With the transfer period and off-season well and truly underway, some new faces have joined the club along with a long list of speculation regarding who will soon be wearing Red & Black.
We collate and comment on the best articles that feature the Wanderers in a section called “What the papers say”!
Saturday’s Daily Telegraph discussed the growth of football in Australia and the impact the Wanderers have had in the growth of football registration in Western Sydney.
“In Sydney’s west, where the rise of the Western Sydney Wanderers has spawned a new generation of soccer fans, registrations across the region have increased by 9.7 per cent since 2014”.
This is a great sign of not only the increasing popularity of football in Australia but also how the Wanderers have successfully strived to become a major contributor and positive part of the community itself.
The Parramatta Advertiser spoke to Brendan Hamill about the Wanderers fixture for the upcoming season of the Hyundai A-League.
Hamill being a Western Sydney local is looking forward to playing in front of friends, family and fans during the festive period when the Wanderers play on December 24 against Newcastle Jets and the first day of 2016 against Adelaide United.
“It will be amazing to start the season at home and I can’t wait to get out there in front of the great fans,” said Hamill.
“I’m also looking forward to our three home Sydney Derbies. Our fans make it feel like a home game when we play at Allianz.
“It would be special to win a grand final and get back into the Asian Champions League scene.”
ABC Online wrote about the Wanderers opening the Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season against Brisbane Roar in “a rare Thursday night start for the competition”.
A-League boss Damien de Bohun said the new draw would cater for those teams that are participating in the Asian Champions League, giving players proper rest either side of their midweek games following Wanderers heavy schedule during the tournament which included at one stage back-to-back home matches 47 hours apart.
“That will come as welcome news to the Victory and Sydney FC, and potentially also Adelaide if they qualify for the group stages.”
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote about our new signing Spanish midfielder Andreu and chose to focus on his youth career where he played with Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
In a very Bold and Beautiful retelling of their development and friendship at Barcelona it was found that the pair eventually split up.
“It was then the pair took somewhat divergent paths, with Messi going on to be one of the greatest players in the history of football, while Andreu’s somewhat rockier road would take him through Spain’s divisions.”
We will be sure to ask him about going through the youth ranks at Barcelona.
Shayne D’Cunha spoke to the Blacktown Advocate about his new senior contract, his life as a junior footballer in Western Sydney and the influence of his family on his career.
“My dad’s always been involved with football and his brothers have been involved as well, so it was natural for me to start playing” said D’Cunha.
D’Cunha spoke highly of the Wanderers who helped in his development over the past year.
“Without their help, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today.
“In the last year, I’ve grown not only physically, but mentally, because there’s been a lot of changes.
“It’s a whole new thinking game and a whole new mentality… but in the past six months, I’ve grown and bettered as a person because of this step up.”
That’s all for the second edition of What the Papers Say and just a friendly reminder that any transfer deals or player signings will always be confirmed first here at wswanderersfc.com.au
