“That was our drive today too, don’t worry about that. I told them that, and thank you for those people who are going to write silly things for bias or whatever reason.”
That was Ante Juric in the aftermath of Sydney FC’s crushing 6-3 win over rivals and Liberty A-League champions Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Thursday.
Juric was reacting to the omission of hat-trick hero Princess Ibini and Cortnee Vine from the combined ‘Big Blue XI’ put together by Liberty A-League experts Grace Gill and Cath Cannuli in the lead-up to the blockbuster showdown.
Gill and Cannuli picked their XIs on last week’s episode of The Official Liberty A-League Podcast on the KEEPUP Audio Network.
Saturday’s Dub Zone was Box Office television as Sydney head coach Juric joined the show to discuss that contentious XI with none other than Cannuli.
Sit back and enjoy!
Cannuli: “Hey Ante, probably not your favourite person this week…”
Juric: “You’re always my favourite, Cannuli (smiles).”
Cannuli: “I’ll give you a hug the next time I see you….
“I want to know, you used me for pre-match motivation to go out and destroy Melbourne Victory. Did you credit me at the end of the game and give me a bit of praise for those three points?”
Juric: “Listen, I actually didn’t know it was you until recently because someone told me about the story. Then I found out it was you and I was very disappointed… we’re mates (laughs).
“Nah, we used it a little bit (motivation). But Western United was our greatest reason to be motivated, however, that tipped it over the edge.
Cannuli: “My shout for coffee next time.”
Juric: “That’s right.”
Niav Owens: “Is it a positive, do you think, for the game as a whole Ante that there is this focus on the performance of players, that there is high expectations around the league. Do you see it as a real positive with where the women’s game is at?”
Juric: “It’s definitely a positive. This show is a positive. There’s a bit of media going around especially in a World Cup year. It’s good for the league.
“But to put it into context. I back my players and will support them to the hilt if I see something isn’t right, I’ll speak up about it.
“Even though it’s about opinion, I do believe some of our girls have been exceptional but haven’t been getting the credit.”
Owens: “Do you you think in some ways, we need a bit of a mindset shift that it’s a real privilege to be playing at this level and to have those expectations associated with your performance?”
Juric: “It is. At Sydney, we have high expectations.
“My issue with the team, players have been performing and not in the team. f they haven’t been performing and are criticised, I’ll be the first to criticise them. That’s why I stepped up and said a few things.
“It’s not just Ibini and Vine, there are a few others I was a little bit gobsmacked with.
Criticism is welcomed but also, we need to pat people on the back when they’re doing well.
At the end of the interview, Juric jokingly signed off by saying:
“Cannuli, can you do another one of those things for the weekend? I need more motivation (laughs).”
Cannuli: “I’ll have to charge you for that one.”
‘Where are we at as a footballing nation?’
Before Juric jumped on the Dub Zone show to have his say, A-Leagues great Cannuli kicked off Saturday’s episode responding to the Sydney coach’s initial criticism.
Juric had made a point of using that Sydney-Victory combined XI as motivation for his Sky Blues players.
It left Cannuli raising a question about the women’s game.
“If they need to use us as motivation to go out there and perform, then I’m glad it worked for them,” Cannuli said.
“For me as footballers, I want all the girls to succeed. But when you take the field these days, it’s not like back in the day where no one is talking about you.
‘We need to take the positives out of what’s happening in the media because this is what’s going to grow our game.”
Cannuli added: “When anyone is talking about women’s football, it’s a plus.
“Go back 10 years prior to where we are now, people wouldn’t even be talking about our game. They wouldn’t even be knowing on social media or chatting about it.
“At the end of the day, football is a game of different opinions. If we all had the same opinion, how boring would it be?”
“It’s nothing personal. Away from my media duties, I Want all the girls to succeed. It’s a football opinion. I’m really happy for the girls that they did perform.
If that’s what they need for motivation, we also need to be looking at that in a different scope to say, okay where are we at as a footballing nation?
Asked if she would make any changes to the combined XI, Cannuli replied: “If it was the following week, maybe it would be a bit different.
“But personally, I don’t think Cortnee Vine and Prince Ibini have been up to the standards that I would probably want from them as footballers.
We hold them in high regard. They’re our Matildas. They need toe be shining week in, week out to be a testament to this league, to be showing the other players, hey I want to be like a Cortnee Vine or Princess Ibini.
