A-League 2020: Next Australian Golden Generation on show
As A-League imports head home amidst the COVID-19 crisis, a talented group of Australian teenagers are taking centre stage to show they belong in the big time – and Graham Arnold believes they could be our next Golden Generation.
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Australian football fans, rejoice. For a second Golden Generation is on its way, and we might have Coronavirus to thank for it.
In a rare silver lining to the COVID-19 crisis, the global pandemic has fast-tracked one of Football Federation Australia’s key goals to awaken Australian sport’s sleeping giant.
And the end result, according to Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, could be a boom of young talent the likes of which we haven’t seen since the original Golden Generation gave us the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer – and helped end a 32-year World Cup drought.
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That core group – which also included all-time greats Lucas Neill, Mark Bresciano, John Aloisi, Tony Popovic and Craig Moore – spoiled a generation of Australian sports fans who had waited decades for success on the international stage, and have been left asking “what’s next” ever since.
But after watching a month of A-League since its return, Arnold believes we are about to see a new Golden Generation unearthed.
Whether by design or circumstance – with a number of the A-League’s star imports returning home over COVID-19 fears or in response to wage cuts – Australia’s rising stars have taken centre stage since the competition’s return.
“I think the kids are smacking people in the face and waking people up and saying ‘hey, I’m here, I’ve got quality and I want to play. And I can play, so give me a game.’,” Arnold told News Corp.
“There’s a good number of kids getting an opportunity and a chance and they’re showing their qualities and I do believe this Coronavirus … well, you always take an advantage of a crisis, and I think these kids are.”
Whether it be Central Coast’s Dylan Ruiz-Diaz (19 years old) or Sydney FC’s Trent Buhagiar (22) banging in goals in comeback wins, the cool-headed goalkeeping of Melbourne Victory’s Tom Glover (22) or the midfield talents of Perth Glory’s Jake Brimmer (22), the finger prints of Australia’s next generation have been all over the rejuvenated A-League.
And that’s exactly what FFA had hoped for last month when it outlined its XI Principles to grow football in Australia, with youth development a key part of it.
Giving minutes to developing players – specifically the 17-23 range – has been proven to produce more international players of the future says Arnold.
Arnold and the FFA studied the development paths of 36 countries, finding that should a talent play three to four seasons of 25 games or more from the age of 18 to 22, they’re a 65 per cent chance of reaching the national team – and having a career that extends into their 30s.
“It just shows you how crucial the age group is between 17 and 23, that if you’re not playing there’s a good chance you went even make 23,” Arnold told News Corp.
The directive is simple: get minutes into the legs of Australia’s talented youngsters.
Which is why Arnold is confident we have another Golden Generation in our midst.
“Another Golden Generation will come provided we give them a chance,” he said.
“I believe our kids, at that age group, are not playing enough minutes, not enough games. And that gets fixed you will see another golden generation or two come along very, very quickly.”
And while Australia’s original Golden Generation all made their names overseas, Arnold says it is a myth that they rushed off as teenagers.
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Viduka debuted as a teen for Melbourne Knights, making 48 appearances across two seasons before his move to Europe, while Schwarzer had four seasons with Marconi Stallions after debuting as a 19-year-old.
“There is a myth, and that is that the Golden Generation all went away under the age of 20,” he explained.
“But that is a myth. 80 per cent of them went away after the age of 20, 21, 22.
“Whether you play here in Australia and get minutes or you play overseas, you need to get minutes.
“A lot of players went away early overseas, before the age of 20, but they didn’t get minutes overseas and they were back in Australia by the age of 23, 24.”
FIVE TO WATCH
LACHLAN BROOK – (Adelaide United, 19)
■ Debuted as a 16-year-old, and has shone post-COVID-19. An exciting attacking prospect, Brook has a scorching goal and an assist in the past two games and is at the forefront of Adelaide’s commendable local youth push.
JAY BARNETT – (Melbourne Victory, 19)
■ Made the move to Melbourne from Brisbane in the off-season and the combative central midfielder has been a shining light towards the back end of a dour season for the Victory.
DYLAN RUIZ-DIAZ – (Central Coast Mariners, 19)
■ Dynamic attacking midfielder who opened his A-League account with two late goals to inspire Mariners to a drought-breaking 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory. A real talent.
KRISTIAN POPOVIC – (Perth Glory, 18)
■ The son of Socceroos great Tony Popovic, Kristian is defensive-minded like his father and has looked confident patrolling midfield for Glory in the past month.
JAKE BRIMMER – (Perth Glory, 22)
■ In his third season in the A-League, Brimmer has already spent time with the Liverpool academy in Europe and has seen a big spike in playing minutes this year – especially since filling the attacking role left by the absent Diego Castro.