The best of the decade: Giving refugees a chance, Liverpool’s record visit and the consortium which saved Adelaide United
From Awer Mabil’s inspirational story to Liverpool’s historic visit to Adelaide Oval, these are The Advertiser’s best soccer moments in South Australia over the past decade.
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So here it is a new decade is about to begin.
We say goodbye to a fruitful decade which was scattered with hundreds of South Australian soccer highlights.
Here’s the best of the best.
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1. AFRICAN REFUGEES MAKING THE MOST OF THEIR SA FREEDOM
Former South Sudanese refugee, Kenyan-born Awer Mabil became the poster boy for all those that fled war torn countries to seek a better life in Australia.
Ex Liberian refugee Teeboy Kamara opened that door to become the youngest A-League player to make a debut at 15 years and 212 days old in 2011.
Mabil a former Adelaide United winger became a Socceroo and scored goals as a gift it seemed. Socceroo Thomas Deng followed after he got his break in SA.
And now the list of ex refugees that lived in SA and are now playing A-League is growing by the season.
2. THE ROBERT GERARD-LED CONSORTIUM SAVE ADELAIDE UNITED
Adelaide United was in serious danger of folding in 2010 more than a year after Nick Bianco was forced to sell the outfit due to a cash crisis with his companies.
Principal shareholders Greg Griffin and Robert Gerard and 20 per cent shareholders Bruno Marveggio and Dr Richard Noble steered the club for a record eight years leading the Reds to brand new heights alongside patron Fay Gerard.
They oversaw the club’s greatest era winning the A-League championship and the Premier’s Plate, FFA Cup in 2014 and attracting more than 50,000 fans to two matches at Adelaide Oval.
3. ADELAIDE UNITED CLAIMING THE DOUBLE IN 2016
If someone said a decade ago that a Barcelona legend would be coaching Adelaide United they surely would have being asked to visit the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Somehow the Reds did it when Guillermo Amor was first hired as the club’s football director before taking over as coach when Josep Gombau’s applesauce rhetoric came to an end in 2015.
Under Amor the team was bottom after eight rounds picked itself up, claimed the Premier’s Plate in a thriller before setting a soccer A-League record when more than 50,000 turned up to Adelaide Oval to watch the Reds sink Western Sydney 3-1 in the grand final.
4. FFA CUP KINGS
Adelaide United are the undisputed FFA Cup kings of the last decade.
A maiden win in 2014 when Sergio Cirio scored the winner in front of a rocking full house (16,242 fans) at Hindmarsh under Gombau set the template for the future.
Next up was the 2018 trophy under German boss Marco Kurz beating Sydney FC 2-1 at Hindmarsh.
Dutchman Gertjan Verbeek led the Reds in 2019 to a 4-0 belting over Melbourne City before teen sensation Al Hassan Toure scored a goal which emulated Ned Zelic’s wonder goal for the Olyroos in 1992.
5. MATILDAS RETURN TO SA AFTER A 13 YEAR ABSENCE
How good was it to finally have our very own women’s national football team back in Adelaide for the first time since 2006?
Many moons ago Adelaide was the spiritual home of football.
SA produced so many Matildas the state should be proud of but since that well dried up attracting the hottest national team in the country become problematic.
But finally they came, saw and conquered in front of a record women’s soccer crowd of 10,342.
6. SOCCEROOS PLAY A FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER IN ADELAIDE AFTER A 13 YEAR HIATUS
Finally SA football fans had a meaningful Socceroos match to gaze in awe but the venue Adelaide Oval copped a barrage of criticism because it really wasn’t built to cater for the world game.
Australia hosted and beat Saudi Arabia 3-2 in a thriller in front of 29,875 fans and the Saudis were remembered – for the wrong thing.
The Saudi team refused to join a minute’s silence before the clash to honour a London terrorism tragedy where eight victims including SA’s Kirsty Boden.
7. LIVERPOOL V ADELAIDE UNITED ATTRACT RECORD SA FOOTBALL CROWD
Liverpool fans may not believe this but not everyone wants to sing their club anthem “you'll never walk alone” nor support them when they played at Adelaide Oval.
However, the Reds coming to town to face Adelaide United did see most of the stadium’s soccer record 53,000 plus fans sing their signature tune while perhaps others were dry retching.
Liverpool won 2-0.
8. SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S FIRST JOHNNY WARREN MEDALIST IN 16 YEARS
Marcos Flores really was and still is a special footballer but the season when he won the Johnny Warren medal in 2010/11 was without a doubt one of the best from an individual in an Adelaide United shirt
Damian Mori claimed the Johnny Warren medal in 1996 after a bumper season for Adelaide City in the defunct national soccer league 16 years before the passionate Argentine wooed his fans with a soccer ball and a guitar – occasionally.
He now lives in Adelaide and plays for Adelaide City in the NPL.
9. VIPERS EXPLOITING A FOOTBALL SOUTH AUSTRALIA LOOPHOLE
SA’s State League 2 club Vipers changed the entire landscape of the competition in 2019 and perhaps beyond.
State League 2 clubs can now field unlimited imports after Vipers challenged Football SA’s visa rules and regulations when the club took on the governing body and won in August.
Vipers was threatened with a 15-point deduction for an alleged breach of playing too many imports.
Vipers later won promotion to State League 1.
10. CLUBS THAT WAIVED JUNIOR FEES
All the quiet achievers – NPL, State League 1 and 2 and amateur clubs that have sought to allow children that are perhaps less fortunate than many Australians to play the game for free or at a discount.
This is one of the greatest gifts of this decade given to the game.
There are many clubs to mention in this bracket.
We salute you.
Originally published as The best of the decade: Giving refugees a chance, Liverpool’s record visit and the consortium which saved Adelaide United