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Sensational strikers of the A-League - Part I

Monday, 18 June 2012 1:41 PM
 

Sensational strikers of the A-League - Part I

A great striker can be the difference between winning a title and losing one and when you look at the history of the Hyundai A-League there have only been a handful of players that could find the net on a regular basis, while there have been plenty who have promised the world but delivered little.

Juan Carlos Solorzano, who had one great season tapping in goals for Brisbane Roar and then went to Melbourne Victory and was a complete bust is one example of this and then there was the Romario experiment, which might have put people in the stands of Hindmarsh Stadium, but he wasn’t the same player who dominated FIFA World Cups for Brazil, and although in a historical sense he is the greatest player to take part in the Hyundai A-League, he doesn’t make the cut for the top ten strikers the league has seen on the form he displayed while here.

So without further ado, let’s get into the top ten as we count down all the way to one , throughout the course of a week which will see the 2012/13 season draw announced.

10. Matt Simon (Central Coast Mariners)

The burly Mariners marksman always put in a huge effort in every game of his A-League career and has since made the move overseas to Korea with Chunnam Dragons. But what he brought to the Mariners and the league was vital, and that was a happy knack of being able to finish chances on the ground and in the air.

He was also a vital part of Premiers Plate winning sides in 07/08 and 11/12, especially the latter when even though he left halfway through the season he was still the equal leading goal-scorer for the Mariners with seven for the season alongside Bernie Ibini.

A natural finisher what was really noticeable was how badly the Mariners missed him once he left the club, no longer were they able to score goals almost at will thanks to their big man up front and you could argue his loss was a big reason they couldn’t go on and claim the Grand Final trophy they so badly crave.

9. Besart Berisha (Brisbane Roar)

One season in the A-League has seen the Albanian international capture plenty of the headlines and not always for all the right reasons, but what he has brought to the league is a high degree of drama and the ability to poach a goal at any time, especially inside the six yard box.

While he is great at close quarters and scored a league record 21 goals throughout the 2011/12 season there is some doubt as to his effectiveness when he doesn’t have the ball provided on a silver platter, as evidenced by the way he struggled to have an impact whenever Thomas Broich wasn’t around at the Roar.

In addition to that he doesn’t seem to be the type of striker who can score from distance and despite regularly putting himself in the right position that does make him slightly one dimensional.

His upside though is he still has plenty of time to prove the doubters wrong and will be doing so from within a very good squad.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not Football Federation Australia

 
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Comments (2)
 
Berisha is on this list for a reason, he's a monster in the box. as for for not scoring goals other than tap ins - i recall a world class cross from broich and a header in the grand final and a one touch kick from the the 18 yard box from a cross also (maybe against the mariners). other than that the little bitty piece of information is that that was the playing style - get the ball into the box is what the roar did, passing and possession, how many times did berisha beat multiple players in the box? no mean feat. the grand final again he did it, also beating multiple melbourne victory players.......if your game plan is to get the ball into the box and score that way that's what you do. Berisha fully deserves his spot - no team can put it on a platter 21 times in the a-league. you are saying there was no defence?....perhaps when berisha had a drought was because other players weren't crossing as well as broich.
Ian  |  
19 Jun 2012 11:03 AM
 
 
Berish should not be on this list, someone who scores entirely tap-ins is not a good striker and to be fairly honest, I can't see him scoring any other way. He re-signed to keep scoring goals and he will do that because Broich, Henrique etc will put it on a silver platter for him, no other reason. If he had gone to a team with a poor midfield, he wouldn't be scoring. In 2010-11, Brisbane had long range shooters like Barbarouses, Henrique and Mackay. Mackay and Barbarouses have left, so Brisbane were forced to focus on Berisha, Henrique has moved to setting him up rather than looking for his own scoring. Without Ange's attacking style of play for the upcoming season, however, wouldn't be surprised to see Berisha's scoring taking a stumble. Matt Simon should be at 9 and 10 should be Bobby Despotovski, unless he is higher up the list.
Jake  |  
18 Jun 2012 07:18 PM