Ange Postecoglou knows better than most the power of Australian youth – and likes what he’s seeing in the league where he was twice a champion.
The Celtic FC boss, former head coach of Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and the Socceroos, has praised the Isuzu UTE A-League for refocusing its efforts on fostering young talent – an initiative reflected in the average age of the competition dropping from 27 to 25 over the past three seasons.
Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) released their annual A-League Men report on Monday, September 26, and the findings revealed the competition is leading the way in the rival leagues across the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in providing match minutes to players aged 21 and under.
The ALM sits eighth on a list of 60 leagues worldwide for fielding U21 players, with the likes of Garang Kuol, Nestory Irankunda and Jacob Farrell providing a shining example of what young Australian talent can produce when given first team opportunities.
Watching on from Scotland, Postecoglou has taken note of the league’s focus shifting back toward the promotion of youth, and has set the challenge to A-Leagues clubs to balance the promotion of young local products with the right international acquisitions to see the competition return to its heyday.
“I think over the past couple of years – and like many things in Australian football not necessarily by design – I’ve been really encouraged that a lot of young players have been given an opportunity,” Postecouglou said, back in Australia to launch November’s Sydney Super Cup involving Celtic, Everton, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.
“That was always kind of part of the strength of the old National Soccer League (NSL) and the beginning of the A-League, was that a lot of young Australian players were all of a sudden getting some really good level of competition.
“That kind of dried up for a little bit. Whether it was the economics of recent years, and obviously COVID making an impact, it meant that a lot of young Australian players were getting to play more senior football than probably in the past. I think you’re seeing that now, with a lot of them now sort of breaking through, getting into the national team, getting overseas.
I think that’s been really encouraging from my perspective. What you need to get right now, is that when the A-League was at its best it had great young, local talent and great imports. That’s the challenge for the clubs now, to match up the local talent with making sure we bring quality imports in. That’s what keeps the level continually rising.
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The PFA’s annual report also identified the A-League Men’s on-field product as the bar-setter in the AFC for competitive balance.
The 2021-22 ALM season saw Melbourne City take out the Premiers Plate by one point, with both Melbourne Victory (second) and Western United (third) within three points of the title by the season’s end. Third place Western went on to become champions, after the regular season finished with the tightest points spread recorded in the past 10 years – closer than any other top league throughout Asia.
Postecoglou says the even nature of the ALM should provide excitement to fans of every club ahead of the new season, with no clear favourite emerging in pre-season when predicting the 2022-23 premiers and champions.
“Hopefully it’s an exciting (season),” Postecoglou said. “You see Western United winning it last year, and the beauty of the A-league is as an A-League club supporter you can start every year fairly optimistic that you’re a chance to win it – which is great. It’s not always the case around the world.”
As a manager, however, Postecoglou can’t help but centre his excitement for the new campaign around the head coaches preparing to take control of the 12 clubs around the league.
Of the 12 men at the helm, all but one (Arthur Papas – Newcastle Jets) have played in the competition. Ten of the 12 are Australian, with the exception of Dwight Yorke (Macarthur) and Central Coast’s Nick Montgomery.
“We’ve got some great coaches here, that’s something I’ve really sort of been bullish and optimistic about for a long time,” Postecoglou said. “Some fantastic Australian coaches are at the forefront of it, which pleases me no end. It’s probably the area I have more interest in as I get older, the coaching side of it and opportunities for young Australian coaches – and we’ve got some fantastic ones in the A-League.
“I’m looking forward to how it all unfolds this year.”
The 2022-23 A-league Men campaign begins with a Grand Final rematch between Western United and Melbourne City on Friday, October 7.
