John Economos

John Economos will tell you Johnny Warren was a better cricketer than footballer. He should know.

From the time these two unlikely bedfellows became best mates at Cleveland Boys High in Sydney’s inner west, they were virtually inseparable.

And when Warren chose football over cricket, he took Economos on the journey with him. From the famous Canterbury ‘Babes’ of the late 1950s, through to the great St George side of the 1970s, Economos followed Warren’s career at close quarters.

As a team manager, as an administrator, as a confidante, and ultimately as a writer. When Warren moved virtually full-time into the media following retirement, Economos joined him.

From 1980 through to the present day, he has been a regular correspondent for ‘Australian Soccer Weekly’ – a magazine which, during its heyday, educated a generation of followers about the game.

Economos was there throughout, invariably waiting until the last coffee of a long night to get the drop of gold which eluded less persistent reporters.

Admired, and respected by generations of players, from the Socceroos of ‘74 to the Socceroos of ‘06.

Economos is still there, and there hasn’t been a bad word said about him.

Fifty years of service, from the boardroom, to the dressing room, to the press room.