The Moot Point

Not too Keane
I have always admired Roy Keane as a footballer. For his prowess as a player and leader on the field, rather than his indiscretions with adversaries when he occasionally lost the plot.

Hearing and reading recently that he may take over the coaching position of Melbourne Victory, actually disappoints me no end.

Keane as a manager or coach actually hasn’t done much since he led Sunderland to the EPL a few years ago.

My concern is not with Keane per se. It’s with the broader issue of overseas coaches in the Hyundai A-League.

Let’s not forget that in the not too distant past a foreign coach was preferred over a local one at some A-League clubs simply because they were from overseas.

Some were duds from the very outset.

With the recent success of Ange Postecoglou at the Brisbane Roar and Graham Arnold at the Central Coast Mariners, surely a lesson has been learnt.

These two local coaches, who were part of the national setup at various levels for many years, had their respective clubs playing attractive and good quality football throughout the last A-League season. Postecoglou and Arnold proved what we already knew; that Australian coaches are as good as, if not better than, their imported foreign counterparts.

There are of course a few exceptions, but on the whole any foreign coach that comes to the Hyundai A-League must be significantly better than what is locally available. It’s simply not good enough to import. The imported coach must be of a substantial quality and with a proven track record at the highest level.

Otherwise we should simply say “Thanks, but no thanks”.

So, who should coach Melbourne Victory?

Perhaps Mehmet Durakovic and Eddie Krncevic, former Socceroos and aspiring local coaches, should be top of the short list.

Sutherland Shire Titans
This club may appear to be just another local football club. However, that’s certainly not the case.

Recently, reading my local newspaper, I came across this brilliant little club.

Players with a disability have an opportunity to play for the Titans who were established only in 2006.

They play against teams in the Sutherland Shire Football Association and the opposition teams are told to play their normal game.

The Titans’ teams, despite containing players with disabilities, do not look for favours.

The club has approximately 60 registered players.

Club president Mr. Stewart Teal was quoted as saying “We don’t have an emphasis on winning or losing”.

Brilliant!

NAPOLI, NAPOLI, NAPOLI
Whether or not AC Milan manage to take out the Serie A Scudetto for 2010/11, for me the performance of the year in the Serie A belongs to little Napoli.

Since the great Diego Armando Maradona left Napoli in disgrace in 1991 after seven magnificent years which produced two Serie A titles (1987 and 1990), this club has imploded.

The depths of the Italian third division were reached and it seemed that there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

I remember visiting Napoli several times in the post-Maradona era and feeling a great sadness.

The city had lost its football soul and lived on nostalgia.

More than a decade after he had left, the Neapolitans would still mention his name with a certain degree of reverence.

Maradona will always be honoured in the city at the foot of Mt Vesuvius, but if the 2010/2011 team manages to take out the Scudetto, then watch out for the names Cavani, Lavezzi, Hamsik et al in Naples.

They’ll be remembered for decades to come.

Forza Napoli.