The Original Rivalry. The Sydney Derby. The Isuzu UTE A-League was rocking before going on hiatus due to the FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
Coopers Stadium was packed for Adelaide United’s 3-0 win over rivals Melbourne Victory, while more than 34,000 fans packed into Allianz Stadium to watch an emotion-driven derby between Sydney FC and cross-town foes Western Sydney Wanderers.
Australia’s memorable run at the World Cup, spearheaded by Adelaide captain Craig Goodwin and a cast of A-League Men players, has only added fuel to an exciting domestic season, which resumes on Friday night.
“I’ve said it on many occasions, I think the A-Leagues is on a high level,” Adelaide head coach Carl Veart told KEEPUP as the Reds prepare to kick-start the 2022-23 campaign away to Brisbane Roar on Friday.
“I know a lot of people say ‘yeah, but it’s not the Premier League’. Well no league stands up to the EPL. But for the A-League, quality of football and the enjoyment you can get when you go and watch a game. There’s not too many bad games. Yes, there’s bad games all over the world, even in the Premier League. But generally you get a good spectacle in the A-Leagues.
“You get teams playing quite a tactical brand of football but an attacking brand of football too. There’s plenty of excitement there.
You just have to look at the games already this season. We had our Original Rivalry against Melbourne Victory and the atmosphere was outstanding. Just up there with anything you would’ve got in Europe.
“The same with the Sydney Derby. That’s what you get when good crowds are into the game. It lifts the atmosphere, it lifts the performance from the players and you get a better spectacle. The fans play a big part in how exciting the league can be.”
Australia is riding the World Cup wave ahead of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s return for Round 7 this week.
The Socceroos’ unexpected run from the group stage – finishing ahead of Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark and Tunisia – to the round of 16, captured the hearts and minds of fans back home.
Federation Square was the heartbeat of Socceroos’ games Down Under, with the scenes making worldwide headlines during the World Cup in Qatar.
The Melbourne location was at capacity for the 2-1 loss to Lionel Messi’s Argentina, with another 20,000 fans packing into AAMI Park, while Darling Harbour and dozens of venues across the country showed Australia’s very own football pulse.
“I believe so [there’s football culture in Australia]. Those people that went to the games [in the A-League Men before the World Cup break], they would’ve left speaking highly of the game and saying what quality games they were. Atmosphere plays a big part,” Veart said.
“When you have full houses and big crowds supporting the teams, the players lift and the standard of football becomes faster because you’re getting supported. The adrenalin from the support makes you play a bit faster and then it becomes more entertaining.”
Adelaide braced for Goodwin interest
It was a World Cup to remember for homegrown Adelaide star Goodwin.
Carrying his red-hot A-Leagues form into the World Cup, Goodwin scored the opening goal of Australia’s 4-1 loss to defending champions France before supplying the cross for Mitch Duke’s match-winner against Tunisia.
His deflected shot that found the back of the net also sparked hope of a comeback against Argentina last week.
“It was very exciting. Not just for Craig but exciting to watch the national team,” Veart said.
Goodwin already has three goals and four assists to his name through six rounds of the A-League Men season.
“Craig had a delayed start to the A-Leagues season but his quality showed in the A-League, especially those last couple of games [before the break],” Veart added.
“That’s what we get with Craig. We know week in and week out he is very consistent. He is not the type of winger that is going to beat his man through dribbling.
“It’s all about the quality of delivery for Craig and positioning. Not just positioning, a lot of the time he plays a lot of one and two-touch passes to keep defences and the ball moving.”
Goodwin turned down interest from rival Australian clubs and overseas teams to re-sign with Adelaide on a three-year contract before the start of 2022-23.
But the 30-year-old – who has played for Dutch outfit Sparta Rotterdam and Saudi club Al-Wehda in the past – caught the eye in Qatar after a “great World Cup”.
“You always want the players to achieve and be at their best, to play at the highest level they can and want to play at,” Veart said.
Craig’s been overseas a couple of times and come back to Adelaide. He has shown great form and I’m guessing there will be plenty of interest in Craig again. That’s a decision he will have to make with the club – whether he stays, whether interest comes that sparks enough interest for him to make that move again.
“He has become very settled here in Adelaide and very happy. It’s allowed him to play the best football of his career so far.”
Goodwin’s impact on the Reds
Adelaide had to down tools for the World Cup… at an inconvenient time for the club.
The Reds had just celebrated a 3-0 rout of Victory on November 11 and riding a three-game winning streak to sit third in the standings, five points behind leaders Melbourne City.
Adelaide’s break has been challenging for Veart and his team, but Goodwin’s performances in the Middle East have impacted the squad.
“It was difficult. We gave the players a five-day break at the beginning to freshen up. It’s like pre-season, you’re training for round one and this was the first week back at training and they were quite good.
But they were quite tense and it can cause a little bit of friction at training, which is good too. It shows the players are still focused and ready to go.
“They’re really looking forward to get back up and running. I think the players, seeing how well Australia did at the World Cup and how well Craig did, gave our players a lift. They’re looking forward to getting Goody back into the team so they can talk to him and share his experiences of the World Cup.”
