Western Sydney Wanderers came close to luring Brazilian star Marta to the W-League
In the week Sam Kerr left the W-League behind, Western Sydney had hoped to bring Brazilian superstar Marta the other way.
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The Wanderers have fallen agonisingly short of a marquee signing that would have attracted worldwide attention.
In the week Sam Kerr left the W-League behind, Western Sydney had hoped to bring Brazilian superstar Marta the other way, as a guest player.
For weeks they have been in talks with the six-times world player of the year, who plays her main club football with Orlando Pride – until recently under former Matildas boss Tom Sermanni.
Chairman Paul Lederer and his board sanctioned the move as proof of their commitment to making the club’s W-League team a force in the competition, along with investing heavily in a girls’ academy.
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In fact money wasn’t a significant factor for Marta herself, we hear.
In the end, she told the Wanderers that after the World Cup and with Brazil’s Olympic qualifiers next year, plus her NWSL commitments with Orlando and some personal circumstances, she couldn’t commit this time to another club contract.
However she hasn’t closed the door by any means, and it’s believed the two sides will explore the prospect this time next year.
Certainly her presence would be a major boost for the W-League, with some questioning its future as European leagues invest heavily in recruiting star players like Kerr.
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MAT Ryan’s attention to detail is a major part of his success, and the Socceroos goalkeeper takes no chances. At the Australian camp in Amman this week he was overhead quizzing chef Vini Capovilla about the make-up of his hummus, and its ratio of carbs to protein.
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Now that their pay deal is sorted, the Matildas are sitting nervously waiting to hear who’ll get a central contract – and on which of three tiers.
The selection is meant to be by the coach in consultation with the head of national teams, the technical director and/or the CEO.
The problem is there is no head of national teams, the CEO leaves next week and the technical director only just took over the role.
All of which leaves Milicic, and with his trademark attention to detail and long-term planning, be sure his choices will be thought through. Nonetheless it concentrates significant power in the hands of a coach leaving by August at the latest.
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CENTRAL COAST are frustrated that under-investigation Olympic quartet Brandon Wilson, Riley McGree, Lachlan Wales and Nathaniel Atkinson have been stood down from the U23 team but are free to play in the A-League.
McGree will face the Mariners on Friday night, rather than being in an Olympic tournament in China. But players facing questions of discipline at international level have always been dealt with separately from club football and vice versa, except in very serious cases.
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ZLATAN Ibrahimovic has confirmed his exit from LA Galaxy but offered no hint of his much-speculated next move. Perth Glory is among a lengthy list of potential suitors playing the waiting game, having recently made contact with Ibrahimovic’s agent in an audacious bid to bring the larger-than-life Swedish striker to the A-League but aware there are bigger fish on his tail including Bologna, AC Milan and Manchester United.
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THE recently formed Women in Football association is already taking practical steps in the quest for bottom-up change. The not-for-profit advocacy group this week hosted several football stakeholders from FFA, member federations and A-League clubs at an informal meeting to brainstorm ways to address gender culture at all levels of the game. Those at the meeting, held at Football Victoria’s offices, agreed to meet at least biannually to share information ahead of February’s WiF national conference.
Originally published as Western Sydney Wanderers came close to luring Brazilian star Marta to the W-League