1 Dwight Yorke
Sydney 2005-6
From Birmingham City, England

Success 5
Importance 5
Brand value 5
Terrace favour 4
Longevity 2

This has to be the easiest and least controversial pick on the entire list. Dwight Yorke’s one and only season in the A-League was an unequivocable success, both on the pitch and off it.

On the field, he led the team to its only Championship as captain, playing as the team’s creative force by moving into midfield from his traditional striker role.

Off the pitch, his impact was equally important. First and foremost he was a fantastic ambassador for a fledgling league desperate to create a fanbase. Whether it was out of respect or curiosity, opposing fans flocked to Sydney FC games because of the “Dwight factor”.

But what is most telling about the quality of Yorke is that he is only import to go onto better things after leaving the A-League, currently plying his trade in the Premier League with Sunderland at the age of 37.

Dwight spoke exclusively to FourFourTwo from Port of Spain where he has been busting his gut to get Trinidad and Tobago to another World Cup finals.

Dwight, you’re our number one A-League import. How does it feel?
I’d be very disappointed if I didn’t come in as number one!

You made coming to the A-League as a foreigner look easy. Was it?
There was nothing hard about settling into a great country like Australia. [The hardest thing] after all these years of playing in the Premiership, was giving that up. For me, that was the hardest bit, leaving the Premiership. I felt it was the right move, something new, something fresh, something exciting. I felt like that’s what I needed to do. I’m delighted I made that decision. I knew quite a bit about Australia when I came there, I knew the people, the weather and the atmosphere. I felt that it wouldn’t be a problem fitting in at all. I felt that once I got over the initial part of coming out of the Premiership, then everything else would be fine.

What has stayed with you about your time in Australia?
In terms of football, we all know that the game there is not as popular as it should be. It’s only when the World Cup comes around, the beginning of the A-League, that people started to take a lot of interest in it. I also understand that there’s a multicultural [element], different ethnic groups there that love football, as we call it, soccer in that country, and they were dying for something of that magnitude to happen. My time in Sydney was absolutely fabulous, it was a year and a bit there. Winning the A-League, the day of the Grand Final was absolutely enormous. For me I totally enjoyed that.

The hardest decision was when I decided to go back to Sunderland in the Championship. I felt heartbroken because I felt I had such a good connection. I won the A-League, and the fans and the people there had really made me welcome.
Everything seemed perfect at the time. Of course with Trinidad and Tobago qualifying for the World Cup it was absolutely tremendous. With the Socceroos doing the same, everything seemed perfect at that particular time.

However with Roy Keane going into the Championship and needing my leadership qualities to come in there, I felt that was a challenge that was too hard to resist. Although if Sydney FC had offered me a substantial deal I think my decision would have been to stay at Sydney FC.

However, going back to Sunderland to win the Championship in six months, and get promoted to the Premiership… I thought in the first place I would never get the chance to play in again. To come from the World Cup, to the Championship, winning the Championship, going into the Premiership, and still being in the Premiership at the age of 37 is something to be extremely proud about.

Only recently have Sydney FC found some off-field stability. When you were here, how did club politics affect you?
I think there’s still – I wouldn’t say amateurish – I still think they’re not quite up to the European standard in how to deal with players and how it all works. I felt I made a very good impression in terms of my first year at Sydney FC, winning the Grand Final of course. The feeling that football was on the up, with the Socceroos doing well, and the World Cup just finished, I felt that to get the sport to where it belongs, getting rid of me was certainly not the greatest idea.

I certainly felt that they should have done more to have kept me, and tried to promote the sport even further. But the decision had been made. There are people who run football clubs who make decisions above your head and they decided they no longer needed me there and they thought that the A-League would be a big success even with me leaving. As everyone knows, since I left, the A-League hasn’t seemed to be the same. I speak to people there, and I’m still in touch with a lot of people. They don’t seem to have the same sort of affection from when I was there.

What was behind your move from striker to midfield during your time in Sydney?
It was a decision made; as a striker who wants to score goals, you need other players to be able to create the opportunities for you. I felt that when I first came I had the opportunity to play up front and I enjoyed it for a short period of time but realised that if I were to get this team playing and get them up to a level that I expected the team to be at, I thought playing i n a deeper role would be a better contribution to the team. Ever since then that’s just how it seems [to have been].

Has that move to the midfield extended your career?
Definitely. At Sydney I could play literally anywhere there and could still be a very useful footballer in that division. But I felt that since I came back, and during the World Cup, all of that gave me additional confidence because I was used in the midfield role against extremely good players in the world and I still managed to compete against them.

How do you think the A-League is now regarded globally?
I think now Adelaide is doing well in the Asian Champions League, they are getting some good press. I feel that from what I gather and through my sources that the league still has the potential to be a huge success. The people at the top just need to be very clever in terms of who they bring in. There are always people interested – not only for the football, but everyone knows how great Sydney and Australia is as a country to live. I’m surprised there are not more people wanting to go there. But with the money as well, that might be an issue, because you’re not the greatest payers in the whole world. With the kind of money that’s in Europe at the moment for footballers, it’s quite difficult to attract players in that particular area.

Were there any moments from your time in the A-League that you cringe about how unprofessional it was?
I’m not going to be critical of the Australian league. I think it’s great, I think it was a great experience, it was great being there, the Grand Final… I just think that the setup is not as professional as in Europe. That’s something they need to work at, and they need to capitalise on the endorsement side of things, how to endorse the players, build the players’ awareness around the community to get people to come out and support the teams. I know how brilliant the people are and the fans are when it comes to their sport there. I think people have to be very careful how they look after the players they have.

How long did it take for you to get back up to speed when you originally went to Sunderland?
Not very long, maybe six weeks or so, I just needed a little bit of tinkering here and there and realised that I could come back to this kind of football. Four or five weeks to get my fitness up and I was good to go.

Did you ever doubt that you would be able to cut it when you went back?
Did I have any doubts when I went back? Nah – football for me is never a problem. It’s all a mental thing. If my mental attitude is right then the football side of things is pretty easy. It’s not a problem playing football, it is what I have done all my life and still do it now. For me it is all about the mental.

What would an A-League team have to offer you to get you back out here and how much of your decision will be based on financial considerations?
Compared to what we earn in this part of the world you guys are nothing [in terms of wages]. You guys are peanuts out there now, but saying that it [the option to go to Australia] is certainly not from a financial point of view. It’s got to be right, you’ve got to make me feel right about the whole situation, whether I’m playing or… everyone knows I’m doing my coaching thing as well. I can only play for so long. If it’s an offer I can’t refuse then I’ll have to look at it, but certainly it won’t be from a financial point of view.

What percentage chance do you give you playing again in the A-League?
50/50. Once I finish my contract here with Sunderland this year I’ll have to weigh it up. If my body still holds up to play another year or not. I’ll have to leave the option. I’ll never say never in football.