Photo: Rachel Bach
How is success best measured in football? Is it the peak of the lofty heights achieved by a club, or rather by the longevity in which said heights are maintained?
Leicester City may be English football’s greatest ever success story, but the legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson’s 13-time title winning Manchester United side makes for a more lasting narrative.
For reigning NPLW Premiers Calder United, they’ll be hoping to convert their success story of 2016 into a long-lasting legacy of their own and prove their form was no mere flash in the pan.
Head coach Mark Torcaso – who captured his first ever Victorian top-flight title – admits the challenge of backing up their remarkable success last campaign may prove much tougher with expectation breathing down their neck.
“As a club, it’s going to be our most challenging year. Coming off the back of the [Championship and Premiership] double, it’s about re-motivating, re-focusing and making sure players don’t become complacent,” Torcaso said.
“It’s going to be a lot about mentality and making sure the attitude is right – and that is a big challenge for us as coaches.
“It’s really easy for teams coming off the back of winning a Premiership and then going into the next season with a little bit of complacency.
“It’s a little refreshing personally for me as a coach and as a club, to make sure that we have the girls ready to go in for another season. 2016 is gone, you’ve won it, congratulations. Let’s now concentrate on the next thing, which is the biggest challenge.”
Melbourne City’s recent struggles in the W-League have proven that sustaining success over an extended period of time can prove a much tougher task than scaling the heights the first time around, regardless of the bountiful resources, playing talent or quality of coaching made available to the club.
The way in which City stormed the W-League last year set a near unachievable gold standard for the club, while it also gave competing clubs a benchmark to strive towards, which has seen teams such as Perth Glory and Sydney FC recruit well to go toe-to-toe with the leader of the pack.
The recruiting in the NPLW this season has similarly been of a high standard with W-League players Emma Checker and Alex Gummer returning to the league, while Perth Glory’s Caitlin Doeglas has also completed a move to Victoria.
It promises to be the beginning of a busy off-season for NPLW clubs – with a number more big deals set to be brokered before the beginning of the season – and Torcaso is anticipating it to be the most challenging competition he’s had to coach in.
“We want to be a top four side playing finals at the end of the year, given there are a lot of sides that have recruited well this off-season,” he said.
“The competition is going to be quite healthy, which is fantastic, but it means that it’ll be the most challenging season I’ve had as a coach.
“It seems like there’s a lot more W-League girls dropping back into this level that haven’t before – clubs are bringing their full complement of internationals and there are interstate girls coming over.
“I think sometimes we don’t give our league the highest credit for whatever reason that may be, but our league is one of the best in Australia and it’s constantly getting better.”
As for Calder’s recent additions, they’ve kept one eye on the future with the signing of 18-year-old pair Dani Gudelj (from Bulleen Lions) and Emma Robers (Bayside United).
Torcaso outlined how the pair will fit into the picture for the 2017 season and how the environment at Calder will help lift the pair to a new level.
“Emma and Dani are 18-years-old and are up and coming players. I’ve been lucky enough to see them develop over the last four-five years, so it was a no brainer to have them, especially keeping in mind some of our older players and what they’re doing with their personal lives.
“The two girls were incredibly open about where they want to go with their football and that ambition is something that made me want to work with those girls and get them to that next level. You can already see their passion and excitement, it’s fresh for them and they want to be a part of it.
“Dani can play in so many positions and her versatility will be her biggest asset for us in this team. We’ve played a couple of practice games and she’s played in a number of different roles where I know she can be valuble – as a full-back, a winger and a number 10.
“Emma is one of the hardest working midfielders in the league but will probably be a holding midfielder. She can play various roles in the midfield – either as an attacking force with a lot of skill or as a hard working midfielder marking in the hole. This environment for her is going to hopefully get her to the next level, that’s her aim.
Torcaso is hoping the new additions will help breathe fire into the belly of the existing playing group, who for some, arrive of the back of a lengthy W-League season.
He accepts that mental fatigue may play a role with those players, as well as the entire roster, but believes individual conversations are the best way to stem its negative effects.
Playing a crucial role in facilitating this is experienced assistant coach Ian Williamson, who holds a unique viewpoint into the mental side of the game.
“I think the girls are coming into it knowing that they want to have another crack at it and it’d be fantastic to go ahead and try to win it next year, but [staying motivated] is something that [myself and Ian] wouldn’t address to the group initially and rather have individual conversations with players, how they’re feeling and where they are going.”
“There are players coming off W-League seasons as well so refreshing them from a mental perspective is very important for us. It’s good to constantly have conversations with those playing W-League to understand where they’re at heading back into the NPLW season.”