I asked for world class players not players from Victoria
I'm well versed on our international soccer players thanks.
None of those listed are of the class and calibre of Cahill, Kewell or Schwarzer.
Skoko is a South Australian BTW.
Skoko was born in Mt Gambier but he played his junior soccer in Victoria (North Geelong).
As for world class players I guess it depends on your definition of world class. For mine there has never been an Aussie I would call world class. Messi, Nani, Fabregas, Iniesta, Robben, Drogba, etc are world class. I love Timmy Cahill and the way he plays but he ain't in that group. When an Aussie starts starring for the likes of Barca, Madrid, Man U, Milan clubs then they'll be world class. Australian soccer players are technically deficient compared to the best. Viduka and Kewell were/are our most technically gifted players. If you mean playing on the world stage in one of the big leagues in Europe as being world class then Bresciano and Grella playing in Serie A and Viduka in EPL would easily fit in that category.
I don't come from the Emerald City and I'm not bagging Melbourne crowds. Fact is NSW was given 3 teams when the A-League was created and Victoria only 1. Why is that? I have no problems with NSW hosting the Asian Cup Final, I think they deserve it. Vics get a bee in their bonnet whenever major sporting events go to other cities. Why? As paranoid as South Australians
And Qld has 3 teams as well and Brisbane is getting bigger soccer crowds than Sydney. So Brisbane should host the Asian Cup final based on that theory
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You say why did I bring up basketball in a soccer thread and then you bring up major sporting events in general to bag Victorians as paranoid whingers
. Based on media stories such as the one in the other thread you'll find the paranoia these days is coming from east of the Blue Mountains especially from the Daily Telegraph.
Anyway as far as soccer in Oz goes, Melbourne supports the code where it matters - bums on seats and membership at both domestic and international matches. In modern professional sport, bigger crowd support means bigger and better sponsors = $$$. That's why the AFL is the biggest and wealthiest sport in the country. Having the most 8-12 year olds running around on a Sat/Sun means diddly squat as soccer's large participation levels in Oz have never converted into attendance, sponsorship or a financial powerbase. I don't have an issue with major sporting events being hosted in Sydney - Olympics, World Cup rugby, etc - as Sydney supports them very well. Geez I would love Sydney to host the AFL Grand Final every so often (unless Richmond was playing) to promote Aussie Rules in the land of the infidel
. I just believe when the Victory get 3 times the crowd Sydney did on the weekend it shows which city supports the code the most and where it matters and that support should be rewarded when it comes to major soccer tournaments. Even Adelaide and Brisbane have larger crowds now than Sydney. When the FFA tried to introduce a second Sydney side in the self-proclaimed "heartland" of Aussie soccer in Western Sydney they couldn't even generate the necessary finances to even get a club started
. Sydney is Rugby League heartland just as Melbourne is Aussie Rules heartland. Soccer just has much larger participation levels than both footy and NRL in each respective state.