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Hyundai A-League’s battle to
win Hearts and minds
With the start of the seventh season of the Hyundai A-League just over a month away, there has been
plenty of talk about its future. The recent signing of Harry Kewell by Melbourne Victory has made
headline news in the Australian media and seen by many as a positive development
for the A-League. All of the clubs are now starting their final preparations for what
promises to be an exciting and highly competitive season. Last season’s Grand Final
between Brisbane Roar and the Central Coast Mariners was the most dramatic and
eventful so far and has raised the bar – and expectations – even higher. So what does
the A-League have in store?
Touchline has caught up with
Scott Munn
, CEO of relative new boys
Melbourne Heart
to find out how he thinks the season and the Hyundai A-League’s future will pan out.
Last season was Melbourne Heart’s inaugural season.
Heart finished 8th on the same points as Newcastle.
Were you satisified with that start?
There were a range of things on and off the pitch that I was really
happy with and a range of things that we know we could have
done better and we hadn’t foreseen the amount of work required.
We set ourselves the target at the start of the year to make the
finals and we didn’t, so we were a bit disappointed. But in saying
that, I think we have put in place some fantastic foundations and
set ourselves up to be very competitive this season.
What lessons do you feel you and the team learned
from last season?
Two big lessons. The first that we learned was the importance
of preparation. Last year we were bringing 23 new players
who were together for the first time and also still building our
facilities and employing staff. We really had a
very interrupted pre-season and we learned that
preparation is absolutely vital. This year we have
had an uninterrupted pre-season and I think
that really sets us up for the year ahead. The
second big lesson was the actual improvement
from the previous season to last season - we
underestimated the significant improvement that
the likes of Brisbane and CCM had made.
What were the highlights for you?
On the field it must be winning the first ever derby
with Victory – that’s there forever - to have a sold
out stadium and for our boys to win was fantastic
for them and the supporters and all the people
that had joined us early and come along for the
ride. Also we had a fantastic away win against
Adelaide. We were 1-0 down with 3 mins to go
and that famous player, John Aloisi, popped up
again, then our captain Simon Colosimo scored
and we won 2-1 in the dying minutes of the game.
That was fantastic for us - we had gone 6 games
without a win which really was the monkey off the
back, I guess.
What are your expectations for Heart this
year?
We absolutely have a very clear expectation to
make the finals. We think we have made some
adjustments to our squad that are perfect and in accordance with
our plan. We are continuing to grow and we are introducing our
National Youth League side this year and we have gone about that
in a really clear structured manner. That will be a great addition to
our team as a whole.
What new signings have you made?
We have signed a few new players – Mate Dugandzic from Victory,
two new Brazilians – Maycon and Fred, Fred has obviously been
around the A-League before when he played extremely well and
dominated for Melbourne Victory, and then we signed a young
boy, Curtis Good, from the Australian Institute of Sport. We are
still looking for a couple of other players to fulfil our roster.
Do you feel that Heart are in the shadow of Melbourne
Victory?
MelbourneVictoryhavebeenaround for 6yearsandhave
Left: Melbourne Heart Captain, Simon Colosimo
F
Insight