FORTY-FOURTH EDITION SEASON 2015/16 ROUND 1 VS BRISBANE ROAR PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY CONTENTS THIS MATCH We’VE PACKED THIS ISSUE OF THE WANDERER WITH EVEryTHING YOU NEED FOR TOnight’s maTCH THIRTY-NINTH EDITION SEASON 2015/16 ROUND 1 VS BRISBANE ROAR FEATURES PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY A CLEAN SLATE 8 FLIPPING THE ScRIPT 18 A new season brings a fresh start and a chance Our Westfield W-League 2015/16 squad is an to get back among the best. exciting blend of youth and experience. The views in this publication Story by Jacob Windon Story by Domenic Trimboli & Christian Layland are not necessarily the views of the NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers FC. Material in this REGULAR COLUMNS publication is copyrighted and may only be reproduced OPEN LETTER: HEAD COACH TODAY’s MATCH 16 GUARDIAN FUNERALS with the written permission TONY POPOVIC 5 WANDERCREW MEMBER from the NRMA Insurance FOX FOOTBALL FIX 20 OF THE WEEK: GRAEME Western Sydney Wanderers WARM UP 6 AND VANESSA CARRETT 26 SLAV’S SPOT THE FC. All photography courtesy FIVE THINGS 11 DIFFERENCE 22 IN THE COMMUNITY: of Getty Images, Steve HEARTLAND OF PLAYERS TO WATCH: Christo, Ali Erhan, Daniel FOOTBALL 27 DARIO VIDOSIC VS CORPORATE NEWS: POCO Boud, German Federal JOINS THE WANDERERS 23 JAMIE MACLAREN 13 Archives and Granville & THE LAST WORD 29 Districts Soccer Football FOX FOOTBALL FOCUS TAKE FIVE WITH WITH KATE COHEN 15 SCOTT JAMIESON 25 OUR PARTNERS 30 Association. SYDNEY’S BEST VALUE OPENS SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER @ CROSSROADS! Crossroads Homemaker Centre SEE YOU THERE FOR GRAND OPENING CELEBRATIONS & SPECIALS! Blacktown MegaCentre FOLLOW THE JOURNEY poco.com.au FURNITURE KITCHENS BEDROOM ELECTRICAL HOMEWARES FLOORING LIGHTING DIY STAY CONNECTED VISIT WANDERLAND.COM.AU 3 BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE OPEN LETTER FROM THE COACH TONY POPOVIC SURVEYS THE YEAR AHEAD N THREE YEARS we’ve had a fantastic time as this football club in every match and you will see a club. We’ve played in major competitions, us evolving and that will take place throughout the twice in the Champions League. We’ve been in year. Players come here because they want to play BACK TO THE Itwo Grand Finals, won the Premiers’ Plate and the for a top club, that’s how the new players view us. TOP Tony Popovic Champions League. We’ve become accustomed to They saw our success from the outside and they is aiming for success, expectation is high and that is how we like it. want to be a part of it. silverware this There has always been a plan and a vision for the My expectation is for us to always be the best season Wanderers that we’d be at a certain point after five we can be every day and challenge for titles every years. After three years in which we achieved so year. That was the same in year one when we were much, we made the decision that now was the right just forming as a club, when in June we didn’t time to take the next step in our evolution as a club have a team. Internally the ambition was to always and that includes our playing style. challenge for honours. While we maintain the core values that are so This is a fantastic club to be a part of and I want important to this club – the discipline, hard work, us to be the best. We are a young organisation with hunger and winning mentality – values that must great ambition and are currently in the next phase always remain as they are the cornerstones of this of our vision and evolution from the first team to the football club, within that we want to improve, Academy, where we begin the process of nurturing we want to get better. With the players we have the future stars of the Wanderers. brought in and the changes we’ve made to the I look forward to seeing all of our amazing fans at coaching staff, we feel that this will propel our today’s match as we continue our journey to be the best. club forward over the next five years to achieve a lot more success. This season you will see a very ambitious group TONY POPOVIC of players that want to get back to the top in the HEAD COACH Hyundai A-League. You will see the core values of WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS FC STAY CONNECTED FOLLOW US @WSWANDERERSFC 5 WARM UP BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE WHAT DOES THE FOXE SAY WITH HAYDEN FOXE HE 2015/16 PRE-SEASON has brought The players that have stayed with T a lot of great memories for the club the club this season have driven the with the best being our progression into culture that has been set by Tony the later stages of the Westfield FFA Popovic and the new players have Cup. Getting past Brisbane Roar and adopted quite quickly. Palm Beach Sharks was very rewarding I believe they are very happy to be here considering the stages we were at in our and will have big parts to play this season. pre-season preparations. Each player here at the Western The biggest challenge of the pre- Sydney Wanderers contributes something season was its duration. It went for very special to the club. In any good three and a half months and it can often team, you need a collection of different ON THIS DAY be difficult to keep players focused. players that compliment each other well COURTESY OF ANDREW HOWE We have to come up with a variety of on the field and I think that’s exactly @ANDREWHOWE_STATTO training programs and regimes to ensure what we have in this year’s playing group. that the players want more and are Without question, our main goal for this Legendary Socceroos defender ready for the first round of the A-League season is to win the Hyundai A-League. Doug Utjesenovic was born 8 season. Nine other teams probably feel this way October 1946, in Belgrade Serbia The new players that have joined the too but we genuinely think that we have a (then Yugoslavia). He played for team have fitted in very well and this squad that is good enough to challenge for OFK Belgrade before moving to is of credit to the club and the greater the title and we will do everything we can Australia in 1969, where he linked Wanderers community that have made to make sure that we are the ones lifting up with Melbourne club Footscray them feel very welcome. the silverware at the end of the season. JUST. He moved to Sydney in 1971 where he played out a fruitful ten year WE ARE ON THE LINE FIXTURES & RESULTS career with St George. He became You may have noticed these odd Scan the QR code below for all score in integral part of the Socceroos looking barcodes (see below right) updates across our Hyundai A-League, squad in the lead-up to the 1974 throughout ‘The Wanderer’. To get the Westfield W-League and Foxtel World Cup, barely missing a game best experience simply follow these National Youth League matches. for Australia as the team qualified for three easy steps: the final tournament for the first time. He played in all three of Australia’s STEP 1 Download a QR scanner app to games at West Germany 1974, your smart device where the part-time Socceroos went down to eventual Champions West STEP 2 Open the app and scan each QR Germany and East Germany, and code in ‘The Wanderer’ drew with Chile. Ultimately he played 61 international matches for the STEP 3 Enjoy your interactive Australian team, from 1972 to 1976. Wanderers content 6 THE WANDERER ROUND 1 BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE WARM UP #HASHTAG Every edition we’ll be sharing the best pics we’re tagged in on Instagram. Don’t forget to use our official FIELD REPORTER hashtag #wsw when you’re posting. WITH LES MURRAY @LESMURRAYSBS HE 2015 OFF-SEASON at the Add to them new assistant coach T Wanderers has been an exciting one. Andrés Carrasco, another Spaniard, and I refer of course to the new arrivals on the team is destined to have a distinct the club’s playing roster. Latin feel this season. You won’t get any This is a big contrast to the corresponding complaints about that from me. time last year when the Wanderers made Defender Alberto and midfielders more headlines for the players that left the Andreu and Dimas Delgado make up club rather than the ones who replaced the Spanish contingent. Striker Federico @ADAM.LUCZAK them. Sure, the likes of Juric, Spiranovic Piovaccari is the Italian. Add to them and Bulut have left in recent months but for quality attackers and potential match richer pastures, not because Western Sydney winners Mitch Nichols and Dario wanted them to leave. Vidosic and there is a nice technical It obviously became clear to Head balance to this new team. Coach Tony Popovic that after the lowly Popovic is not the type to talk openly table finish last season there had to be about playing philosophies, especially dramatic changes. And he has rung them. when he changes them. But one can’t Ten new players have arrived to the help suspecting that there is a brand first team squad not including those new style, based on passing and ball @GABS_DRAC promoted from the youth ranks. The possession, about to go on show certainly roots of three new players are in Spain by the time the team completely gels.