Inside Issue 3 Cover Page: Wayne Snowden

3 About us

Editorials/Opinions

4 Chris Paraskevas: takes a critical

look at the A League.

6 Ben Somerford: Is HTH’s Aussies

abroad man in the know

8 Mike Salter: Gets nostalgic about

the 2 and 3’s of Football.

10 Wayne Snowden: Is the

Fisherman’s friend and HTH’s

resident cartoonist. Frank Farina

gets the full Snowden treatment.

12 Stuart Randal: The World game’s

English Premier League blogger

looks at the crazy EPL season.

14 Sunil Awasthi: Asks if Scott

McDonald will ever score for

Australia?

16 Shane Davis: Goes Double Dutch

18 Wayne Snowden: Is Sydney FC

coach Vitezslav Lavicka on a

crusade?

19 Chippy Brady: What’s on

Chippy’s shoulder this month?

20 Ben O’Neil: Says we should go

Deutsch and Dutch.

21 Usman Azad: Takes a look at

Perth’s Fox in the box.

24 Celebrity HTH Interview:

Canberra based political reporter

Latika Bourke.

26 The HTH Back Page: List of all

independent Football media in

Australia

Over 10,000 readers have read

the first two editions of Half-Times

Heroes. Thanks for supporting HTH and

Australian football.

HTH has a collection of football writers

from the world’s biggest football

websites all in one place.

Chris Paraskveas the leading Australian

writer from Goal.com, Stuart Randall

from the World Game, Ben Somerford

from 442 and the Roar. Ben O Neil also

from 442. Not forgetting well known

independent football writers like Mike

“the football Tragic” Salter.

Wait till you see who gets the Wayne

Snowden’s treatment this month. His

cartoons will make you lol.

A massive thanks to all HTH football

writers, and Wayne Snowden. Thanks to

Pete Alexandrou in setting up the brand

new website:

www.halftimeheroes.com.au

HTH is also glad to welcome Stuart

Randall, the English Premier League

blogger from the World Game.

Thanks to Latika Bourke, political

reporter from 2UE and massive football

fan, for answering some of HTH’s hard

hitting questions.

A big thank you must be given to

Eamonn Flanagan for all his hard work

and effort in creating Half Time Heroes.

Eamonn is a tireless advocate of football

in Australia. He is truly an inspiration.

The HTH football has now been passed

to me and I hope you enjoy this issue as

much as the last two.

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Paul Williams. Ex-SBS commentator,

journalist and radio host on 2KY’s

football fever. Paul sadly passed away

recently. He was a true gentleman in

football. His love for the game will be

surely missed.

Peace and Football,

Con Stamocostas

Hi football fans and

welcome to Half-

Time Heroes Issue 3.

N-S-L

Those three letters that in a

modern context are sometimes uttered

with the same level of dread as when a

Hobbit dares to speak of Sauron (I make

no apologies for the non-nerds upon

whom that analogy is lost).

Yet, for all the reluctance to draw

comparisons between the current

incarnation of Australia’s top flight and

its predecessor, the resemblance is at

times striking.

Not so much in the style of football,

where the A-League is arguably still

lagging behind, but certainly in the basic

errors being made with regards to the

promotion of the game and relationship-

building with fans.

Yours truly has increasingly sensed that

the FFA and A-League bodies

approached this season with

overconfidence, relying on the return of

Socceroos and the arrival of marquee

Robbie Fowler to act in themselves as an

effective promotional campaign.

The Australian football public though

have proven to be particularly difficult

to please, ignoring the call to flock to see

the likes of Culina, Coyne, Sterjovski,

Burns – and to a lesser extent, Fowler.

Some might argue that this reflects a

lack of appreciation for the qualities that

these players bring to the local game,

perhaps stemming from a general lack

of understanding for football itself.

It is statistically shown (well, not really,

I thought I’d just throw that in there to

give this piece a sense of legitimacy)

that vast majority of A-League fans,

hardcore or casual, probably don’t have

Chris Paraskevas says promoting

the A League is a hard sell.

(Is the promotion of the A League

good enough?)

a level of knowledge of the game

discerning enough to see the value in

the aforementioned footballers

On the flip side, there is the argument

that the fact that fans north of the

border in particular haven’t bankrupted

themselves to see Jacob Burns snap

ankles shows that they are not ready to

be easily swayed by pundits glorifying

the return of what are essentially

unspectacular players.

Regardless of which of the above views

is taken, the general lack of promotion

and advertising of the league in the

build-up to its opening weekend was

conspicuous, while the arrival of English

Premier League outfits were wasted in

pre-season with no broadcast of the

matches.

And whilst the media launch of the new

A-League season was complete with

party pies – gleefully accepted by Chris

Coyne (and probably Charlie Miller in a

quiet and dark corner of the room) if

memory serves

me correctly – the one thing I couldn’t

stop wondering throughout was:

Why haven’t I seen the new commercial

before?

Perhaps I was the only one who missed

it – if I didn’t though and if it only began

being shown days out from the start of

the new season, it is indicative of the

lack of effort to engage with fans both

loyal and potential.

The reality of the situation is that, bar an

exponential rise in the quality of football

and players, the FFA cannot rely on the

entertainment provided on the pitch to

raise the game’s profile.

Domestic football in this country is –

and always has been – an exercise in

marketing as much as football

development.

And the current mob haven’t been much

more effective than their ancestors.

“bar an exponential rise in

the quality of football and

players, the FFA cannot rely

on the entertainment

provided on the pitch to

raise the game’s profile.”

Looking Beyond 2010

While the focus of most of the

Australian football public’s attention is

currently with the Socceroos ahead of

South Africa 2010, the recent under-20’s

World Cup showed an eye needs to be

cast on the future of the national team

especially with Brazil 2014 in mind too.

The Young Socceroos left the Egypt

tournament early, bottom of their group

and without a point.

Indeed, with Australia expected to be in

transition post-2010 with ‘the golden

generation’ moving into veteran status,

it’s clear the Socceroos will need a

changing of the guard. And this

generation will be a tough act to follow.

The major worry, though, is there are

precious few youngsters putting their

hands up like players such as Kewell

and Mark Viduka did when they

emerged as stars at a young age.

The aforementioned pair developed

their football careers in contrasting

paths, with Kewell entering into the

English system early while Viduka

stylishly came through ranks

at NSL club Melbourne Knights

before heading for Croatia.

Nowadays, with the Hyundai

A-League there are new

pathways for youngsters but some are

still trying to crack it via Europe at a

young age.

Indeed, one of the ‘great hopes’ for

Australia is Bolton’s 20-year-old Aaron

Mooy, who has been at the Reebok since

he was 14. He is a midfielder with an eye

for a pass and the ability to finish as

well.

Mooy was in Egypt with the Young

Socceroos and scored in the loss to

Brazil, but he wasn’t fully able to

showcase his skills in a side which

struggled. But back at Bolton he’s been

attracting plenty of positive reviews

with suggestions he isn’t far away from

pressing for the first-team, much like

Kewell did at a young age. Bolton youth

coach Peter Farrell said in late 2008, “He

has all the ability to be a Premier League

player. He isn't ready yet but he has got

the attitude."

And Mooy continued to make progress

with Farrell commenting after the

youngster’s graduation to the reserves

team in June 2009, “He still needs to

work on his game, like the times when

he hasn't got the ball,

Ben Someford

looks at the

Socceroos

future beyond

2010

(The Socceroos are struggling to

replace Mark Viduka. pic by David

Luu)

but ability-wise, he oozes class. He

stands out because of his technical

ability and his awareness on the ball.”

Mooy was famously named Player of the

Tournament at the prestigious Terborg

Toernooi in the Netherlands in May this

year, before winning a call-up from Pim

Verbeek to the Socceroos squad for

August’s Ireland match.

It would be unfair to expect too much of

a 20-year-old, but certainly Mooy is one

which Australians need to keep an eye

on.

And there is some thought Mooy is too

small and lightweight, so there’s no

doubt 2010 will be an important year in

his development as he tries to excel

beyond Bolton’s reserves side playing

against grown men.

Another pair who are highly regarded

Aussie youngsters are Nathan Burns, 21,

and Ryan McGowan, 20, and these two

have opted for similar pathways this

season.

Burns, who was formerly with Adelaide

United, is owned by AEK Athens but

struggled for opportunities last season

so he’s out on loan at second tier club

AO Kerkyra now and so far he’s

impressed with 2 goals already.

McGowan, who is from Adelaide too but

joined Scottish club Hearts as a

youngster, has left Edinburgh on loan

for First Division club Ayr United where

he impressed on his debut with a

brilliant performance in midfield capped

by a goal.

Indeed, this pair has opted to drop down

a division simply to play football and

that may fast-track their progress.

But there’s many more youngsters

around Europe to look out for including

Dean Bouzanis, Rhys Williams, Christian

Esposito, Ersan Gulum, James Holland,

Nikita Rukavytsya, Chris Herd and

Oliver Bozanic, so hopefully they can all

progress up their pathways in the next

4-5 years and take us somewhere in

2014.

Embarking on competitive football for the first time in my mid-twenties, I had to find a position on the field where "reading of the game" could partly make up for, well, a lack of technical ability.

Centre-half? Not tall enough.

Goalkeeper? Ditto, not to mention a

wussy desire to save my fingers for the

use of my beloved bass guitar. So right

fullback it was, and I quickly found

myself well-suited to the role. Three

happy years with the Macquarie

Dragons AA8s later, I'd improved out of

sight as a player.

Not that my technical qualities had

undergone much of a change; my first

touch remains an embarrassment to the

game.

But as for anticipation, positioning and a

sense of when to make an overlapping

run...I had, to my surprise, made plenty

of progress in these areas.

And this is probably why I've always

admired the great fullbacks of our era.

Javier Zanetti, Giovanni van

Bronckhorst, Cafu, Bixente Lizarazu, and

even - on his day - Stan Lazaridis.

That last name brings me to the point of

this article: Australian football doesn't

seem to be producing fullbacks of

quality anymore.

This dawned on me while I was

watching our Young Socceroos struggle

vainly to make an impression in their

World Cup in Egypt. Occupying the

fullback positions were two players

whom most observers would describe

as central defenders by inclination:

Matthew Jurman and Daniel Mullen.

And it was abundantly clear, especially

during their opening game against the

Czech Republic, that these two were

unlikely to provide the attacking

support required of a good fullback.

Mike Salter the footballtragic

looks at the Socceroos fullback

options on the road to South

Africa 2010

They did not trust themselves on the

ball, and their movement off it was

sluggish.

Then there was the international

friendly against the Netherlands in

October. Luke Wilkshire (pictured), a

midfielder for much of his early career,

has converted himself into a solid right

fullback by dint of hard work and

considerable tactical intelligence.

But David Carney, on the other flank, is

merely the latest of a number of wingers

who have been "shifted" in recent years.

And his unsuitability for the role was

badly exposed twice in the second

period, once by Eljero Elia and once by

Ryan Babel.

Quality opponents, certainly, but they

found the former Sydney FC man easy

prey. It is largely the same story in the

A-League; many players occupying the

wide defensive roles are converted

midfielders or central defenders.

Think of poor Shannon Cole, an attacker

by instinct, whose positioning at

fullback is legendarily suspect. Or Josh

McCloughan at the Roar, an archetypal

central defender who is doing his best in

a patently unsuitable position.

The fullback role is crucial because of

the linkage it provides between the

defence and the midfield. A fullback who

understands his role often means the

difference between playing out from the

back and resorting to constant long

balls.

The latter, of course, is the last thing

anyone wants for Australian sides. If we

want to become No.1 in the world game,

we could do worse than develop some

good No.2s and No.3s.

“I've always admired the great fullbacks

of our era. Javier Zanetti, Giovanni van

Bronckhorst, Cafu, Bixente Lizarazu,

and even - on his day - Stan Lazaridis.”

Stuart Randall the EPL

blogger for the World

Game joins HTH.

City Help Sheikh up the EPL

For years now, the Premier

League’s pointy end has been the

domain of four clubs. Sure Everton have

had a dip, Spurs fell just short twice, but

not since 90’s Newcastle has there been

a genuine interloper amongst the big

guns.

Well this may just be the year. After all

the hype and millions spent, Manchester

City are proving themselves worthy

challengers to the established hierarchy

in this unpredictable Premier League

season.

For so long one of English football’s

basket case clubs (Spurs and Newcastle

the other foundation members. Entry

requirements; nice round, poor

ownership, loads of fans, rather good in

the 60’s), City have become a bona fide

challenger.

The Old City is gone. This is i-city 2.0, if

you will. And all its taken is a 200

million pound takeover by Sheikh

Mansour

and an outlay of a further 100 million on

proven Premier League talent.

And it’s that talent that’s been the key.

So often takeovers are followed by a raft

of overseas signings who naturally take

their time to settle. But Mark Hughes

has signed players who have hit the

ground running. Barry, Adebayor,

Toure and Tevez. Quality additions who

know the EPL inside out.

And along with the shiny new stars,

current players have stepped up. Shay

Given, the best shot stopper in the

league. Craig Bellamy, in the form of his

life, and Stephen Ireland, home-grown,

has not missed a beat.

They may not win it this year, but

believe me, City are here to stay.

And that’s because while they’ve moved

forward, much of the league has stayed

still, or regressed. No major names

arrived in the off season, as

consolidation became a watch word.

As a result, there could be a major

shake-up at season’s end.

Arsenal have been at their beguiling best

at times, but after losing twice in

Manchester, the old doubts about their

resilience and squad strength remain.

But it’s Liverpool’s demise that is most

shocking. Swaggeringly brilliant against

Stoke and Hull. Awfully inadequate in

defeats against Spurs, Villa, Chelsea and

Sunderland.

Alonso’s departure has hit them hard,

and the pressure on Gerrard and Torres

to perform is suffocating. Benitez is

facing his toughest task yet as the critics

pounce on everything from his

demeanor to team selection, and with 4

defeats already this season, the title may

well be gone.

Along with City, Spurs have been

impressive, scoring for fun but tellingly

slipped to defeat against United and

Chelsea. They are also undermanned in

key positions but have goals aplenty and

the shrewd hand of ‘Arry on the tiller.

Aston Villa who pushed hard for the 4th

and final Champions League spot last

season have shown in victories over

Liverpool and Chelsea that they are well

equipped to break the glass ceiling,

along with a resurgent Sunderland as

the Premier League settles down for

what could be a dramatic campaign

“it’s Liverpool’s demise that

is most shocking.

Swaggeringly brilliant

against Stoke and Hull.

Awfully inadequate in

defeats against Spurs, Villa,

Chelsea and Sunderland.”

The McDonald Malady

You don’t need to be a numbers freak to know about one of the most discussed facts in Australian football of late: that Scott McDonald, as of this writing, has 15 appearances for the Socceroos and (gasp) no goals. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Zero. The ol’ onion bag ain’t bulged once. It’s puzzling. How does a guy in the prime of his career (he’s 26), who’s the third-highest scorer in the history of the Scottish Premier League, a guy who was SPL Golden Boot as his team won the title two seasons ago, a guy who’s scored key goals against giants like Manchester United and AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League…how does he stay quiet in the green and gold? How does our best striker at club level not end up on the score sheet at international level? He made his debut in the green and gold in early 2006 in Bahrain. Considered

slightly unlucky to not make the 2006 World Cup squad or the 2007 Asian Cup squad, the Socceroo career of ‘Macca’ only took off, at least in terms of appearances, in the post-Mark Viduka era, co-inciding with his move to Celtic. Sure, we have seen some sparks from the little fella, like his assist for Mark Bresciano’s goal in the 3-0 rout of Qatar in our opening 2010 World Cup qualifier, or his good performance as a lone striker in the recent friendly win against Ireland, or his meritorious out-of-position performance in a poor Socceroo side away to South Korea. But generally, there have been too many ineffective efforts. Too much of say, the World Cup qualifier v Iraq in Brisbane last year, or the qualifier v Uzbekistan in Sydney earlier this year. Starting, playing around an hour, struggling to get involved, perhaps even in the most basic way, and then being subbed. And that’s not even counting, say, his game v Bahrain in June, where he missed a good chance set up for him by (gasp!) Brett Holman. It’s frustrating for all involved.

Sunil Awasthi says that with

a World Cup looming,

Australian football

desperately needs one of its

big guns to start firing in the

green and gold.

(I only like scoring against Milan and Rangers!) (Photo by Cam W) Improving McDonald’s (pictured) lot in the green and gold mainly rests in the hands of two people. The first is the Socceroo manager, Pim Verbeek. Much to the disgust of many, the Dutchman generally favours a formation with a lone striker. This is a role, friendly v Ireland excluded, that is not to McDonald’s strength. We have seen previously that a two-striker Josh Kennedy-Macca combination up front can be very effective (indeed, the only games they started together in World Cup qualification resulted in Australia’s two biggest wins of the campaign: the 3-0 and 4-0 home wins v Qatar). If only Verbeek started with two strikers more often, we would surely see better performances for the national team from McDonald. He is well-suited to play off the taller Kennedy.

The second is, well, Scotty Mac himself. Many will tell you that so much of greatness comes from within. Whether he’s been well-served by his manager or not, McDonald needs to personally lift his performances in the green and gold. Perhaps standing up to some of the opposition from his club manager to some of his trips to play in the green and gold would be a start. He can’t expect other people to serve him better if he won’t serve himself better. The emergence of McDonald is a key, and underrated perhaps, factor as we begin to size up the Socceroos’ prospects at South Africa 2010. Australia is not a country that is presently blessed with a lot of striking options. They can’t always rely on the likes of attacking midfielders Cahill and Kewell, as well as Kennedy, to get goals. Most other nations have their top club-level striker contributing for the national team. So too it should be for us. Because a misfiring ‘Macca’ may well be the misfire that, on world football’s biggest stage next year, Australia cannot afford.

“Australia is not a country

that is presently blessed

with a lot of striking options.

They can’t always rely on the

likes of attacking midfielders

Cahill and Kewell as well as

Kennedy…..to get goals”

Double Dutch

The Socceroos' friendly against the Netherlands on October 10 was a particularly well publicised occasion given the technical direction Australia is striving for and there was plenty of debate over the lessons it provided for the home team. But rather than any reality check being provided by the quality in passing and movement by the team in orange (sorry, blue) on the night, perhaps the most important lesson in the current climate lies in the tactical history of the Oranje. As the country's senior national team they are a more genuine and accountable part of Dutch football than their myriad of advisers and coaches hired by Football Federation Australia. The 4-3-3 formation that Australian football has even mandated to some extent wasn't exactly on show by Bert van Marwijk's team this month. Without the quality of ball players in defence and deep in midfield they had a decade ago, it was replaced by a more condensed 4-2-3-1 early last year. But 10 years ago, even when the Netherlands had the likes of Frank de

Boer, Edgar Davids and Phillip Cocu to initiate thoughtful passages of play, a 4-3-3 wasn't in use. The semi-final teams of Guus Hiddink in the 1998 World Cup and Frank Rijkaard in Euro 2000, both of which were the last Dutch teams to truly look like championship material, adopted a 4-4-2. It was also in use when the Netherlands won their only major trophy to date in Euro 1988 and when Rinus Michels' team went close again four years later after an impressive qualifying campaign and group stage. Otherwise, when playing a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 in the past 15 years, they struggled somewhat in the mid-1990s when trying to replicate the all-conquering Ajax team and early this decade. This is not all to broadly say that a front three doesn't suit the Dutch national team. In the last half of this decade, for instance, a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 has been a good fit given the drop off of top-line strikers, the lone striker capabilities of Ruud van Nistelrooij and (once he regains form and confidence) Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the attacking strengths of wingers Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.

Shane Davis is a football

writer and statistician in

Brisbane. This month he

looks at the Dutch 433 or

is it 442?

But a key point that can be taken away from the national team history of the country Australia is looking to for guidance is the importance of adjusting tactics to suit the personnel at hand and that their suitability will ebb and flow. When Australia made the 1974 World Cup, had a gallant World Cup qualification campaign for Mexico '86 and got to the 1988 (fully senior) Olympics quarter-finals, a front three was in use. Terry Venables' impressive 1997 outfit deployed what could loosely be termed a 3-4-3. In all those sides, however, the three frontmen were mostly more strikers than anything else and gave each other adequate support. Otherwise, for so much of the Socceroos' past 20 years, the more cautious deployment of a lone striker has been a common and lamentable sight.

On the rare occasions Australia has played two natural strikers (in a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2), they have invariably benefited. So while Australia looks to the Dutch for the next step its football can take and dips into the mandating of a certain formation, there is a touch of irony in the air. The attacking system that the Netherlands have been most successful with in the past two-dozen years isn't the one Australia sees as traditionally Oranje and the way forward. The real lesson for Australia is not a particularly nationalised one, yet ironically it's shown as well as anyone by the Dutch themselves.

“It’s 433 divided by 422, then take away the striker”

The Dutch semi-final teams of Guus Hiddink in the 1998 World Cup and Frank Rijkaard in Euro 2000……adopted a 4-4-2.

Why Jayden loves Rugby League,

the game he never plays.

Spare a thought for my mate

Jayden. He’s ten.

Ever since he, his brother, his mum and

his old fella got up to watch the mighty

Socceroos against Japan, Brazil, Croatia

and Italy in the World Cup; his Dad told

him it was his duty even at six, he’s been

hooked on the game.

Last year he played Under 9; he used to

score even when placed in the keeper

position and then backed up with an

Under 10 game. He’s that keen that

good.

And Futsal! He’s all over it. So when his

outdoor season ended he’s looking for

more football, desperate to improve, so

off he goes to Coerver three times a

week.

Occasionally the little Aussie tacker

comes over to my place to watch the

Socceroos if his folks let him stay up.

I’ve got the Fox, he doesn’t.

And A-League? He’s heard of it but has

never seen it. Not a game, hardly a goal.

He’s all Free-to-

air TV. Rugby

League every

Friday and

Saturday. He can’t wait, to watch and

then to play.

Of course he watches football, cricket,

league and even Union. But does he ever

see an Aussie footballer?

He gets his FourFourTwo magazine each

month and knows all the stars...of

Europe and the World. Kofi Danning?

Ben Kanterovski? Carlos Hernandez?

He’s hardly heard of them.

Like the Foxless 70% of Australians

Jayden can watch Champions League all

year on SBS; but there’s never an Aussie

in sight. And of course should he ever

stumble on Matt Simon, Robbie Fowler,

Matthew Leckie, Kevin Muscat on the

boys he has something to compare them

with. Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney and

Ronaldo!

So when the FFA says it’s a fair price to

watch the Socceroos in Melbourne and

20,000 turn-up, they are missing the

point.

This is the only chance many fans of all

ages have to see our Socceroos?

Grassroots are our biggest opportunity

bar none, but what have the FFA done to

access our little players in the last four

years. Judging by the Socceroos crowd

against Oman, and recent A-League

attendances.........not enough.

Chippy B has a chip

on his shoulder!

Let’s go Deutsch, as well as Dutch

During the Socceroos verse

Netherlands clash at the SFS, Simon Hill

commented that it was a case of ‘Master

verse Apprentice’.

While the Dutch system has quite

obviously been adopted by Football

Federation Australia, and now a

forthcoming A-League franchise off their

own bat, I’m of the opinion there are

even better mentors we should be

seeking to learn from.

And, it’s the Oranje’s most fervent foes,

the Deutsch, who I believe may prove a

good source of influence.

As three time World Cup Champions

and runners up, and with the exact same

achievements in European

Championships, “Die Mannschaft’s”

record speaks for itself…and simply

shits all over Holland’s.

What’s more, Germany’s league – the

Bundesliga – is one of the most

underrated in Europe.

We often hear of the big three in

reference to the Premier League,

La Liga and Seria A, but it is

Germany who attracts the

biggest average season crowds

over this lot.

How do they do it? They make

tickets cheap as buggery.

I was fortunate enough to attend a

Bundesliga match in late 2007 between

BVB Borussia Dortmund and Bayern

Munich – a massive clash.

My ticket, standing with ‘The Unity’ in

the Signal Iduna Park “Südkurve”, was a

meagre 15 Euros (about AUD$25). This

is relatively the same price as entry to

an A-League game, but compare

watching the likes of Frank Ribery,

Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni to players

of A-League quality (no disrespect

intended), and there’s no argument

which represents the greater value.

Don’t ask me how they do it, but the

German system is also one that keeps

class players coming off the production

line, while their scouting structure is

also sound with excellent, previously

unknown foreigners from Africa, South

America and Eastern Europe frequently

making names for themselves in the

league.

And, with a culture that supports the

concept of integrating football into

people’s daily lives via classic matches

on free TV on weeknights, don’t we at

least owe it to ourselves to explore how

other nations beside the Dutch have

made the game prosper on all levels?

Ben O’Neil

thinks the

Socceroos

need a bit of

German.

The Fox in the Box

BRANKO Jelic is one of my

favourite players.

Before he arrived, little was known

about the Serbian, except that he scored

a brace against Bayern Munich in a

game - impressive, though hardly

enough for people to get excited about.

In fact, Perth were lucky to get him at

all. Jelic's wife was born in Perth and

wanted to return home, and the striker

wanted to continue playing football.

Perth Glory was his only real choice to

do so.

So how has he done in 11 rounds of the

A-League?

If you want a real testament to the

impact he has made since he has joined

the club, consider this fact - he has been

able to keep last season's leading

goalscorer and fan favourite

Eugene Dadi firmly on the pine pony.

In my blog I call him the "fox-in-the-box"

and Fox Sport's Andy Harper has

dubbed him the "six-yard sniper". All his

four goals this season have come from

no more than 10 yards out - though all

have been important.

He scored a brace against Melbourne

Victory, his second was the match-

winner in a 2-1 win.

He scored an early goal against Gold

Coast United and a late one against

Brisbane Roar. In all fairness he

probably should have scored even

more, and probably had one goal

unfairly disallowed by the linesman.

But what is it that

makes Branko Jelic such an effective

striker?

He's no Archie Thompson, though he

has showed glimpses of a hidden rocket

fuel of pace.

He's no Carlos Hernandez, but he has

threatened from long-range.

But every game he has looked

dangerous, and more importantly,

knows how to score a goal. Maybe not a

pretty goal, but a goal all the same.

He's Perth's leading goal scorer this

season, and as long as he keeps finding

the net, he could become a new cult

hero for the Glory faithful.

Usman Azad gets

emotional about

Perth’s Serbian

striker Branko Jelic

Celebrity Football Fan.

Interview with Latika Bourke.

political reporter for 2UE. I first saw Latika Bourke in

the background of a Chaser sketch laughing her head off while Craig Ruecastle was typically making fun of a politician. Laitika works in Canberra as a political reporter for radio station 2UE. Instead of her asking the questions this time Latika was kind enough to answer some of ours

Half Time Heroes: So first off tell us how you got to be a fan of the beautiful game? Latika Bourke: I fell in love with football when I spent 2001/2 in London. My British (and not so British) friends took me to the pub early one morning to watch England beat Argentina When David Beckham scored his winning goal the entire pub jumped and cheered. Their love and, fanaticism for the game seduced me then and ever since.

HTH: You favourite overseas player? LB: I know it's cliché but I can't take my eyes off Cristiano Ronaldo when he's on my telly. While you often hear of football crowds going ballistic after games, I've found football unites far more than it divides. HTH: Which A League team do you support? LB: Sydney FC all the way. I couldn't support another team if I tried HTH: Do you have a favourite overseas team/league? LB: Not really. But I do keep an eye on how Everton fares. Politics dominates far too much of my time, but I do often rue I don't have enough hours in my day to stay up and watch the English Premier League.

HTH: Favourite Socceroos player? LB: I’m going to rise above the superficial (ignore previous answer) and go Cahill here. I fell in love with Timmy during the World Cup 2006, during the Socceroos v Japan match. Although he can often play for himself, he's so creative and some of those goals he's scored for us and Everton are truly stunning, to my ill-informed eyes. HTH: How excited are you about the Socceroos playing at the World Cup in South Africa next year, any plans to go? LB: It's just awesome that the Socceroos are contesting back to back World Cups for the first time ever. I get the feeling it will soon be expected that we qualify. Unfortunately, politics is my first love and as next year is an election year I'll be staying home. But bring on Brazil...and Australia! HTH: Australia is bidding to host the world cup in 2018/2022, What would it mean to you if the World Cup was played in Australia? LB: Hosting the World Cup would be, quite literally, a dream come true. To

have the biggest global sporting event here, in our backyard would, I believe, be bigger than the 2000 Olympics. I also believe, some of those AFL and NRL lovers just might be seduced by the Beautiful Game if the world's fanatics and best talent descended on our doorstep. HTH: The very late penalty decision that knocked the Socceroos was unforgettable for the wrong reasons. What about a favourite moment from the last World Cup in Germany 2006? LB: You had to bring that up? *reaches for tissues* I spent the early hours of t that morning crying my hours out being comforted by randoms at Circular Quay. Some say we would never have beaten Italy if it went to a shootout, but we held our own so valiantly that game, and togo out the way we did still generates a horrid sick feeling in my stomach. My favourite moment was our first goal in the Japan game. It was our first breakthrough and a brilliant debut onto the World stage. I think at that point, everyone sat up and said, 'hello, Australia's arrived.

Thanks to everyone who

contributed. All who work on this fanzine

do it as a labour of love with no payment.

Web Designer/Logo Designer

Peter Alexandrou

Cartoonist/Logo Designer

Wayne Snowden

http://www.happinessforsale.org/ff/

Editors: Con Stamocostas,

Photo’s: Phillip Stamocostas

Send comments/feedback or if want to

write for Half Time Heroes contribute:

cstamocostas@gmail.com

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Distribution:

Available at halftimeheroes.com.au

Find more from our writers:

Chris Pareskevas: www.goal.com,

www.au.442.com,

www.footballblogdaily.blogspot.com/

Ben Somerford: www.theroar.com.au,

www.euroo.blogspot.com,

insidefutbol.com,theroar.com.au

Con Stamocostas:au.fourfourtwo.com/,

www.afootballstory.com,

www.elevationradio.com/author/global

correspondent/,

Mike Salter:www.footballtragic.blogsp

ot.com

Stuart Randall:,theworldgame.com.au,

www.stuartrandallandthecrowdgoeswild.bl

ogspot.com/

Ben O’Neil: au.fourfourtwo.com

Sunil Awshi:

Usman Azad:

www.footballperth.blogspot.com,

Shane Davis:

www.hiraldo.wordpress.com

More Football talk:

Nearpost radio: www.2xxfm.org Streamed

Tuesday 6.30pm

Podcast at www.nearpost.blogspot.com

and on itunes.

Why not check out and support all the

Aussie football fanzines:

The Pissants can write as well:

http://www.pissanttown.com/?p=29

Independent Melbourne:

http://ifm.mvfc.net/

Perth Glory:

http://planetpurplefanzine.com/