2013 – Year in Review
Well 2013 is almost over, it’s time for our yearly ‘What the hell happened in 2013 blog’. I’m sure there is plenty of stuff off the left off, but here is some of the action.
January
Sydney 7 Wellington 1. Del Piero put four past a helpless Mark Paston in front of 12,691 fans. Even Jason Culina found the back of the net before he dramatically left the Sky Blues only a month later. The six goal win wouldn’t be enough to see Sydney see finals action.
Melbourne clubs enjoyed January with Victory (10) and Heart (9) both collecting points.
February
The Gosford faithful were treated to 11 goals in 2 home games that sent shockwaves through the remainder of the league. Graham Arnold’s men destroyed a hapless Wellington before shipping half a dozen goals past the Victory defence. Youngster Mitch Duke was the only player to score in both games.
New boys Western Sydney Wanderers grabbed the maximum 12 point during the month.
March
Almost 20,000 fans saw a determined Sydney hold onto a crucial point against newest rival Western Sydney after Brett Emerton was sent off before the hour mark. During a heated encounter Del Piero (who else) saw the visitors take the first half lead. Shannon Cole gave the RBB something to sing about after the Emerton send off but honours were shared as Parramatta gave the A-League a taste of years to come.
Perth made the most of May picking up 10 points from five games. Western Sydney won the premiership in their inaugural year.
April
Finals time and the Central Coast finally received their fairytale ending after defeating the highly fancied Wanderers in what would be Mat Ryan’s last game for the club before establishing himself in Europe. The finals weren’t without controversy with Perth left to rue a missed penalty to see them exit the finals. Daniel McBreen won the golden boot award.
All five finals were played at different stadiums. Etihad, Hindmarsh, Parramatta, Bluetongue and Allianz.
May/June
Our focus turned to the Socceroos as we looked to qualify for Brazil 2014. On paper is seemed a certainty but sadly on the pitch it was much tougher. A gutsy 1-1 draw in Japan gave the Socceroos much needed hope before captain Lucas Neill even made the scoresheet against a hapless Jordan. A win in Sydney would see the Socceroos make the final 32 teams, thankfully an 82nd minute headed from Josh Kennedy sent euphoria throughout the entire nation.
Harry Kewell signed a one year deal with Melbourne Heart.
July
Reality set in for the Socceroos as they quickly fell from cloud nine after their World Cup qualification. A young squad headed over to South Korea to compete in the East Asian cup. Pitted against South Korea, Japan and China the Socceroos came away from the tournament in last place, only picking up a solitarily point. At one stage we found ourselves 4-1 down to China, thankfully Adam Taggert and Mitch Duke added some respectability but a 4-3 loss is never acceptable to China, no matter who is in the squad.
On a positive note Manchester United and Liverpool came to town and attracted massive crowds across Sydney (83,127) and Melbourne (95,446). What a magical week it was for every football fan in Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjPY8mJL0lo (You’ll Never Walk Alone – Victory v Liverpool @ MCG)
August/September
Warning signs are starting to off back home as the #HolgerOut campaign on social media begins to gather momentum as the Socceroos are embarrassed against Brazil. In a score line more reserved for tennis the Socceroos fell 6-0 to the samba kings.
October
It just got worse for Holger as once again we lost 6-0, this time to France. Osieck was relieved of his duties as caretaker coach Aurelio Vidmar oversaw a 3-0 victory over Canada. Say what you will about Holger but he did get Australia to Brazil, but may have done some damage to our prospects getting the result. Thankfully the A-League made its return and as new coach Josep Gombau showed what his new Adelaide team was capable of with a 3-1 season opening win over Perth.
Victory coach Ange Postecoglu got the nod for the Socceroos job over Graham Arnold. Arnold would end up in Japan as the league lost two of their best coaches.
November
After a poor start Sydney showed coach Frank Farina and the Cove what they were capable of. Winning four straight matches in November Sydney went from pretenders to contenders in four short weeks. Brisbane also picked up 12 points for the month and comfortably sat atop the table, even without Berisha and Broich playing at the standard we know they are capable. Newcastle began a surge up the table and Adam Taggert threw his hat into the Socceroos ring after an impressive hat trick against Melbourne Heart.
Socceroos superstar Mark Schwarzer announced his retirement after a record 109 appearances. John Aloisi will always be remembered for scoring ‘that penalty’ but let’s not forget the guy between the sticks making those incredible saves.
December
Alistair Edwards and John Aloisi will spend their new years with the head in the employment section after receiving their marching orders. Edwards was the victim of a player revolt, whilst Aloisi was a victim of players not performing on the pitch and starting the season with 12 winless performances. On the field we saw Brisbane continue life at the top with the Wanderers and Victory as their main challenges.
The Socceroos were dealt a cruel blow for 2014 after drawing Spain, The Netherlands (both 2010 finalists) and Chile for the World Cup.
That’s a brief summary of 2013, here’s what some of our followers thought
Twitter (@_FTSAL)
If your answer isn’t the Roos making the WC then something is wrong with you.
alternatively, Holger getting the sack!
Best moment- Beating wsw 3-1 at home Worst – Losing the semi final 2-0 and that crazy goal from Ono ruined me
St. Sokkah of Straya @StPatrick19
Best moment was the sacking of Holger Osieck. Worst moment was it wasn’t earlier.
Best – football in my own backyard (North Sydney), firming friendships Worst – Arnie and Wee Mac to Japan!
BEST:- pic.twitter.com/SgJZiN9yi7
I retract my earlier Best and offer this instead: pic.twitter.com/QHNxcZKcEs
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FromTheStandsAl)
Stej Bosnjak Kennedy’s goal that sent us to the WC
Katie Smith Central Coast Mariners win grand final. 2 nil
Nick Pleadin Shinji juggling goal against melb – majestic!
Josh Howe Well my obvious highlight would be CCM finally getting over the line. And lowlight, probably the bad off-field publicity WSW and the RBB have gotten.
Cam Gordon The Nix finally winning in Melbourne.
Chris Göuw My highlight is every away NSW game I go to. All of them have their own little anecdotes and stories not football related that all are memorable. Also all the friends I’ve made this season
Thanks for all your support over 2013, looking forward to an exciting 2014 ‘From the Stands’.
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