Welcome to A-Leagues Life, KEEPUP’s wrap up of interesting news bites in Australian football.
Selfish Ange can’t wait to take Celtic to Oz
Ange Postecoglou is set for a homecoming with Celtic due to fly out to Australia in November for the four-team Sydney Super Cup, featuring bitter Scottish rivals Rangers and A-Leagues club Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.
Celtic and Rangers will meet for the first time outside of Glasgow for the first time in the history of the 134-year rivalry.
There has been backlash from both sets of supporters, but speaking after Wednesday’s 2-0 win over St Mirren to remain top of the Scottish Premiership, Postecoglou said: “Selfishly I’m delighted. I’m all over the promotional stuff which means I’ll hopefully still be in the job by then…
“Look, I’d love to take this team there to show people the football we can play. There are a lot of our supporters in Australia – I know, I’ve lived it – who will be snapping up tickets and changing whatever holiday plans they had to come watch us play.
READ MORE: CELTIC TO FACE RANGERS IN SYDNEY SUPER CUP
“I can understand some people have different views on it. But from my perspective I’m not going to tell people how they feel. But I have some selfish self-interest in this. I’m going to feel super-proud to take this team to where I grew up.
“It’s massive for Australia but I think we’ve got to grow the game here for Scottish football. We’ve got an opportunity with a lot of interest in our football club, not just in Australia but Asia. Every other big club around the world takes advantage of that so why wouldn’t we take advantage of the fact we have got an unbelievable opportunity to keep growing the interest and popularity of this football club?
“That’s not just in the commercial sense – which is obviously a big part of football these days. But I will guarantee you we will gain new supporters of this football club.
“We are an all-inclusive church, mate. We welcome people from far and wide, which we do, and I think taking the team to that side of the world is positive for us but also positive for Scottish football. People know what I’m like, I’m not going to go there and treat it like a friendly.
“I want people to see us playing fantastic football and get everyone talking about our football club. I have no doubt it will be an unbelievable event and the atmosphere will be cracking. Our supporters will make is a special occasion like they always do.”
Victory youngster jets off to Swiss giants
Melbourne Victory academy product Steven Havales is embarking on a “dream” move to FC Basel until the end of the 2022 season.
The 19-year-old defender, who joined Victory in 2017, has spent the past four seasons in the A-Leagues club’s academy system.
Basel have fond memories of Australians, with former Socceroo Scott Chipperfield a club legend at the Swiss powerhouse, where his son Liam debuted in September.
“I want to give a special thanks to Melbourne Victory Football Club for helping me develop into the player and person I am today and especially to Jeff Hopkins for his mentoring and guidance,” Havales said.
“I also want to thank FC Basel for giving me the opportunity to become a professional footballer. This has been a long-time dream for me since I was 6 years old and I can’t wait to get started.”
Victory director of football John Didulica added: “Steven, with the support of this family, has worked hard to put himself in a position to get a chance and as a club we will support him as much as we need to.
“The club has worked closely with FC Basel, Steven’s family and his representatives to ensure Steven had a genuine chance to pursue this opportunity.
“We are proud to see an academy graduate be given such a wonderful experience.”
Rejoice! Glory pack their bags for Perth
After 106 days on the road, Perth Glory are finally packing their bags.
Perth – displaced due to strict border restrictions – will finally return to Western Australia on the back of an impressive 2-2 draw against reigning Isuzu UTE A-League champions Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Wednesday.
READ MORE: GLORY HOLD CITY AHEAD OF HOMECOMING
Playing their final fixture before finally being allowed to head across the Nullarbor and play games in WA, Bruno Fornaroli and Callum Timmins helped the Glory overturn a two-goal deficit in Melbourne.
The Glory can now look ahead to three consecutive home fixtures against Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners and Brisbane Roar at HBF Park.
“It will be a fantastic feeling to be reunited with families but then it’s back to business,” said Glory head coach Richard Garcia.
“I’m very proud. The group has gone through a lot. They could have easily gone under but they showed resilience to come back.
“There were fantastic performances.”
Adelaide running auction to raise funds for Pride Cup
It was a landmark day for Australian football at Coopers Stadium on Saturday.
Adelaide United’s inaugural Pride Game doubleheader taking centre stage across the Liberty A-League and Isuzu UTE A-League.
In the aftermath of the initiative, which was headlined by rainbow lettering and numbers on the back of Adelaide’s kits for both their men’s and women’s teams, the Reds have kicked on.
READ MORE: PICTURES TELL THE STORY OF A MONUMENTAL DAY IN OZ FOOTBALL
Adelaide is running an auction of matchworn Pride Game jerseys to raise money for the Pride Cup.
Bidding ends on Saturday at 11.59pm ACDT.
Sydney one step away from ACL group stage
The Sky Blues are on the cusp of the AFC Champions League group phase after Chinese club Changchun Yatai withdrew.
Sydney FC will meet Filipino outfit Kaya FC in a preliminary-stage tie at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium next Tuesday.
The winner of that match was set to face Changchun Yatai in a play-off fixture on March 15, but that game has now been cancelled with a win now guaranteeing Sydney’s passage through to the group phase.
READ MORE: SKY BLUES ON THE VERGE OF QUALIFICATION
If Steve Corica’s Sydney prevail, they’ll play Kevin Muscat’s Yokohama F.Marinos, South Korean club Jeonbuk Motors and Hoang Anh Gia Lai from Vietnam in Group H.
The matches for Group H will be played in the centralised venue of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam from April 15 to May 1.
