Branko’s son Jason made his name in the NSL, debuting as a 16-year-old, before finding success in Holland with FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven. The younger Culina prefers to sit on the fence when it comes to comparing technical quality. “No doubt there’s been some great players out of the NSL who played in Europe,” he says. “On-field there’s not a massive difference. If anything, the game has evolved. It’s a lot quicker and more physical. As far as professionalism goes, you can’t compare it. There’s a massive difference in that respect.”

Sydney FC pair Liam Reddy and Nicky Carle also find it tough to separate the two leagues technically. Both players’ careers have overlapped in the NSL and A-League. “It’s a bit better standard in the A-League but still there were quality players in the NSL that would have definitely played in the A-League and made it a lot better too,” Reddy says. “Overall the A-League is better because we’re training every day and it’s a lot better for young kids to come in.” For Carle, the benefit the NSL had in its early days was that most Australian players didn’t head overseas. “So you had your best players here,” he says. “If you look at it now with all our players overseas, if we had them back in the A-League, how good would the league be? At the start of the NSL that’s how it used to be... [but] there were too many clubs at the end of it. Making less teams and smaller numbers, you’re able to pick the best players into the A-League. The last few years the recruitment of foreigners has been very good, which also helps the A-League. I’d like to say you always want your league to be getting better and hopefully it has.”

Comparing competitions remains difficult because all things are not equal. The A-League has benefited from more money being available in the game, with matches played at better stadiums and on higher-quality pitches. Coaching qualifications have improved, while average crowd attendance is up and the coverage on television is greater. The evolution of technology and digital media has allowed fans to better engage with the game and gain greater access.

When it comes to the product on the field, A-League boss Lyall Gorman believes it’s a very subjective decision. “It’s very hard to compare [the NSL] with the full-time nature and full-time professionalism of today. Obviously there’s the significant enhancement in sports science and training, the quality of the pitches, enhancement of the coaching qualifications, the exposure to Asia and the international football scene,” he says. “It’s a tough one. You’d anticipate with all those advancements I’ve mentioned that you see an increase in the product on the field, and underneath that as well. I think clubs have got smarter at foreign recruitment. The game’s possibly faster today than it was in the NSL era. Different views and debate is great for the game. I’d prefer fans to debate it.”

Passion and the vocal nature of crowd support is something that can be measured between the two leagues. Some players feel that the passion expressed by fans in the days of the NSL dwarfs anything experienced in
the A-League, thanks to the former’s rivalries and intense derbies. “Sydney United was very passionate,” Liam Reddy remembers. “They loved their club, that’s bred in them. They play there as juniors, they go there as kids and then they follow their NSL team. With the A-League clubs they’re passionate and they support their team. It’s just about trying to embrace the other supporters. Trying to get the Marconi, the Sydney United and the Sydney Olympic fans to come and support Sydney FC.”

Jason Culina believes there may have been more passion in the NSL, but says the A-League has a different type of crowd now. “It’s more family orientated,” he says. “More kids, which is great.” For Clint Bolton, passion in the NSL was generated by ethnicity which meant it was “a bit greater” than in the A-League. “[But] the first couple of years of the A-League crowds were fantastic,” he says. “We need to get back to using the marquee system. The A-League is still young.”

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