Not-so-superMario topsA

Sidelines
Not-so-super Mario
tops A-League flops
J
ETS defender Tiago has
impressed most good judges
since arriving in July.
The imposing Brazilian centre
back combines skill with steel and
looks a more than ample
replacement for Ljubo Milicevic,
who played alongside Tiago in
Switzerland and recommended
him to the Jets.
The real judgment will be made
when the season kicks off against
Melbourne Heart on October 8.
Given the Jets’ history with
imports, especially from South
America, he doesn’t have a great
deal to beat.
With most clubs close to
finalising their rosters, which
include a host of not-so-wellknown overseas names, football
website FourFourTwo Australia this
month unveiled their Top 10
A-League Flops.
At the head of the list was none
ZURA
Tiago gets Lowe-down
JETS talent scout David Lowe has
been chaperoning Brazilian defender
Tiago and helping him settle in to
Newcastle since his arrival a month
ago.
The two have become good mates
but the relationship took on a new
dimension last week, as Lowe
confided to the audience at a
Lambton Jaffas sportsmen’s lunch at
Lambton Park Hotel on Friday.
Tiago’s pregnant wife, Paula,
daughter and mother-in-law were
flying out to join him, and the Brazilian
had to get his house in order.
So Lowey was helping him shop
for all the essentials.
‘‘We were in Target and Tiago was
pushing a trolley loaded with sheets
and pillows and so on,’’ Lowey
recalled. ‘‘I said to him, ‘You know we
look like the gay couple on Modern
Family.’ ’’
Lowey has been showing Tiago
videos of A-League games and even
a few from the vault of the old NSL.
One video featured Lowe playing
for the Breakers against Sydney
United, whose side included Jets
coach Branko Culina.
Lowe, who was a little more svelte
in those days, wore No.8 in the game
and Tiago has since dubbed him
Juninho after the great Brazilian
midfielder.
FourFourTwo’s top 10
EDITED BY MICHAEL PARRIS
Second
serves
‘‘It has been five weeks
without my family. That is the
maximum. I have spent a lot of
time on the phone. Now they
are here I am very happy, I am
complete.’’
– Jets defender TIAGO after his
wife, Paola, and three-year-old
daughter, Julia, arrived from
Brazil last week.
JARDEL
1 Mario Jardel (Jets)
2 Edmundo Zura (Jets)
3 Brian Deane (Glory)
4 Romario (Adelaide)
5 Ricardinho (Victory)
6 Steve McMahon jnr (Glory)
7 Terry Butcher (Sydney)
8 Scott Gemmill (Knights)
9 Yuning Zhang (Roar)
10 Bobby Petta (Adelaide/Sydney)
■ ■ ■ ■
‘‘My father and I played for the
club, and my thoughts were
that I was distressed to see it
doing poorly.’’
– Newcastle cricket legend and
former Knights chairman
MICHAEL HILL explains why at
age 66 he has volunteered to
become involved with struggling
Wests cricket club.
other than former Jet and one-time
Brazilian superstar Mario Jardel.
The two-time European Golden
Boot winner arrived in Australia in
2007 with a big profile but
unfortunately a girth to match.
Jardel struggled to make much
impact in his cameos off the bench
and never looked likely to do so.
Eventually coach Gary van
Egmond got his way and Jardel
was cut adrift by the club having
made 11 appearances (mostly as a
sub) and without scoring a goal.
Of course the Jets went on to
win the A-League championship
that year.
Jardel admitted later that he had
abused cocaine during his
checkered career.
If top spot wasn’t enough, the
Jets also grabbed No.2 with
Ecuador international Edmundo
Zura.
The powerful striker was famous
in Ecuador for donning a mask as
part of his goal celebration. When
Football Federation Australia
banned the mask, Zura’s goalscoring powers vanished with it.
Nine appearances and zero
goals later, it was over.
In his defence, the Jets did not
play a system that suited Zura and
he struggled to settle in Australia.
Since returning to his homeland he
has gone on to earn four more
caps for Ecuador.
■ ■ ■ ■
‘‘I’ve got some ideas about
how the first two grades can
improve, just by application
and setting some goals. And
probably most importantly, I
think as you get older you have
to mix with younger people,
otherwise you end up hanging
around with old blokes.’’
– HILL outlines his philosophy.
■ ■ ■ ■
stage. If you want a game to take off
in China, you need approval from
the national board.
‘‘That can be a bit of a pain in the
arse and more of a hassle than its
worth with the resources he have.’’
Mittasch said a Melbourne
Demons-Brisbane Lions exhibition
match in Shanghai in October last
year created interest.
Teams from Canada, China,
Denmark, Fiji, France, Great Britain,
India, Ireland, Japan, Nauru, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peace
Team (comprising Israeli and
Palestinian players), Sweden, South
Africa, Timor Leste, Tonga and the US
are playing in the International Cup.
The final will be played on August
27 as a curtain-raiser to the
Hawthorn-Western Bulldogs game
at the MCG.
PAINED: A Sidelines spy captured
this spectator at yesterday’s West
Wallsend-Edgeworth soccer
game with a fake knife sticking in
his back. Our man is believed to
be a West Wallsend Magpies
rugby league player on the team’s
Mad Sunday showing his support
for Bluebells coach Darren Sills,
who was offered the Westy
coaching job again next year but
then had the offer withdrawn.
Aussie rules in China
IT is well documented that AFL is on
the march into Western Sydney.
What is not well known is AFL’s
development in the world’s most
populous country and growing
economic powerhouse, China.
Former Novocastrian Mic Mittasch
is playing a major role in the
development of Aussie rules as
president of the Beijing Bombers and
manager of the Chinese national
team.
Mittasch was back in Newcastle on
Saturday night to celebrate the
10-year reunion of the West
Newcastle-Wallsend Demons’ Black
Diamond AFL premiership.
In 2001 the Demons beat Cardiff in
the grand final, but the club folded a
year later.
Mittasch missed the grand final
when he moved to China for work.
44 NEWCASTLE HERALD Monday, August 15, 2011
The reunion was good timing for
Mittasch, who was back in Australia
with the Chinese team for the 2011
International Cup in Sydney.
Chinese AFL is driven by Aussie
ex-pats and features three main clubs
– Beijing Bombers, Shanghai Tigers
and Guangzhou Scorpions.
‘‘Now we’re getting more and more
Chinese involved with us, so when we
train we’re getting 15 or so Chinese
guys play with us,’’ Mittasch said.
‘‘It’s very much in its infancy
Thornton’s winning ton
CARL Thornton broke the centurymakers’ curse at state league soccer
club Weston yesterday when the
Bears triumphed 4-0 at Bear Park.
Striker Michael Ryan and
goalkeeper Tim Pratt marked their
100th games for the club this
season with defeats.
But 23-year-old defender
Thornton finished on the winning
side in his milestone game as
Weston revived their finals hopes.
‘‘We were just in disbelief that
the referee put the penalty
shoot-out at that end right
where they are. Like there
wasn’t going to be some
controversy. It was a
commonsense decision. So
how they came to the decision
to take it down that end in
front of a mob like that is just
beyond me.’’
– Edgeworth Eagles president
WARREN MILLS on the decision
to hold the penalty shoot-out for
last Wednesday night’s Solo Cup
soccer final in front of boisterous
South Cardiff fans.
■ ■ ■ ■
‘‘I defend our supporters fully.
I know what they do and don’t
do, and we love them.’’
– South Cardiff secretary BRAD
ROBB defends his club’s fans,
who managed to niggle Eagles
keeper Ben Smith into getting
sent off during the shoot-out
after giving the mob the bird. The
Gunners eventually won the
shoot-out.
■ ■ ■ ■
‘‘I love Sam. I think she’s one of
the best young defenders
coming through, so I’m very
excited she’s from NSW. She
was training against us getting
absolutely flogged, the poor
thing.’’
– Australian sharpshooter
CATHERINE COX on Newcastle
netballer Samantha Poolman.
■ ■ ■ ■
‘‘I would have rather won the
Lotto.’’
– Hamilton winger NAT HEATH
on his battle with the rare
Guillain-Barré syndrome, a
neurological condition that
affects one in 100,000 people
annually and can be lifethreatening.