Vs Wellington Phoenix Inside This Issue Welcome to Wanderland The
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PROUDLY BRINGS YOU INSIDE THIS ISSUE Welcome to Wanderland THE NEW BOYS juric vS durante WANDER WOMEN Sixteenth edition • SeaSon 2013/14 VS WELLINGTON PHOENIX 03 THIS WEEK'S ISSUE 05 FROM THE COACH 21 WANDER WOMEN A message from the coach. A run-down of our star studded Westfield W-League squad. 07 WELCOME TO WANDERLAND Fox Sports’ Simon Hill on why the 23 THANKS TO OUR Partners Wanderers have changed football. Find out who’s on board this season. 09 PRE-SEASON WRAP 25 HOLIDAY CLINICS All the info on our preparation The January Wanderers Holiday for our second season. Clinics are just around the corner. 11 PlaYERS TO watch 26 GUARDIAN FUNERALS Tomi Juric and Andrew Durante WANDERCREW MEMBER are under the spotlight. OF THE WEEK Meet the Marques’. 12 the NEW BOYS Before you sing for them, get to know our new signings. 27 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE Can you spot all five? It’s harder than you think. 16 todaY'S Match The team-sheets for our opening home match. 28 #WANDERTWEET Was your #WANDERTWEET selected this week? 18 SEASON OPENER A review of the Grand Final rematch against the Mariners. The views in this publication are not necessarily Sydney Wanderers FC. All photography courtesy the views of the NRMA Insurance Western Sydney of Getty Images, O’Neill & Page Photography and Wanderers FC. Material in this publication is efsco media. copyrighted and may only be reproduced with the written permission of the NRMA Insurance Western Go to wswanderersfc.com.au OFFICIAL HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE PARTNERS WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU 05 FROM the Coach Off the back of a memorable 2012/13 season we return today to start of our home season, in front of our home fans. Last season was a memorable experience – to the huge number of supporters who have returned for our second season and the many more that have joined, we thank you. From the players to the coaching and backroom staff, the excitement and buzz that is generated every time we set foot on our home ground is amazing. it is hard to find a comparison in australian sport for the atmosphere that you all create every time we play. This season we will do everything we can to have another successful season. With the aFc Champions League on the horizon we are looking forward to a big year together. While we have retained most of our inaugural squad, this season we have added some key new players all of whom will play an important role for our Club as we look to build on last season. last week at our first match of the new hyundai a-league, it was hard to tell we were actually at an away match to Central Coast Mariners, such is the support we received. Your support is something that makes us stronger and it is with and for our fans that we work tirelessly to achieve the results minute-by-minute, session- by-session, match-by-match. We have looked forward to playing in front of our home fans again for a long time – we know how much this Club means to everyone here today and many more watching at home. We look forward to sharing the journey ahead with you, Tony Popovic Head Coach nrma insurance Western Sydney Wanderers Fc WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU 06 WANDERERS FC VS WELLINGTON PHOENIX 07 WELCOME TO WANDERLAND Words by Simon Hill Simon Hill shares his thoughts on Wanderland and it’s amazing fans. ll sorts of eulogies have been paid to the with her and - thanks to her connection with the atmosphere at Wanderland over the last game - she was able to secure seats in one of the twelve months - all of them deserved. But boxes sat directly behind the travelling RBB. ratherA than trot out the lines you’ve heard a hundred I was commentating that particular times already I thought I’d give you a couple of match and arrived home quite late but my personal stories, tales that illustrate just how much stepson was still awake and couldn’t wait to of an impact you Wanderers supporters have made. share his experiences of singing along with my 14-year-old stepson loves all sports. he the rBB - oh, and meeting “dicko” as well! plays volleyball to an excellent level, has dabbled That night, his allegiances changed with both codes of rugby and right from the get-go because he’d literally been blown away with of the hyundai a-league he was a regular at Sydney the noise the Wanderers supporters had made. FC games due to his father’s membership of the sky i must say - as a football purist - i did try to blues. It’s probably fair to say, however, that while he dissuade him from swapping teams. For me, enjoyed going to the SFS he could take it or leave it. a club, once chosen, is for life - not just for Late last season however, my wife decided to christmas. But he wasn’t having any of it! make the trip up the F3 for the big top of the table Secondly, like many British expats I have clash between the Mariners and the Wanderers a circle of friends who are obsessed with the at Bluetongue Stadium. She took her son along Premier League. Many of them happily get WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU 08 kinship and tribalism that football provides "WANDERERS ARE and once you’re hooked you can’t let go. This year, the Wanderers fan base has grown further. With so many wanting to become Members ON TRACK TO the club has sold out memberships at around 16,000. that’s fantastic news - when demand outstrips BECOME ONE OF supply you know you are on to a good thing. The Wanderers of course may not always have such a successful year on the park and some THE BIGGEST of those fans may drift away - that’s only human nature. But the Wanderers have very quickly SPorting CLUBS IN reached a critical mass so even failure (you’d hope) wouldn’t lead to a dramatic reduction in THE COUNTRY..." those wearing red and black on a weekend. Eventually the Wanderers should outgrow their current home which will present new challenges up in the middle of the night to watch their for the club and the game. Will Pirtek Stadium be team play thousands of miles away - but the expanded? or will the club become the first of the a-league? nah, can’t be bothered mate - that’s a-league era to build and own its own ground? the normal response, despite my badgering. My bet would be on the latter. The Wanderers have changed all that. Wanderers are on track to become one of the Now, many tag along to games or at the biggest sporting clubs in the country with its very least are drawn into taking an interest potential for growth truly phenomenal. because of the fabulous atmosphere that comes Much of the credit for that is down to you, across, as clear as day on their televisions. the fans. So sing loud and sing proud this season Football IS different to the other codes. - you make this stadium and the team you support In our sport fans are not spectators, they are come alive. But more than that, you have made active participants. It’s one of the reasons I people like my stepson and my expat mate take became a fan far too many years ago - kids a real interest in the a-league. the game here in particular love the noise, colour, feeling of owes you a debt of gratitude - thank you! WANDERERS FC VS WELLINGTON PHOENIX 09 PRE-SEASON WRAP Words by Tom Moxey @moxey25 tony Popovic must be very pleased with our pre-season which saw positive performances all-round including wins over macarthur Rams, Canberra Olympic, Bankstown City Lions and Hyundai a-league side Wellington Phoenix. he pre-season included a two week tour Wellington 2-1 with a quick-fire double by Brendon of Japan and China highlighted by a Santalab in the final 10 minutes of play. massive 5-0 victory over current fifth placed In Japan and China goals from Juric and TChinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F. Kwabena appiah saw us draw 2-2 with Shinji’s Preparation for the hyundai a-league 2013/14 former side Shimizu S-Pulse before beating season began at Campbelltown Stadium against Guangzhou R&F thanks to Santalab, Youssouf macarthur rams with over 3,000 fans turning up hersi (2) and haliti (2). even a 2-1 loss to tokyo in the rain to watch the opening match of the Verdy (goal to Santalab) couldn’t take the season. Shannon Cole opened the scoring with shine off what was a highly successful tour. a free-kick in the shadows of half-time with mark Once the squad returned we were back in Bridge finishing off the game with a powerful Western Sydney as Centrebet Stadium played host to strike to kick-start the Wanderers pre-season. over 6,000 fans in a 1-1 draw against adelaide united The Red and Black then travelled to the nation’s with Nigel Boogaard putting the ball in his own net. capital to battle Canberra Olympic (and the cold our two final matches saw a loss against weather) coming out on top with goals from Mark melbourne victory before we finished on a Bridge, new boy Tomi Juric and Labinot Haliti. high with a dominant win against Bankstown Before heading to asia we defeated city with goals from aaron mooy and juric.