Push for big change to A-League to help Socceroos’ World Cup cause
Covid and injuries have hit the Socceroos’ World Cup push and A-League players should be more available to them.
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Former Socceroos turned A-League coaches John Aloisi and Tony Popovic have called for international breaks to be implemented in the A-League Men’s going forward.
A number of sides, including Popovic’s Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, have lost key individuals to the Socceroos who selected 10 A-League Men’s players for upcoming crucial World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Calls for international breaks were increased this week as a result of City‘s Curtis Good being refused a late call-up by his club after not being included in the preliminary list of players selected.
League organisers initially planned to schedule international breaks this campaign, but as a result of a Covid-wrecked fixture, they were abandoned in order to finish the season on time.
After his side‘s 1-1 draw against United on Wednesday evening, Victory boss Popovic declared he didn‘t believe A-League Men’s sides should be in action during these periods.
“That’s something I would have loved to have seen every year that I’ve been coaching,“ he said.
“We need to set that aside and we shouldn’t be losing players during this period. We should all focus on the Socceroos and we should all be cheering them on and not playing during this period.
“There are various reasons why that doesn’t happen and can’t happen. Hopefully, we can have a normal schedule next year.”
Victory was initially set to only lose in-form attacker Nick D‘Agostino to international duty, but after Craig Goodwin and Jackson Irvine were ruled out, forward Ben Folami was called up on Sunday.
Popovic confirmed Folami was among “eight to nine” Victory players who were on the preliminary list and indicated he wouldn’t have stood in the way of any of them should they have been selected.
“We can’t give these boys a platform … and encourage them to train with us, play with us and be the best they can be and then hold them back when an opportunity comes to play for your country in the two biggest games that we’ve had in this campaign,” Popovic said.
“It really should be a free week that we just focus in. We shouldn’t be playing the day before the Socceroos play.”
Western United coach Aloisi understood why the international breaks didn’t happen this season but also echoed Popovic’s sentiments surrounding implementation in the future.
“It’s difficult. The way that the season has gone and the way that it’s been put together, especially with the Covid situation and the whole situation with the A-Leagues, I can understand why there’s no break,” he said.
“In the future I’m hoping there will be in terms of when we have such big international games because we want our best players playing in the competition but also playing for the Socceroos.”
Originally published as Push for big change to A-League to help Socceroos’ World Cup cause
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