More Physical, or About the Same?

What characteristic might best differentiate the A-League from other leagues around the world?

For three Queensland Roar trialists, the answer it seems is the league's emphasis on highly "physical" and energetic play.

Sergio van Dijk: "In Holland it's physical, but not as physical as here".

Marcio Carioca: "I've played a lot in the north of Brazil, and it's definitely more physical there than the rest of Brazil" (by way of asserting that he has the strength to cope with Australian defences).

Bruno Mezenga: "This is a very good chance for me to improve my strength by playing a game that's more physical and that has more power and more speed".

Australia just can't seem to escape this stereotype, be it at the local level, during international friendlies (thanks David Mitchell and Kevin Muscat) or at the World Cup.

Of course, the stereotype does contain an element of truth. Australian culture exhibits broad tolerance, even gleefulness, for thuggish behaviour in sports. Somewhat tragically, a bit of inelegant biffo usually goes down as well with audiences as any sublime moment of skill. Yet, there's also a touch of irony here. Historically, "soccer" in this country has been seen as the game for sheilas, wogs and poofters, to quote Johnny Warren. For us to be viewed internationally as a strong, rough and powerful proponent of the round ball game is strongly at odds with many perceptions at home.

As usual, the truth is probably a balance of the two perspectives. I think it's highly controversial to claim that the A-League is any more physically demanding than, say, the English Championship or the Scottish Premier League. But, the Australian manner of going about business in the sporting arena at home is clearly dissimilar to the way a group of multi-nationals will play together at a top club in Europe, where raw brawn is permitted for perhaps only one or two players with the rest of the team expected to demonstrate equivalent competence on the ball. (This is another way of saying that a rich club in Europe can achieve a better balance of equivalent abilities among team members across a season than a relatively poor club in Australia, where a greater range of skill levels might be observed on any one day.) I'm just not sure that cultural differences are the primary reason for different patterns of play globally. Surely latent and developed skill has something to do with it. If we in Australia play at a fast tempo and with quite a lot of rough and tumble, it's probably more a factor of a particular set of abilities (athleticism, strength, bravery) making up for shortfalls in other areas (technical understanding, creative flair, magnetic touch). That comes down to signatures at birth, habits, coaching and training, professional guidance, community acceptance and support for one's chosen endeavour, hard work, and so on.

These differences don't necessarily make individuals any more or less useful as footballers nor leagues any more or less physical than others at similar levels of average skill around the world. You can still have your leg horribly broken at the highest level or escape unscathed from any harm at all after a few decades in a prison league.

I do hope that we also manage to attract footballers from overseas who ignore all the nonsense about the physicality of our league and instead look forward to developing their skills and reputation at an accommodating mid-tier juncture in their careers.