It seems that wherever you look around the A-League you will find players who have been recruited from the Victorian Premier League. But does this make it the best competition outside the A-League in the country?
Certainly NSW supporters might argue otherwise, but a number of players – many of them, it must be said, ex-NSL men – who have made their mark in the A-League have spent time in recent seasons in Victoria’s elite competition.
Some had no alternative with the NSL shutting down in April 2004, while a handful went up and played in Asia when the curtain finally came down on “old soccer”, the bulk of footballers had to settle for part-time action in their home state while they waited to see if they would be picked up by A-League sides.
In Queensland, midfield dynamo Massimo Murdocca – sadly missed by the under-performing Roar through his long injury absence – came from VPL side Fawkner, having been overlooked by Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick. This season the mighty midget has been joined by centre back Sasha Ognenovski, recruited by Miron Bleiberg from VPL side Preston. Both had played in the NSL before, the former with South Melbourne, the latter with the Melbourne Knights.
The New Zealand Knights have loaded up with ex-VPL men, although none of them are originally from Melbourne. Sydneysider Michael Turnbull was in goal for Kingston before getting the call from Auckland, while Brazilian Fernando de Moraes and Ivory Coast national Jonas Salley were at Bob Jane Stadium wearing South Melbourne’s colours.
At Newcastle, veteran striker Vaughan Coveny is still making his presence felt after plundering the goals down the decade for South Melbourne in both the old NSL and the VPL. Melbourne Victory had a nibble at the Kiwi frontman before the inaugural A-League season but the two could not come to agreement, so he eventually headed up to the Hunter Valley. Perth’s Naum Sekulovski spent time at Preston Lions, while the Glory’s first season player, Young Socceroo Bill Celeski, was at Bulleen before heading west.
Not surprisingly Melbourne Victory has the highest compliment of Victorian state league veterans on its roster, with several of its squad having spent time with VPL sides before the A-League formed. Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos was a hero in the penalty shoot out which delivered Bulleen a VPL title a few years ago, while Daniel Piorkowski was signed from the Melbourne Knights and Vince Lia , Michael Ferrante and Carl Recchia (now no longer with the club) all came from Fawkner.
Steve Pantelidis was signed from Heidelberg while Roddy Vargas, a revelation at the heart of Victory’s defence this season, was plucked from Gully. Simon Storey was a Victorian U21 Player of the Year while he was at Gully, while the Victory’s most recent signing, James Robinson, came from Richmond, a Victorian state league one side.
Stuart Munro coached and played in Sydney and Melbourne in the old NSL after moving to Australia after a lengthy career with Glasgow Rangers. He also coached this season’s VPL minor premiers, Oakleigh, and says that while it is hard to definitively say that the Victorian competition is the strongest, the fact that there are three A-League sides in NSW probably means that it is.
"With Sydney, the Mariners and Newcastle all up there, there was more of a demand for local players in the first A-League season. There is only the Victory down here, so opportunities are limited. Players who maybe were the calibre of several of those picked up by A-League sides in NSW are still playing in the VPL whereas they are not in the equivalent NSW competition."
Certainly NSW supporters might argue otherwise, but a number of players – many of them, it must be said, ex-NSL men – who have made their mark in the A-League have spent time in recent seasons in Victoria’s elite competition.
Some had no alternative with the NSL shutting down in April 2004, while a handful went up and played in Asia when the curtain finally came down on “old soccer”, the bulk of footballers had to settle for part-time action in their home state while they waited to see if they would be picked up by A-League sides.
In Queensland, midfield dynamo Massimo Murdocca – sadly missed by the under-performing Roar through his long injury absence – came from VPL side Fawkner, having been overlooked by Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick. This season the mighty midget has been joined by centre back Sasha Ognenovski, recruited by Miron Bleiberg from VPL side Preston. Both had played in the NSL before, the former with South Melbourne, the latter with the Melbourne Knights.
The New Zealand Knights have loaded up with ex-VPL men, although none of them are originally from Melbourne. Sydneysider Michael Turnbull was in goal for Kingston before getting the call from Auckland, while Brazilian Fernando de Moraes and Ivory Coast national Jonas Salley were at Bob Jane Stadium wearing South Melbourne’s colours.
At Newcastle, veteran striker Vaughan Coveny is still making his presence felt after plundering the goals down the decade for South Melbourne in both the old NSL and the VPL. Melbourne Victory had a nibble at the Kiwi frontman before the inaugural A-League season but the two could not come to agreement, so he eventually headed up to the Hunter Valley. Perth’s Naum Sekulovski spent time at Preston Lions, while the Glory’s first season player, Young Socceroo Bill Celeski, was at Bulleen before heading west.
Not surprisingly Melbourne Victory has the highest compliment of Victorian state league veterans on its roster, with several of its squad having spent time with VPL sides before the A-League formed. Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos was a hero in the penalty shoot out which delivered Bulleen a VPL title a few years ago, while Daniel Piorkowski was signed from the Melbourne Knights and Vince Lia , Michael Ferrante and Carl Recchia (now no longer with the club) all came from Fawkner.
Steve Pantelidis was signed from Heidelberg while Roddy Vargas, a revelation at the heart of Victory’s defence this season, was plucked from Gully. Simon Storey was a Victorian U21 Player of the Year while he was at Gully, while the Victory’s most recent signing, James Robinson, came from Richmond, a Victorian state league one side.
Stuart Munro coached and played in Sydney and Melbourne in the old NSL after moving to Australia after a lengthy career with Glasgow Rangers. He also coached this season’s VPL minor premiers, Oakleigh, and says that while it is hard to definitively say that the Victorian competition is the strongest, the fact that there are three A-League sides in NSW probably means that it is.
"With Sydney, the Mariners and Newcastle all up there, there was more of a demand for local players in the first A-League season. There is only the Victory down here, so opportunities are limited. Players who maybe were the calibre of several of those picked up by A-League sides in NSW are still playing in the VPL whereas they are not in the equivalent NSW competition."
