Popovic has brought in Bruno Fornaroli from
Melbourne City, South Korean defender Kim
Soo-beom from Jeju United and Swiss under-21
international Gregory Wuthrich from Young Boys.
Robbie Fowler’s arrival as Brisbane Roar coach
arguably generated more interest than any player
moves during the close season, but the jury is out as
to whether the Liverpool legend has recruited smartly,
opting for a raft of lower-league players from England.
Fowler’s reign started well, with victory over
Sydney in the FFA Cup, but his side went out on
penalties in the next round to last year’s stragglers,
Central Coast Mariners.
Western Sydney Wanderers return to their spiritual
home in Parramatta, which should help to deliver
a better season than of late. The new BankWest
Stadium has safe standing areas for their notoriously
noisy fans and a $20million investment in a state-of-
the-art training ground means Markus Babbel and his
players will want for nothing this term.
Melbourne Victory are one of several clubs
under new leadership, with Marco Kurz arriving
from Adelaide United. Kurz has repatriated
Socceroos Robbie Kruse and Andrew Nabbout,
and signed Danish midfielder Jakob Poulsen.
Neighbours City replaced Warren Joyce with French
coach Erick Mombaerts, while cup holders Adelaide
plumped for Holland’s Gertjan Verbeek to replace
Kurz. Wellington Phoenix appointed Ufuk Talay, who
was formerly number two to Steve Corica at Sydney,
as Mark Rudan’s successor.
In Gosford, Alen Stajcic has more modest targets
than most in trying to rebuild Central Coast Mariners.
After three wooden spoons in four years, anything but
last place will be seen as progress.
Newcastle Jets, meanwhile, were left shocked by
the decision of young starlet Joey Champness to put
his football career on hold. Champness was on track
to go to the Tokyo Olympics with the Australian
under-23 side, but has instead chosen to pursue
a career as a rapper in the United States under the
moniker JOWIC.
There is rarely a dull moment in the soap opera
that is the A-League...a 2-1 win at Hibernian.
Monday September 23
FIFA: Lionel Messi is the Best FIFA
Men’s Player for a sixth time, while
Megan Rapinoe receives the
women’s award. Jurgen Klopp and
Jill Ellis are named best coaches.
GERMANY: Wolfsburg remain
unbeaten in the Bundesliga this
season following a 1-1 draw at
home to Hoffenheim.
PORTUGAL: Famalicao win 2-1 at
Sporting to stay top of the table.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Dundalk
beat Shamrock Rovers 3-2 to
secure back-to-back titles and
make it five league championships
in the last six years.Tuesday September 24
ENGLAND: League Two Colchester
United beat Tottenham Hotspur on
penalties in the League Cup, while
Southampton win 4-0 way at
arch-rivals Portsmouth.
SPAIN: Lionel Messi makes his
400th start in La Liga but comes
off injured at half-time as Barcelona
beat Villarreal 2-1.Wednesday September 25
CANADA: Montreal Impact win the
Canadian Championship, beating
Toronto on penalties after a 1-1
draw on aggregate in the Final.
ENGLAND: Bournemouth, Sheffield
United and West Ham United go
out of the League Cup to third-tier
sides Burton Albion, Sunderland
and Oxford United respectively.
FRANCE: Paris Saint-Germain lose
at home in the league for the first
time since May 2018, going down
2-0 to Reims, but remain top of the
league on goal difference.
HOLLAND: Ajax beat Fortuna
Sittard 5-0 to lead the Eredivisie
on goal difference.
ITALY: Internazionale return to the
top of Serie A with a 1-0 victory at
home to Lazio.
SPAIN: Real Madrid continue
their unbeaten start to the Liga
season by beating Osasuna 2-0 to
return to the top of the table. Ex-
Barcelona captain Carles Puyol says
he has rejected the chance to rejoin
the club as sporting director.
SUDAMERICANA CUP: A 2-2
draw against Corinthians sees
Independiente del Valle through
to the Final.
SWITZERLAND: Basle remain top
of the Super League with a 4-0 win
at home to Zurich.
USA: Los Angeles beat Houston
Dynamo 3-1 to win the Supporters’
Shield for the best regular-season
record in MLS.WORLD SERVICE
KEY DATES
Regular season starts Oct 11, 2019
Regular season ends Apr 26, 2020
Play-offs start May 1, 2020
Grand Final May 16/17, 2020
P r e v i e w