SCOTT Chipperfield is certain Wollongong will be part of the A-League.
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It’s not a matter of if, but when. And more importantly, how.
Chipperfield was part of the 10-year celebrations for the Socceroos dramatic World Cup qualification, when they beat Uruguay on penalties to earn a ticket to the 2006 tournament in Germany.
As Harry Kewell stood there serenely, arms raised on one end of the Australian chain of players, arm in arm, watching John Aloisi hit the back of the net in the penalty shoot-out, Chipperfield was at the other. Fatigued from the 120-minute battle, playing for the highest of football stakes, Chipperfield suddenly found a new energy, frantically leading the chase after Aloisi down the touchline in celebration.
Much of the rest of the game is a blur, Chipperfield admits, reflecting on the moment once again at Blueys pre-season training at Tarrawanna Oval this week. But amid the movers and shakers of the Australian game at the formal dinner in Sydney this week, Chipperfield’s message about the A-League was clear.
“Of course it will happen," Chipperfield said.
“It’s whether it’s a stand alone team or a southern team with St George, Sutherland and Wollongong.
“I’d like to see a Wollongong stand-alone team in the A-League, I think we’ve earned out place.”
Of course, as a two-time National Soccer League winner with the Wolves, before making a career with Swiss club Basel, you’d expect Chipperfield to sat that.
The argument for the great southern plan rests on a catchment of players and fans big enough to support the corporate dollar needed for a seat at the top table. But Chipperfield believes the Illawarra has the talent to be part of an A-League system in the region’s own right.
“There’s a lot of good junior players and they need a path,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have gone to Sydney and probably wouldn’t have had the same chances without the Wolves (being an elite club).
“So definitely, I think the support is there.”
In some respects, the Socceroos breaking a 32-year drought is likened to the South Coast push for an A-League future.
It’s a constant fight for credibility, the self-doubt remaining ever-present until they make it. All the while, the Illawarra can only sit and wait while the FFA decide what to do about the Wellington Phoenix.
Chipperfield remembers having a couple of chances on the famous night against Uruguay, but shied away from taking a penalty.
“I think I was No 10 or 11 on the list (of penalty takers),” Chipperfield said with a laugh.
“I was pretty tired, at least until (Aloisi) scored that one and then I felt pretty good.”