By scott21 - 2 Apr 2017 4:04 PM
Ghost of National Soccer League still apparent 40 years on from humble beginnings
Different class: West Adelaide's John Kosmina (left) scored the first goal in NPL football, 40 years ago.
Different class: West Adelaide's John Kosmina (left) scored the first goal in NPL football, 40 years ago. Photo: Antonin Cermak
Is it really 40 years? Boy that makes John Kosmina feel old. There's history, and there's living history. And "Kossie" – still going strong as a pundit and a coach – is living proof of a landmark worth recognising.
Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the first game of the National Soccer League, the first national sporting league in Australia. And guess who scored the very first goal?
Manuka Oval was the venue, with Canberra City hosting West Adelaide. Johnny Warren, who had just moved into his new homestead at Gold Creek, made his coaching debut with the home side, with Charlie Perkins as his president. Tony Henderson would go on to captain the Socceroos. It was an all-star cast in blue and yellow.
Nowadays West Adelaide are in the top tier of South Australia's NPL, while Canberra City are strictly amateur playing in the third-tier of the ACT pyramid. Reduced circumstances for two clubs who were big enough, and brave enough, to sign on for the revolution. Which is exactly what the NSL was. Years ahead of its time.
Then and now: NSL's first goal-scorer John Kosmina continues to have an impact on the game today.
Then and now: NSL's first goal-scorer John Kosmina continues to have an impact on the game today. Photo: Graham Tidy
Basketball followed two years later, and eventually Australian Rules and rugby league followed suit. But the NSL set the pace – a leap into the unknown for the sport, for the clubs, for the players, and for the public.
For game one, just 1550 fans showed up at Manuka, a venue which was little better than an open park in 1977. But thanks to the fact there were no lights at the ground and the kick-off had to be brought forward, it was a history-making occasion nonetheless.
Seven minutes in, Laki Vagianos chucked in a long throw, Ian McGregor got the flick on, and Kosmina was there to volley home. His hometown club West Adelaide went on to win the game 3-1, and Kosmina was replaced after just 53 minutes.
Having made his farewell appearance for his local state league side Croydon Kings (then Polonia) the night before, and having played twice for the Socceroos against New Zealand the previous week, Kossie was cooked. Done, but not done and dusted.
Kosmina went on to set goal-scoring records in the NSL, and for the national team. Forty years later, his first "first-class" goal remains a source of pride, not just individually, but collectively.
Kosmina recalls the transition from state-based football to the national stage as being "bigger than Ben-Hur": "Looking back, I'm so glad I was part of it, and probably even happier that I'm still around to talk about it! There was such a buzz back then, the NSL was a brave new world, you felt for the first time you could have a career in football.
"OK, it was still part-time, but you went from two nights a week training in state leagues to three or four nights in the NSL. You got on planes, you played in better venues, there was some TV coverage, there was a strong sense you were part of an exciting new future.
"Obviously it didn't work out the way we all wanted it to, but it served its purpose. It lifted standards, it produced great players, and it kept the game alive. I'm thinking 'where did those 40 years go'? But at the end of the day I loved the NSL, good and bad. It was a great experience."
After 27 tumultuous seasons, the NSL closed down in 2004, to be replaced by the A-League. It was Frank Lowy who helped start the NSL, but in his second coming he chose to bury its memory. Yet 12 years on, the NSL legacy refuses to go away.
The FFA Cup has become a powerful reminder of the old guard's continuing contribution, while plans to expand the A-League and perhaps create a second division generally bring former NSL clubs into the conversation. Not to mention the fact that four A-League clubs have their roots in the NSL.
Unsurprisingly, Football Federation Australia has made only muted acknowledgement of the 40th anniversary, but in recent times there have been signs of a more open mind from Whitlam Square. The hatchet is buried and the NSL is not demonised as it once was.
Tellingly, one-time NSL clubs such as West Adelaide, Wollongong Wolves, South Melbourne, Brisbane Strikers and Adelaide City are all gearing up for a return to a bigger stage, either in an expanded A-League or a new second division.
While you might ignore history, you can't deny it. "Kossie" is proof of that. In the meantime, here are the teams from the very first game.
Canberra City: Ron Tilsed, Danny Moulis, Tony Henderson, Mike Black (Ken Kawaleva), John Stoddart, Steve Hogg, Ivan Gruicic, Oscar Langone, Nick Boskov, John Brown, Brian Stoddart.
West Adelaide: Martyn Crook, Laki Vagianos, Neil McGachey, Steve Amos, Barry Reynolds, David Jones, Gordon McCulloch, David Pillans (Alan Bourke), Graham Honeyman, Ian McGregor, John Kosmina (Nick Pantelis).
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/ghost-of-national-soccer-league-still-apparent-40-years-on-from-humble-beginnings-20170402-gvbqiu.html
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By aufc_ole - 2 Apr 2017 11:44 PM
+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xThe NSL constantly accomodated itself to the point of oblivion. Proper pragmatic strategy is required to revolutionise the game further. We must learn from our past. The NSL was controlled by the NSL club executives, the very same clubs that want a vote and leading the charge to enter the A-League after they lower it's quality and value so they can survive a MKII version. How would they lower the quality Paul, why don't you enlighten us. How will these cornershop stores dominate NSL MKII. They want to run on the whiff of an oily rag so they can survive. That's what they want. If you don't have the turnover to employ professional coaching, medical, administrative or other professional staff and can't afford a modern sports set up than the quality will suffer. Their mono ethnic community alone can't support a successful professional in-house structure and the clubs won't broaden their base to improve that position. Their proposal is little different to a NSL MkII. The standard there was markedly lower. That set up can't exist in the A-league so they are no threat at all. In a pro/rel environment it's even worse for them because they will never get promoted and will continually slide down a tiered comp. You should be the first one begging for pro/rel. Well if that's the case they shouldn't be asking for a spot in the A-League first up! Who is asking for a spot. If you're talking about South Melbourne they meet that criteria already. The main criteria is the ability to grow the game and extend it out to mainstream. SM Hellas have been either unable or unwilling to do that. Look who pops his little head out of Hollandia park.
All ethnicities are ok except for wogs
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