When Dwight Yorke took charge of the A-League All Stars against Barcelona in 2022, he gathered them around and told them that this was a free hit to trial against the best players in the world.
Yorke knew all too well; in 1989, a 17-year-old Yorke was so good in a Tobago XI against Aston Villa in a pre-season friendly in the Caribbean that Graham Taylor snapped him up straight away and changed his life forever.
“It is a chance for some of these guys to express themselves, it is such a huge occasion,” Yorke said at the time.
He famously unleashed a then teenage Garang Kuol off the bench in that glamour friendly at Accor Stadium, won 3-2 by the LaLiga giant, a display that even prompted praise from Barcelona boss Xavi in the post match press conference.
“Dwight Yorke told me he was 16 or 17… it was a big surprise,” Xavi said. “He was very fast and we conceded two or three chances because of him.
“He’s a great player and he has a great future, he is a talent that is obvious.”
Before long, he sealed his European transfer to Newcastle United, although, sadly, his trajectory has tapered since he spectacularly burst onto the scene.
Over the next week, Western Sydney and Sydney FC players will get the same opportunity, when Chelsea take on the Wanderers at Accor Stadium on Tuesday and Tottenham face the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium.
The Sydney Super Cup brings four blockbuster fixtures to Sydney: Chelsea vs Western Sydney Wanderers (28 July), Tottenham Hotspur vs Sydney FC (29 July), and Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea (1 August) and Chelsea FC Women v A-Leagues All Stars Women (12 August)— get your tickets now at sydneysupercup.com.au
Pre-season friendlies have a mixed reputation, particularly as the Premier League juggernaut rolls into town showing the amount of fandom there is for the sport here that the A-League clubs covet. But, if there are any thoughts of this being a holiday, just look at both London clubs’ to do lists. Both of those clubs have huge rebuilds ahead of them, with Roberto de Zerbi and Xabi Alonso in their first pre-seasons in charge.
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They’ll be preoccupied by their own problems to solve, but the prospect of finding a diamond in the rough is real.
While Alex Gersbach and Bernie Ibini didn’t secure Premier League moves following Sydney FC’s last riendly with Tottenham in 2015 in Sydney, their performances turned enough heads to seal their European passage to Norwegian club Rosenborg BK and Belgian outfit Club Brugges respectively.
“Bernie Ibini for us back in the day, he had a great performance and then within a couple of weeks he’d obviously got a move overseas,” Sydney FC captain Rhyan Grant recalled, talking to football360.com.au.
“So I think it’s definitely a chance for those players to show what they’ve got.
“It’s the old funny saying, you never know who’s watching.
“And as much as that could sound made up or a bit cliche, I think it definitely rings true when you look at the players that have have done well in in these games, whether they’re exhibitions or whatnot, there’s definitely someone watching and if you can prove you can do it against a great opposition, there’s no reason why some wouldn’t take a punt on you.
“So for … the young players within our group, yeah, I think if they really give it a red hot crack and show what they’ve got, you never know what might happen.”
When it comes to approaching this match, Grant reflected: “When I was a bit younger I would have been a little bit nervous.
“But I think the group we have at the moment, they’re frothing at the mouth to get out there and show what they’ve got.
“They’re a confident bunch. Not cocky but confident in their own ability and I’m sure that they’ll want to put their best foot forward and show what they can do against a great opposition. I don’t think any of them will shy away from it. They’ll all be up for it and yeah, all I would say is yeah, just to back that up and have fun with it. There’s not always the opportunity to play against a big club and in front of a massive crowd. Make the most of it.”
Grant has been able to test himself against Tottenham, Barcelona, Celtic, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool over the years, marking the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe and facing his childhood hero Steven Gerrard in these games.
“For Aussie based players that never really get the chance to play at those heights get to test ourselves against some of the best clubs in the world, so (it will be) no different come Wednesday when we get to come up against Tottenham,” he said.
He added: “There’s some world class players in that Tottenham team, so for our young boys to get a chance to play against them and see where they’re at in terms of talent and what it takes to get there, I think it’s a great opportunity.”
There are a number of examples over the years, with Stan Lazaridis spotted by West Ham boss Harry Redknapp back in a 1995 pre-season tour. When Liverpool toured Melbourne in 2013, their chief scout Barry Hunter spotted a 15-year-old Jake Brimmer while he was playing for a Victorian National Training Centre side and after a trial signed a three-year deal. Sebastian Pasquali caught the eyes of Ajax scouts after a 25-minute substitute appearance for Melbourne Victory against Italian powerhouse Juventus in a July 2016
West Ham’s recent tour to Perth was highly productive for Australian talent. Daniel Bennie impressed watching onlookers and after a season in the A-League moved to Queens Park Rangers, while a baby-faced James Overy turned plenty of heads when he was unleashed in that game.
At 14, Overy made his debut in Western Australia’s NPL. By 15, he was called up by the first team for that glamour friendly. Despite buzzing at the prospect of being on the same pitch as players like Emerson and Jarrod Bowen, he didn’t think he would see the field.
But Kenny Lowe showed him all the faith in the world – and that one match was all it took to spark significant interest from the UK.
A chat with head coach David Moyes – who asked how old Overy was and cracked a joke about his mullet – after the match led to a trial at West Ham, while there was also interest from Everton, Leicester City and Middlesbrough.
He expected to be joining the Hammers – that is, until Manchester United, the club he grew up supporting, came in with the offer of a week-long trial.
After just two days, the Premier League giants told Overy’s dad they wanted to sign him and he has been there since, although recent reports suggest he could go out on loan this season.
It isn’t just scouts watching. There will be plenty of ‘Premier League fans’ or ‘big event goers’ who take in the games this week. For the local club, it’s great for the coffers but Grant hopes each occasion is a chance to showcase the A-Leagues’ bona fides and serve a reminder it is sitting here week in, week out.
“Getting fans to the ground is awesome. I know we always say that A-League is a great product and we want everyone to come out and watch, but these games get a little bit more bums on seats,” Grant added.
“And if that can create more fans, then that’s what we’re after. So I know there’s probably a lot of Tottenham fans in Australia or in Sydney that want to come out and watch and then hopefully we can nab a few of those to come and continue to watch us A-League boys.”