering striker numbers and blitzing the assists table. Those are the most valuable players in the game… when you’ve got that kind of player fit and firing like Craig Goodwin is, it just makes them such a force to be concerned about.”
Goodwin will return from international duty as one of the favourites to take out the Johnny Warren Medal at the season’s end. But he’s not the only player in contention: Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren leads the Golden Boot race and will feature in the end-of-season discussion, as will Western Sydney Wanderers star Brandon Borrello and Central Coast’s Socceroos spearhead Jason Cummings.
Wellington Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada will fancy his chances if his rich goalscoring form continues, whilst smokies for the award could included Wanderers centre-back Marcelo and emerging midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof, with the latter having a simply superb campaign in red and black.
‘Big names on the team sheet – but that’s what they are: they’re names’
Sydney FC are all at sea after a Sydney Derby defeat so devastating it called for an apology from club captain and CEO.
The Sky Blues lost 4-0 to Western Sydney at home on Saturday night. It was the club’s worst defeat in A-League Men derby history.
It was an occasion in which the Wanderers’ recruits sparkled; a team which looks sublime on paper performed to its full potential with off-season signings Calem Nieuwenhof and Kusini Yengi joining February recruit Amor Layouni in bagging the goals, whilst the arguable signing of the season Brandon Borrello showing exactly why he received a Socceroos recall with yet another superb showing in the final third.
It was a bleak contrast to the plight of the Sky Blues who were played off the park at Allianz Stadium. It’s a squad which, like the Wanderers’, looks promising on paper – but that promise has gone unfulfilled for so much of the 2022-23 campaign – or at least, not delivered on a consistent basis by Steve Corica’s side.
“I look at this team, and if you look at them on paper, and you see (Luke) Brattan, (Joe) Lolley, (Anthony) Caceres, Robert Mak,” Dodd said. “There’s some big names on that team sheet – but that’s what they are, they’re names, and that’s the problem.
“I worry for them because they’re not consistent. They can’t string performances together. One minute they look good, the next minute they’re really struggling and can go two games without scoring a goal. That’s their biggest problem, and I honestly don’t see how Steve Corica fixes it.”
The Sky Blues sit sixth after 21 rounds, leading a logjam of teams attempting to bust their way into the top six by the season’s end. Up next is a clash with Western United, who sit just two points behind Corica’s side.
