The Tackle: Juan Mata weighs up buying stake in Mariners, Glory chase Victory star
Unsure where his playing future lies, Juan Mata is weighing up the shock purchase of a stake in the Central Coast Mariners. And he’s not the only one being linked with the financially struggling club.
Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde breakdown all the biggest issues from the A-League semi-finals in the Tackle.
Mata’s Mariners link
Juan Mata is still considering his A-League future, but regardless of whether he continues to play in Australia, he is considering buying a stake in the Central Coast Mariners.
The 37-year-old former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder has been offered a new deal by Western Sydney, but remains undecided whether to stay at the Wanderers considering his lack of game time under coach Alen Stajcic.
If he doesn’t stay at the Wanderers, his chances of becoming an owner of the Mariners are perhaps more likely.
Mata’s not the only one linked to the Mariners’ ownership, with English Championship club Queens Park Rangers also understood to be interested in a stake in the Gosford-based club.
Let’s hope that some type of new ownership does occur at the financially embattled Mariners, whose fall from grace this season has been sad to see after the club’s superb effort to win the treble in a memorable 2024-25 campaign.
Victory fail to deliver
There’s a reason Melbourne Victory finished fifth on the A-League ladder, and it was obvious in their disappointing semi-final first-leg performance against Auckland FC.
The Victory went missing on Saturday night when they needed to produce their best performance of the season against the competition’s premier team.
The 1-0 scoreline in Auckland’s favour flattered the Victory, with the Black Knights clearly the better team and unlucky not to be taking more of an advantage into next weekend’s semi-final second-leg at Go Media Stadium.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by the Victory’s failure to deliver in their home leg.
As good as their performance was a week earlier in beating Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1 at CommBank Stadium, the Victory have lacked consistency for most of the season, particularly following coach Patrick Kisnorbo’s departure from the club in December.
Attacking threats Daniel Arzani, Nishan Velupillay and Zinedine Machach have been hot and cold all season.
The fact that the Victory haven’t scored in any of their three matches against Auckland this season is also telling.
The Black Knights have them worked out, and proved that on Saturday night with an extremely professional away from home performance.
Well done again to Auckland coach Steve Corica, who continues to prove a point after being dumped as Sydney FC coach after just three games last season and less than a month after guiding the Sky Blues to Australia Cup glory.
It’s hard to see the Victory doing enough in the second leg to stop Auckland deservedly securing hosting rights to the May 31 grand final.
Clinical City
Just as Auckland showed in disposing of the Victory, Melbourne City displayed a great amount of professionalism in beating Western United 3-0 in Friday night’s semi-final first leg at AAMI Park.
This was supposed to be the more even of the two semi-final battles, but City was clinical and thorough in all but landing a knockout blow to United’s title hopes.
Just as the Victory can’t seem to score against Auckland, United don’t know where the back of the net is in games against City, having been kept scoreless in the three meetings between the teams this season.
It was a shame that injury forced star United striker Noah Botic to watch most of Friday night’s game from the bench.
United needs a miracle in the second leg, and to have any chance of achieving it, Botic needs to be fit and firing from the opening whistle.
Sky Blues wanted Taggart for Lolley
Sydney FC’s determination to sign Socceroos striker Adam Taggart had them ready to let star winger Joe Lolley go to Perth Glory.
Despite the Sky Blues being seemingly adamant that Lolley will remain in Sydney to fulfil the final year of his contract with the club, rumours persist that the former Nottingham Forest playercould be playing elsewhere next season.
The Glory are definitely interested in the services of Lolley, with suggestions they are willing to offer the 32-year-old attacking weapon the security of a three-year deal.
Informal discussions took place between Perth and Sydney officials, with the Sky Blues open to the idea of Lolley going to Perth – but only if a “player exchange” of sorts took place that would result in Taggart going the other way.
However, with Taggart under contract at Perth for another season, the Glory weren’t willing to let the 31-year-old marksman leave.
The Glory wanted Lolley to complement Taggart in their attack rather than it being a case of one or the other.
And the West Australian club still wants Lolley, who has returned home to England for a few weeks.
Glory officials also like the idea of bringing veteran striker Bruno Fornaroli back to Perth.
Fornaroli, 37, has entered his final weeks as a Melbourne Victory player after joining the club in 2022 from Perth.
The Uruguay-born former Socceroos forward scored 35 goals in 79 appearances in all competitions for the Glory before making a controversial exit at the time Perth was coached by Ruben Zadkovich.
However, it’s understood that Fornaroli still owns a house in Perth and plans to live there once his playing days are over, so ending his career with the Glory remains on the cards.
Adrian’s anguish
Adrian Segecic is a glaring omission from the national training squad that will assemble under Socceroos coach Tony Popovic in the UAE this week.
Despite only starting in 14 of Sydney FC’s 24 A-League matches this season, attacking weapon Segecic scored 13 goals to be joint winner of the competition’s Golden Boot.
And with the Sky Blues failing to reach the finals, Segecic was available for selection in this training squad, unlike Western United’s Noah Botic and Switzerland-based Nestory Irankunda, whose club commitments aren’t over.
The reason for the non-selection of Archie Goodwin, who shared Golden Boot honours with Segecic, was obvious, with the Adelaide United striker suffering from a hamstring injury.
However, it’s hard to believe that there wasn’t room for 20-year-old Segecic in the training squad.
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