The future of the A-League Men centres on its ability to find, develop, and capitalise on young talent.
It is the reality for pretty much every league around the world, a sentiment long prevailing among league observers and, in an interview with ESPN last month, acknowledged by A-League commissioner Nick Garcia. Why? Australian football has to deal with the dual challenges of existing as a smaller player in the local sporting context and being a minnow in a sea full of leviathans in global football; it simply makes sense.
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While the ultimate aim of any sporting league is trophies, a pursuit of silverware set against a backdrop of developing young talent sits more in line with the fiscal capabilities of contemporary A-League Men clubs. It allows them to further tap into international transfer revenues, while the excitement, coverage, and affection that has followed players such as Nestory Irankunda, Thomas Waddingham, and Josh Nisbet demonstrate the drawing power of the classic "the local kid done good" narrative.
They're also cheap, which means that clubs inclined to splash the cash on difference-makers can surround them with a cadre of effective youth players to maximise the return on investment on the big names. Think Jake Hollman and Raphael Borges Rodrigues working alongside Ulises Dávila and Valère Germain at Macarthur FC. And really, what do clubs have to lose? There's no relegation or prize money in the A-League Men and, so long as they're being coached in at least a semi-competent manner, playing the kids can often have something of an insulating effect on coach's job security.
Are newly crowned premiers the Central Coast Mariners the ultimate embodiment of these goals? With their quest to follow up last season's championship with a triumvirate of plate, championship and AFC Cup still on track, their phoenix-like rise -- as opposed to, you know, the rise of second-placed Wellington Phoenix -- from basketcase to heavyweights, with a seemingly continuous production line of young talent, is powerful. Because for all of their work in selling players, success is still measured in silver; that's why nobody can claim Adelaide United have had a better season despite sending players to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich.
Indeed, this season would demonstrate you absolutely can win with youth. Both the Mariners and Nix have separated themselves from the rest of the league this season while fielding some of its youngest sides; when weighting for minutes played, the Phoenix's average age of 26.3 is the third youngest in the competition, while the Mariners are second youngest at 26 -- and that's with 39-year-old Danny Vukovic playing every minute of every game this season.
Indeed, it probably shouldn't be lost that players such as Vukovic, Dávila, Kosta Barbarouses, Damien Da Silva, and Mathew Leckie, still have a key role to play in the league. These players not only bring obvious class and ability, but also provide guidance to young players. They also possess the talent and hunger for success that tests the youngsters on the pitch, forcing them to adapt and grow. Local veterans such as Storm Roux, Leigh Broxham, and Luke Brattan provide a level of professionalism that serves as a living example of what teenagers around the league need to do. And while season ticket holders, sponsors, and broadcasters are enthused by youth, the commercial, media, and attendance reality is that they aren't paying to support a youth team getting battered every week.
Finishing more than 10 points clear of third-placed Melbourne Victory, few can argue that the Mariners and Phoenix haven't played the best football in the league this season. In Gosford, Mark Jackson inherited a champion team and, despite also assuming their shoestring budget, has somehow kept the Mariners playing positive, effective football. The Mariners opened the season with a four-game losing run and had to deal with the departures of Jason Cummings, Sammy Silvera, Nectarios Triantis, and -- mid-season -- Marco Túlio. Jackson had to adapt to the changing characteristics of the players available to him while incorporating both his vision for the club and an overarching existing framework -- like Nisbet being deployed further forward this season, promptly leading the league in assists, and earning a Socceroos call.
In Wellington, Giancarlo Italiano has surpassed all expectations by taking stock of the talent that he had available and deploying it in a manner that allows them to keep winning football games. The Phoenix don't tend to have a lot of the ball, or create a lot of chances -- only the Western Sydney Wanderers have created less this season, and only the Newcastle Jets created fewer shots on target per 90 minutes -- but they're clinical with the chances they do fashion, often in transition, and have proven adroit at denying their foes looks on goal. No side has conceded fewer goals than the Kiwis this season, and even when opponents get shots away they're outperforming their expected goals (xG) conceded mark by an astounding 13.6. That's in large part thanks to 21-year-old custodian Alex Paulsen, the latest A-League star linked with a big-money move to Europe. Paulsen was backed to become the Phoenix's first-choice this season by Italiano, and he responded by becoming the A-League Men's goalkeeper of the season and preventing a staggering 12.9 goals.
Key in all this is that Jackson and Italiano have proven to be eminent coaches, recognising the strengths and limitations of their squads and guiding them in a manner that shines a light on the former instead of being focused entirely on minimising the latter. You can win with kids, but at times their raw development means the task of threading the needle is more complicated. When things go wrong, young players can spiral pretty quickly if you're not able to adjust and find a way to put them back in positions to succeed -- see Adelaide falling out of the playoff race -- and there are inevitable adjustment and developmental periods associated with attempting new things with them. But the duo have found a way this season.
Stability is key, too. Not necessarily in coaching -- Jackson and Italiano are both in their first years -- but in the continuation of a general philosophy and overarching structure. The Mariners are penurious and in the past 12 months they sold half-a-dozen difference makers, lost a coach, and said goodbye to a heart-and-soul CEO; but what those figures built remains. The Mariners spent several years finding a way to make things work; a lot of that has come through youth and as a result, their average age this season hasn't been through a select group of teenagers dragging down the figure but, instead, a core group of 21- to 24-year-olds who are steeled at senior level. A lot of the players who lifted the plate on Wednesday evening were getting minutes under Alen Stajcic when they were at the bottom of the A-League Men ladder getting knocked pillar to post, but the vision has now won out.
Italiano, meanwhile, was promoted into the main chair after serving as an assistant to Ufuk Talay, and thus brought with him a baseline understanding of the club, the players, and the community that he could build upon and sprinkle his own "Chiefy Dust" on.
So play the kids and win, is it? Simple? Well no, because though the Mariners and Phoenix are the second- and third-youngest sides in the league, those sandwiched around them -- the Jets and Western United -- are two of the worst-performing sides in the competition this season. Both have been beset by problems denying them stability this season. The former were forced to operate off a shoestring budget bestowed upon them by their caretakers for several seasons, and the latter were weighed down by a nomadic existence that has only found a stopgap solution in the form of their training base in Tarneit. Thanks to injuries, budgets and other assorted sins, both the Jets and United -- as well as the fifth-youngest Perth Glory -- have largely had their youth hoisted upon them this season rather than it be part of any apparent base philosophy.
Inevitably there's a level of fortune that the Mariners and Phoenix have been able to keep these cores somewhat healthy, but there's also a level of being able to create your luck, of nurturing a squad and culture that can absorb blows and find a way to overcome them.
Ultimately, to say the Mariners and Phoenix provide a template for the league moving forward is an incomplete statement. Yes, the duo have demonstrated that it is possible to excel -- continue to excel in the case of the Mariners -- while relying on a contingent of young players.
But this success hasn't happened accidentally. It's come within a framework built over years and that is bespoke to the circumstances surrounding their teams and the talent enshrined within.