Image: Frank Khamees/Sportsgraphy
“The A-League, to me, is an environmental setup where they recycle things. Most of it’s the players and the coaches. There are players like Marcus that deserve the opportunity of the A-League. Younger players, fresher players who have something else to offer.” – Chris Taylor
Following South Melbourne’s triumphant performance in the NPL grand final, Chris Taylor was surprisingly in no mood to mince words. Alongside him was Marcus Schroen, an undoubted star of South’s 2016 campaign, who had just been crowned Jimmy Rooney medallist after his second half brace sealed victory.
It was a flawless showing to cap off a sensational season for the 22-year-old. Yet his coach portrayed little hope for what should have been the year of a professional breakthrough for the young striker. Experience of the A-League has taught Chris Taylor otherwise.
During Taylor’s time at the helm of South Melbourne, he has delivered two championships and a premiership, but not a single A-League player. This comes as little surprise, considering not a single player was recruited to the A-League from the NPL this season.
Without speculating on why the A-League constantly overlooks Australia’s supposed football pathways, talented young players like Marcus Schroen are those who pay the price. Languishing in semi-professionalism, Schroen may never realise his full potential.
“Last year was a bit of a comeback year for me after my second knee reco,” says Schroen.
“This year I’ve tried to take it to the next level. I’ve had a bit of an up and down season but we’ll wait and see what happens in the next few weeks before the A-League season comes, because I definitely have the (A-League) aspiration.”
If he does make it, it may be in spite of the system, not because of it. This is not just a problem for the A-League, but Australian football in general. Taylor, for one, doesn’t shy away from offering South Melbourne as ‘a different pathway’ to success than the A-League, and possibly a more tangible one.
“Where we train and what we play on is better than half the A-League teams. The A-League has got all the glitz and glamour – ‘come play for Melbourne Victory and we’ll give you a tracksuit’ – that’s the philosophy they’ve got.
“We’re a slightly different pathway but someone like Marcus can come and shine for us and someone can come and actually offer him a (professional) contract, not a youth league contract.”
For Schroen, the fact that these opportunities are few and far between fail to relinquish his positivity. For now, the forward is content where he is, and is focusing on scoring goals in order to fulfil his own.
“When I knew I was joining South Melbourne, I knew I was coming back to win trophies. We had a bit of an up and down year, but I’m just happy we finally got the trophy that the boys deserve.”
“I knew I was joining a special group, they’re an amazing bunch of lads. I hope we can move on to bigger and better things.”
Qualities tend to shine through on the football field, and it’s a relentless persistence that sets Schroen apart.
After seeing his powerful effort glance off the woodwork in the opening half of the NPL grand final, followed moments later by an Oakleigh equaliser, many would have dropped their heads, looked to others for leadership.
Not Schroen. It took the forward 11 minutes into the second half to restore South’s advantage, and only 12 minutes after that to seal the championship with a sensational second.
It was the defining performance of a fixture worthy of a championship decider, even if it featured the sides that finished 3rd and 4th.
“I was feeling a little bit like it wasn’t my night. The boys were great, they just kept telling me to keep on going, it’ll come.
“I thought for the first half we were a bit up and down. Then in the first 30 of the second half we were really dominant.”
His second half performance may have come as some surprise to the attacking midfielder, but it is significant his teammates kept their faith. Anybody who has followed Schroen’s career to this stage knows already he’s a big game player. Give him the opportunity, and he grasps it with both deadly feet.
Schroen was the driving force behind Hume City’s remarkable run to the semi-finals of the 2015 FFA Cup. His three goals, including an extra-time brace in a pulsating 4-3 win over the Brisbane Strikers, accelerated him to the forefront of the national spotlight.
He said it then and he says it now; he’s just after a professional contract. It’s all any semi-professional footballer, who has all-too-fleetingly tasted the big time (Schroen played with Melbourne City and Holland’s’ Den Bosch in 2013) is searching for.
Yet it is not just the A-League’s tendency to overlook NPL talent that stands in Schroen’s path. It is no secret that for hard-working attacking midfielders, the engine rooms of their respective clubs, the cruelties of physical rigour often lurk surreptitiously behind them.
At the tender age of 22, Schroen has already undergone two knee reconstructions, one on each knee. There is one thing Chris Taylor, Schroen’s biggest advocate, tellingly overshadows. Something every coach notices.
A 22-year-old who has suffered two serious injuries at such a flourishing stage of their career is earmarked injury prone. Scouts know it and coaches know it. When you’re already taking a punt on NPL talent, sometimes it’s safer to hedge your bets.
Coaches just don’t seem willing to take risks on prodigious young talent, especially those with records pockmarked by ACLs. That is, unless pure determination forces their hand. Inspiration for Marcus Schroen may lie within kicking distance.
None other than his former club, Melbourne City, currently play host to a similarly powerful player with a suggestively comparable background.
Like Schroen, Corey Gameiro came through the A-League youth ranks. Like Schroen, he plied his trade in the NPL (then the NSW Premier League) and overseas. Like Schroen, he suffered two knee reconstructions by the time he was 22 years old.
If it is just coincidence that such a similar story could be so readily accessible for Schroen, as encouragement for the diligence he’s proven so far, then it’s a coincidence he should cling to with all his power. Sometimes one has to go to great pains to achieve their goals.