Football Season Guide

Disappointed by finishing 4th in the A-League last season, although they qualified for the ACL II this season by way of Heidelberg being ineligible. It passed to them as Auckland FC cannot qualify for Asian competition via the A-League. They'll participate in the Australian Cup final in a derby against South Melbourne though, so could start the season strongly - they are favourites to do so. Since last season, boss Arthur Diles left at the conclusion of his contract, although it's widely speculated he would have been sacked anyway. Giovanni Savarese has been appointed as his replacement, who has little experience of this division. They should be sharper than most A-League teams, at least to begin with, thanks to their participation in the Asian Champions League 2. They already look pretty compact defensively, which is an encouraging start, although no less than the Doctor ordered with Ziereis and Lockyer amongst those to join. Defence is seldom an issue with this team, to be fair. They let Miranda leave at the right time - injuries/age were getting the best of him - and Esposito staying was never on the cards. They've signed good alternatives though, as I said above. RB is the only real concern for them with newbie Shillington and inconsistent Inserra likely to slug it out. With engines like D'Arrigo, Valadon, and Genreau in front of their defence though, this is likely to be a tough team to score against. Scoring goals is a concern though. Losing star playmaker Mata is going to be very difficult to deal with, especially after also losing star winger Velupillay. May has come in to rival Nduka, and may even end up playing with him - the striker was often dropped into the false nine position whilst playing for Corica at Auckland FC. It's not guaranteed to work though, particularly with only Clarismario from their creators consistently impressing. Be wary of this team, though. They've made a signing somewhat under the radar that can change games from the bench in striker Sawyer. He's a far cry from Mark Viduka, but his height, brawn, and determination allowed him to score a lot of important goals for his previous club, Macarthur FC, despite seldom being a regular. He could afford a somewhat limited team a good "Plan B" this season. Mentality is still a concern at this club though. They often fall into the trap of over-trusting their defence, and invite so many chances that they end up conceding. If Savarese can address that though, they should have a pretty good campaign. A title push looks a little too far out of their depth though.