No del Piero, Fornaroli in Tom Smithies’ A-League Team of the Decade
Choosing an A-League team of the decade is as much about who you leave out as who you include. Do you agree with TOM SMITHIES’S star-studded XI?
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Choosing an A-League team of the decade is as much about who you leave out as who you include, but it also reflects the teams that have dominated over the past 10 years.
Key figures from the Mariners, Brisbane, the Wanderers and Sydney FC make this XI, because their individual ability helped beget team success.
Not selecting Alessando del Piero, Rhyan Grant, Bruno Fornaroli, Erik Paartalu and Bobo – or at least putting them on the bench – is a tough call.
But the members of this XI showed their durability and excellence on a consistent basis … it would make for a heck of an All-Stars team, if that concept still existed.
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GOALKEEPER
Mat Ryan
Brighton’s keeper made 80 appearances for the Mariners, and matured from a gawky teenager into a polished, confident performer – and won the A-League.
DEFENDERS
IVAN FRANJIC
Rhyan Grant is the best rightback in the A-League, but Franjic has been up there for a long time. Good enough to go to a World Cup and win the Asian Cup, as well as win two A-League titles and an FFA Cup.
MATT SMITH
Hugely underrated for a defender who won three A-League titles with Brisbane, Smith was one of the most influential members of the all-conquering Brisbane Roar squad as a natural leader.
ALEX WILKINSON
No player has been more consistent over the years, and is unlucky not have won more caps for his country. Wilkinson’s positional sense is uncanny at times.
JOSH ROSE
One of the most reliable players to ply their trade in the A-League, the leftback showed how doing the simple things well, over and over again, makes you hugely valuable to your team.
MIDFIELDERS
MATT MCKAY
Perhaps the most controversial inclusion, but McKay was a vital cog in Brisbane’s success and showed that success in the A-League could translate into international recognition.
MARK MILLIGAN
From the shy leftback picked for the 2006 World Cup to a snarling midfield enforcer, Milligan matured into a driving force of a player who bossed a grand final.
ATTACKERS
MILOS NINKOVIC
Ninkovic would have to play out of position on the right side here, and would do so gladly because that’s the kind of player he is. He would also do so with deft brilliance, because that’s the kind of player he is.
SHINJI ONO
Has to be included because more than any other player he was responsible for the Wanderers emerging as a fully formed giant of the A-League. Some of his goals went down in WSW history.
THOMAS BROICH
The poster boy for Brisbane’s symphonic football under Ange Postecoglou, Broich brought real style to the A-League, as well as a brilliantly understated sense of humour. Twice won the Johnny Warren Medal.
STRIKER
BESART BERISHA
Polite and quietly spoken off the pitch, Berisha has always been the ultimate street fighter on it – oh, and a ruthless finisher to boot. One of the finest strikers Australia has imported, his connection with Broich was uncanny.