"It wasn't to be, but since when did Manny Muscat make 60m breakaways? His break midway through the first half was the All-Stars' best chance at streaking ahead by two goals until Berisha's excellent strike in the right corner was deflected by the wily old fox that Buffon is. "
This is a great thing for him and to a certain degree a bad thing for the Phoenix.
He may well get offers and kick on to something else. One thing is for sure is that his value has gone up a fair bit one would suspect. It also means that he is no longer a surprise and with that, comes assholes that target him. I would hope that the Phoenix start looking at contract extension talks sooner rather than later.
Riera must like New Zealand quite a lot to come and stay here. I'm guessing he would feel a good sense of loyalty to us as we have given him his chance. You can also see how at age 30 he would want to make as much money as possible though. I wouldn't be surprised if an A-League team offered him a marquee spot.
Yip our long haired superstar got the jersey of his Juve counterpart.
People I know who aren't total muppets reckon Riera was the man of the match.
Just his normal, average, utterly fantastic self. I thought they were gonna give him man of the match but they went for the usual fapfest, picking Broich for it. We saw enough from him last year to sign him up long term, so must have been his decision to only take up a 1 year deal.
Previous link I posted above to the full game has been deleted from You Tube but there is now a better version of the full game on You Tube here - with English commentary. Surprised at how good the A-League boys did. Riera superb.
Previous link I posted above to the full game has been deleted from You Tube but there is now a better version of the full game on You Tube here - with English commentary. Surprised at how good the A-League boys did. Riera superb.
Riera had a good game and even had a shot on goal at one point - but check out Manny Muscat between the 22nd and 23rd minutes when he brilliantly intercepts a Juve pass on the edge of his box, takes the ball the length of the field to the edge of the Juve box and nicely feeds Berisha who sets up a chance for ADP.
Another great Manny moment is between the 26th and 27th minutes when he neatly dispossesses Pogba.
Manny really did have a fantastic game!!!
A draw would have been a fairer result on the balance of play. No one in the All Stars really had a bad game.
An eye-catching performance against Barcelona could help Piscopo secure a move overseas, with the former Inter Milan youth product keen on a return to Europe now that his three-year deal with the Phoenix is due to expire.
“I’m still in the process of talking with my agent and seeing what is the best decision for my career.
“I’m trying to go back overseas if something does come up. There’s some interest but nothing concrete.”
Barcelona bid farewell to icon Lionel Messi last season but they still have a star-studded squad featuring the likes of Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong.
The A-Leagues All Stars squad includes Socceroos Jamie Maclaren, Craig Goodwin and Mathew Leckie and foreign stars Daniel Penha, Leo Lacroix and Jack Rodwell.
Barcelona will travel Down Under after their final game of the La Liga season against Villareal on Monday
Goalkeepers: Jamie Young, Filip Kurto, Andrew Redmayne
Defenders: Adama Traore, Curtis Good, Leo Lacroix, Jason Davidson, Rhyan Grant, Ben Garuccio, Adrian Mariappa, Roderick Miranda, Scott Neville, Kye Rowles
Midfielders: Daniel Penha, Anthony Caceres, Milos Ninkovic, Jack Rodwell, Jake Brimmer, Isaias Sanchez, Jay O'Shea, Reno Piscopo, Callum Timmins
Forwards: Jamie Maclaren, Beka Mikeltadze, Craig Goodwin, Jason Cummings, Garang Kuol, Mathew Leckie, Marco Tilio, Nestroy Irankunda
With the amount of neutrals watching would have hoped the commentary would have made more of an effort to highlight the A League players and what they've done to make themselves shine in their respective teams this season. You know, as a good advertisement for the quality of the league. Instead it's recycled "Barcelona is mean as... blah blah blah... Barcelona is mean as... blah blah blah...." sounds like soundbites ripped from those Fifa video games.
Could it be another Devlin scenario indeed, where Reno doesn't play a game for Jets, VIC or whoever he's signed for, and is off to Euroland for a nice fee for that club?! Annoying if history repeats
Could it be another Devlin scenario indeed, where Reno doesn't play a game for Jets, VIC or whoever he's signed for, and is off to Euroland for a nice fee for that club?! Annoying if history repeats
Bayern are planning a marketing trip to Australia in the week after the last Bundesliga game against Köln on May 27. A friendly game against an all-star team from the Australian A-League is likely to take place in Sydney, though a final decision hasn't been made yet [@mano_bonke]
Bayern's Australia tour, scheduled after the last game of the season, has been cancelled. The club was promised €4-5m, but the organizers couldn't fulfill the financial promises [@cfbayern, @altobelli13]
A-League CEO Danny Townsend tells @AAPSport it’s “unlikely” there’ll be an All Stars game leading into the GF (which will be at CommBank Stadium). He rubbished claims from Germany that the cash wasn’t there to get Bayern Munich over to Sydney.
APL chief executive Danny Townsend has confirmed Bayern Munich has withdrawn from a proposed tour, with a highly disrupted calendar meaning the "window of opportunity is closing" for finding an opponent for an A-League All-Stars side.https://t.co/E9DzRPP8a1
The NSW government couldn’t justify paying the German giants’ appearance fee, leaving the A-League All Stars without an opponent - and the APL’s grand final ‘festival of football’ without a European element. https://t.co/FhPKxfJLFM
I couldn't think what to write about that glum looking Old, so I'll let this ReTweet do it. Short straw indeed.
Being injured at the start or the end of the season must be annoying for Phoenix players because you're the first player to be on the plane to do these https://t.co/fN1LB1SUdb
Ange Postecoglou is poised to return home again at the back end of May to guide Spurs against the A-League All Stars and a yet to be named European opponent.
Ange set for hometown return as Tottenham lock in Australia tour - FTBL | The home of football in Australia https://t.co/4qaeIuVIHE
"Phoenix till they lose"
