Welcome to A-Leagues life, where KEEPUP brings you all the latest news and goings on at your club. This is how the week is shaping up across the A-Leagues.
It may have been over two months since Jason Cummings initially asked to swap jerseys with Olivier Giroud at the Al Janoub Stadium, but finally, it has happened.
On Tuesday morning, Cummings posted photos of himself posing with Giroud’s AC Milan kit and the star French striker holding the Aussie-born Scot’s Central Coast Mariners jersey on Instagram.
“What a legend @oliviergiroud. Finally got my hands on your jersey haha. Your English is better than my French mon frère. Top man and all the best for the season. Enjoy the Vegemite bro,” Cummings said on his Instagram post.
It is the final chapter of a story that went viral around the football world.
Cummings spoke after Australia’s 4-1 loss to France in the FIFA World Cup, revealing on Network 10 program ‘The Project’ that he asked to swap jerseys with Giroud after initially trying to swap jerseys with Kylian Mbappe.
“So when I was walking back to my change room, I’ve seen Giroud,” he said back in December.
“I’m walking, as handsome as ever, and I asked him, ‘Giroud, please man, can I get your shirt man? I’m a big fan, can I get your shirt?’
“And he just walked past me, pretended he never spoke English! And he’s been in the Premier League for 10 years! (laughing). He just walked right past me.”
Giroud cheekily responded to Cummings on social media, posting a photo of Jackson Irvine’s Socceroos jersey with the caption – “Hi @jacksonirvine_ how is my English mate?”
The Mariners striker did, in fact, clear up that it was a misunderstanding and just a “bit of banter” online – saying Giroud had in fact messaged him privately to apologise and exchange in a jersey swap.
This time, though, with the jerseys of the clubs they play for.
“I just think it’s funny. It was just a bit of banter. I didn’t actually expect it to get to Giroud and for him to respond,” Cummings said on SEN’s ‘Saturday Morning Mowers Club’ back in December.
“It got twisted a wee bit, saying that Giroud told me he doesn’t speak English. That wasn’t the case, he probably didn’t understand me because I speak Scottish. I sometimes speak gibberish so he just didn’t understand me or something, I’m not too sure.
“He actually messaged me a DM on Instagram and it turns out he’s a great bloke.
“He’s offered to send me an AC Milan jersey and basically said sorry for the misunderstanding and stuff. That’s nice and shows that he’s actually a good bloke.
“I said to him that I’m going to send him back a Mariners jersey in return. It turns out that we’re actually best mates now so, you know, I got the last laugh.”
Better late than never, right?
Countdown continues as Australia prepares to welcome to world
We are less than six months away from the opening game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
While the teams competing won’t touch down on our shores until a lot closer to the commencement of the tournament, the official match-ball landed in Bondi on Tuesday morning (AEDT).
Quite literally, the ball ‘landed’ as it was delivered via helicopter.
Socceroos striker ‘ready for this new challenge’ in Norway
Nick D’Agostino has officially arrived and put pen to paper at Viking FK.
The former Melbourne Victory striker made his move to the Norwegian club official over the weekend, signing for an undisclosed fee.
D’Agostino has since touched down in Norway, with former Socceroo, now player agent Craig Moore posting two photos of the striker kitted out in Viking colours and signing the contract with his new club on Twitter.
Viking currently sit in 11th on the Eliteserien table and are next in action on Saturday morning (AEDT) against Sandnes Ulf.
Sydney FC legend on the move again?
It looks as if Adrian Mierzejewski is searching for a new home.
After almost five years playing for a host of clubs all over China, the former Sydney FC midfielder is looking for a change of scenery – telling FootTruck that he wants to tear up his current contract with Henan Songshan Longmen.
“I don’t want to return to China so I want to terminate my contract,” the 2017-18 Johnny Warren Medallist said.
“I will be a free agent and will be waiting for phone calls. Poland is off. I don’t care about money. I dream about hot weather, beaches to reward my wife and children.”
Well, hot weather and beaches tick all the boxes for a return to Australia, but how realistic is a move back to the Isuzu UTE A-League?
The 36-year-old previously caused a stir back in November after KEEPUP columnist Robbie Cornthwaite pointed out that Adelaide United were “screaming out for a natural number ten” at the time.
Sky Blues fans soon after flocked to the comments, expressing their desire to see him return to the Harbour City – with the former Poland international respond saying he will “see” when the January transfer window rolls around.
Could a decision regarding his future be on the cards in the coming weeks? We shall see.
Harper hopes to see Yorke in the A-League again
Andy Harper sent the Australian footballing world into a frenzy on Saturday evening, when he dropped the bombshell news that head coach Dwight Yorke had parted ways with Macarthur after only six months in charge.
The Network 10 pundit’s mail was spot on, with the Bulls confirming Yorke had mutually terminated his contract with the club – despite winning the Australia Cup back in October and Macarthur sitting in sixth at the halfway point of the season.
On Monday, Harper told Mornings with Julian De Stoop on SEN that he hopes Yorke’s time down under isn’t over.
“I really hope that Dwight can find a place in his desire to stay involved in the A-League,” Harper said.
“It’s going to require another job coming up somewhere, I’d imagine.
“That’ll be the real test to see whether he is completely dismissive of what happens down here in Australia, with the league and whether he wants to shoot through and it’s his provocative to do either.”
Yorke has been linked with Sydney FC, but club legend Steve Corica remains in charge of the Sky Blues ahead of a Big Blue clash with Melbourne Victory on January 26.
