TWENTY-NINTH EdITIoN • sEasoN 2013/14 SEMI-FINAL VS CENTRAL COAST MARINERS INSIDE THIS ISSUE SEASON 2013/14 LA ROCCA VS MONTGOMERY LEGEND OF THE WEST: MARK SchwarZER WANDERERS: MORE THAN FOOTBALL PARRAMATTA: THE HOME OF FINALS FOOTBALL PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Santa Fe. Australia’s Best SUV $45–$65K. The 7–seat Santa Fe has so much to offer - from its rugged capability and elegant styling to a luxurious interior featuring a 7" multimedia touch screen with Sat Nav.. And when it comes to venturing out with the family, nothing comes close to the peace–of–mind of a maximum 5–star ANCAP safety rating. To experience the unforgettable Santa Fe, visit Hyundai.com.au/santafe HMCA6870/FPC/WSW HMCA6870_Santa_Fe_FPC_WSW.indd 1 10/04/14 5:19 PM 03 VISIT WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU & SIGN UP TO THE WEEKLY WANDERER THIS WEEK ... FOLLOW US @WSWANDERERSFC 05 FROM THE ASSISTANT COACH... 21 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE assistant coach and Western sydney legend Can you spot the five differences this week? ante Milicic with his thoughts before his final home match at Pirtek stadium 23 TAKE FIVE WITH ... dean Heffernan takes some time 07 NEWS AND VIEWS out with The Wanderer Tonight’s match at a glance with on this day, score wrap-ups and more 24 PARRAMATTA: HOME OF FINALS FOOTBALL While Pirtek stadium started life as a rugby 08 SEASON 2013/14 league venue it is often forgotten that it was a second place finish, Champions League debut sydney’s major football ground for many years and finals football: what a season it has been 26 BRINGING YOUR FOOTBALL BACK 13 PLAYERS TO WATCH NRMa Insurance are proud to be associated Iacopo La Rocca and Nick Montgomery with the Western sydney Wanderers and the Western sydney region 14 LEGEND OF THE WEST: MARK SCHWARZER Mark schwarzer’s journey from Western 28 #WandERTWEET sydney junior to socceroos legend is a Thanks for sending off #ono21 in style! fascinating story of a local boy come good 16 TODAY'S MATCH The views in this publication are not necessarily the Brought to you by amart sports views of the NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers FC. Material in this publication is copyrighted and may 18 WandERERS: MORE THAN FOOTBALL only be reproduced with the written permission of the The Wanderers are built on a foundation that is NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers FC. All more than simply what happens on the field photography courtesy of Getty Images, George Suresh, Steve Christo, Sydney Olympic FC and Football NSW. OFFICIAL HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE PARTNERS WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU Talk to your accredited Pepper mortgage broker Visit pepperonline.com.au/customers Call one of our Private Account Managers on 1800 737 737 (Option 3) Applications for finance are subject to Pepper’s normal credit approval. Terms, conditions, fees and charges apply and are available on request. Pepper Australia Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence Number 286655, is the servicer of loans made by Pepper Finance Corporation Ltd ACN 094 317 647. 05 FROM THE ASSISTANT COACH... It’s another big game for us at home where we’ve got a great record against our friends Central Coast Mariners who we played in the Grand Final last year. e’ve had a good couple of weeks in both asia and the Hyundai a-League and everyone knowsW what’s on offer today; a trip to the Grand Final. after the disappointing performance in last year’s showpiece it’s a good chance to make amends and confirm a successive appearance which is what this group of players deserve. We won’t need any extra motivation for the match as we always focus on ourselves first and foremost. We’re in a good space at the moment with no injuries, the group training well and everyone focussed and high on confidence after our recent results. There’s no better way to finish off our home season than with a victory in front of our fans. I’m extremely proud of the two seasons that I have spent here. We all know as a start- up club how difficult it is to get not only a team ready but a whole club ready. The way it’s all come together with the infrastructure in place; the staff working well and the Westfield W-League and Foxtel National Youth League teams that we brought together means we’re in a good way looking forward and qualification to asia for next year is another stepping stone to making Wanderers bigger and better. Even though I’m leaving, Western sydney will always be the club I support. Ante Milicic assistant Coach WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU SPOIL MUM THIS MOTHER’S DAY ALL HER FAVOURITES ON ONE CARD Sunday 11 May Cards Pty Ltd ACN 113 171 663. 07 NEWS & VIEWS ROUND ON THIS DAY... SPOIL MUM THIS MOTHER’S DAY Courtesy of andrew Howe @AndyHowe_statto WRAP-UP 26 april 1998 saw what was to be the last ever NsL finals derby between the two biggest Western sydney rivals Marconi and sydney United (Croatia) at Parramatta stadium. Marconi took the honours in the two-legged 1997/98 HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE sat 5 apr Elimination Final with Francis awaritefe scoring a goal in each match and Round 26 Pirtek stadium ALL HER FAVOURITES goalkeeper ante Covic keeping two clean sheets, the stallions taking out the tie 2-0 on aggregate. over a total of five NsL finals matches between Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Juric 61’) the two rivals from 1985 to 1998 Marconi won all but one, including the unforgettable 1988 grand final at Parramatta stadium. The 1988 NsL Brisbane Roar 1 (Miller 31’) decider finished 2-2 after 120 minutes with Marconi winning the shoot-out. Round 26 sat 12 apr ON ONE CARD aaMI Park Melbourne Heart 2 (Engelaar 34', Hoffman 72') Western Sydney Wanderers 3 Sunday 11 May (Topor-stanley 27', santalab WE HAVE AN ALL TIME 81', Hersi 86'') AFC CHAMPIONS GOAL DIFFERENCE OF LEAGUE Round 5 Group Stage AT PIRTEK STADIUM Tue 15 apr Ulsan Munsu Football stadium Ulsan Hyundai 0 IN THE HYUNDAI Western Sydney Wanderers 2 +13 A-LEAGUE (Bridge 61', santalab 80') GUARDIAN FUNERALS WandERCREW MEMBER OF THE WEEK: CHRIS ZAKHARY AND AMANDA ESKANDER i, our names are Chris Zakhary and amanda Eskander and we are a part of the Guardian HFunerals Wandercrew. We were informed by our uni (University of Western sydney) that the Wanderers were looking for volunteers and we thought what a fun and enjoyable way to gain experience in our field of Exercise & sport science. We were right as being part of the Wandercrew this season has been both fun and exciting! With Chris being a football player and amanda loving everything sport, volunteering for the Wanderers this year has been something to look forward to each week. There's only one team we sing for, WaNdERERs! Proudly BROUGHT TO YOU BY VISIT WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU & SIGN UP TO THE WEEKLY WANDERER WANT MORE WANDERERS FC? FOLLOW US @WSWANDERERSFC WSWANDERERSFC.COM.AU Cards Pty Ltd ACN 113 171 663. 08 WANDERERS FC VS CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 09 SEASON 2013/14 story by stan Uzunov @StanUzunov Tonight’s semi-final clash against Central Coast is a mammoth occasion on many fronts for the NRMa Insurance Western sydney Wanderers. eaching this stage for a second successive fourth-placed Central Coast at Pirtek stadium. season after the maiden season’s dream still hurting from last year’s 2-0 Grand Final loss and Rrun to the final speaks volumes of the quality unable to exact revenge on the Mariners in Round one, of the coaching and playing group. Wanderland braced itself for a night of epic proportions. The fact that Pirtek stadium is once again hosting a The home faithful were not left disappointed as sold out semi-final demonstrates the growing love story a brilliant Tomi Juric goal and strike by Youssouf the club shares with the people of Western sydney. Hersi downed the Mariners – now led by Phil Moss such feats come hand in hand with an ongoing following Graham arnold’s departure to Japan. adventure into the Round of 16 in our maiden The memories of the night at allianz aFC Champions League campaign* and a bright stadium were well behind the Wanderers now horizon looming in terms of club ownership. as they eyed off Brisbane’s top spot. all these serve as evidence to the stability, Juric continued cementing his reputation as one continuity and ambition of the club. all are of the most promising young strikers in the league ingredients making up arguably one of the soundest with a mesmerising scissor-kick goal while Wanderers sporting institutions currently in australia. record at Pirtek stadium stretched to 11 matches. What a season it has been for the a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Melbourne Victory followed Western sydney Wanderers. but the New Year kicked off in the worst way possible. on the park, the start of the home and away Everything that could go wrong did in a disastrous season very much reflected our first year in the last half-hour of the match against Wellington Phoenix competition – a quiet yet steady beginning who overturned a Mark Bridge goal to score three backed up by a blistering run of form. times in a late smash and grab job at Pirtek stadium. Round 1 served up a repeat of last year’s Grand It was a rude awakening to the hopes of defending Final, but this time debutant Tomi Juric’s late equaliser the Premiership against a rampant Brisbane denied the Mariners a second successive victory.