Image: David Davutovic/Twitter
Former Socceroos midfielder Vince Grella has put his support behind the South-East Melbourne A-League bid at the official launch in Dandenong today.
City of Greater Dandenong Mayor Jim Memeti joined City of Casey Mayor Sam Aziz and City of Cardinia Shire Mayor Brett Owen to sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of 1.2 million people pledging to work towards the collective goal of founding an A-League team for the region.
One of the most diverse and multicultural regions in the country, the area is considered a football heartland in Victoria as it is the home of 71 football clubs and 11,500 registered players.
The area has produced many Socceroos, with Grella perhaps the most notable in addition to the likes of Ljubo Milicevic and current squad members Jackson Irvine and Bailey Wright.
37-year-old Grella spoke exclusively to TCF about his support of the bid as well as the potential and possibilities an A-League team in the region will bring to the local community.
“I grew up in Keysborough and played for Springvale City, so for me this is my backyard,” said the 46-cap Socceroo, who was a member of both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads.
“I always had a dream of playing at the top level of world football and I would say there are a lot of similarities in this bid. We want to dream big and create something special so it is a really exciting time.”
Grella made 220 league appearances in the Serie A and Premier League respectively with the likes of Empoli, Parma, Torino and Blackburn Rovers before returning home to play out the final season of his 18-year-career with the Melbourne Heart under John Aloisi in 2012/13.
With a lack of Victorians in general amongst the city’s two A-League sides as well as across the country, the AIS graduate believes that an A-League team would provide the perfect platform for the region’s aspiring young footballers who might otherwise struggle to find those opportunities at the moment.
“By creating a team out here you would be able to give all of the young players in the area a dream to have a team to play for and a team to support. It would be another platform for players to be able to play at the highest level so there is strong passion in the area for football. Everybody who I talk to is behind this idea and wants to support it. I’m curious and excited to see how it goes.”
Grella was part of the Golden Generation of Australian football and made his mark in the National Soccer League with the Canberra Cosmos and Carlton at a time when the likes of South Melbourne, Melbourne Knights, Gippsland Falcons and the aforementioned Carlton provided plenty of opportunities to some of the state’s best youngsters at the time.
In the following years, the demise of the NSL and lack of youth structure in the newly-formed A-League made it difficult for many footballers to make a name for themselves at a professional level.
Grella believes that a South-East Melbourne A-League team would promote and increase professional opportunities that have been absent in recent decades.
“By adding teams to the league in general, you will give more opportunities to the young players to play and then it will be up to them and how they take that opportunity and how they grown and perform.
“But it is all about the opportunity and without it we will never know. This area has always created a lot of top footballers and some have gone on while others have not had the outlet or platform to go to the next level.
“With another team out in this area it will give an opportunity for the local boys to have another professional team to play and something to aspire to.”
NPL clubs Dandenong City, Dandenong Thunder and Springvale White Eagles were joined at the ceremony by State League counterparts Berwick City, Casey Comets, Pakenham United and South Springvale, all putting their support behind the bid.
With a demographic similar to that of Western Sydney and a predominantly blue collar socio-economic populace, the bid is hoping to be the heart of a vibrant local community.
Grella himself spoke of his time living in working class cities like Parma and Blackburn, where the football clubs were ingrained in the fabric of the communities that supported them.
“Those clubs marry the working class morals and ethics of sport. All of the supporters would work very hard during the week and their outlet and enjoyment was to go and support the team of the weekend.
“Having a team out here will also provide that opportunity for a lot of people to support and have the passion for a sporting club and that is where all of the passion is driven from. I have no problems and am not embarrassed to say that I come from a working class family and a lot of those principles stayed with me throughout my life and football career and I’m very proud of that.”
While plans are in place to build a football-specific stadium as well as garner greater investment, the early signs are promising for one of the most ambitious football projects in the country, with one of the region’s proudest sons happy to play his part in supporting the initiative.