Reports have surfaced in the last few days that Walter Bugno, popular chairman of A-League champion team Sydney FC, is being forced out of the club. Quite incredibly, Frank Lowy, Football Federation Australia chairman and proxy shareholder in Sydney FC, is said to be behind the push to ouster Bugno.
The club's bottom line losses of reportedly $3 million this season are clearly a major factor in this behind-the-scenes drama. Pierre Littbarski and Dwight Yorke alone have cost the club at least $1.5 million in salary payments. As a consequence, Lowy, via his son David who is a 25% shareholder in Sydney FC, has apparently instructed the club's board to divest from outlandish expenses on staff. Bugno was instrumental in bringing Yorke and Littbarski to Australia and it seems he'd protest such a move with his resignation or be forced to quit in another cost-cutting measure.
If the champions lose Littbarski, Yorke and Bugno, what will they gain in return? A new chairman sanctioned by Lowy will be installed. Family friend and Primo Smallgoods managing director Paul Lederer has been mooted. A new coach will be hired to replace Littbarski, presumably at well under half the cost. One might suggest Nick Theodorakopoulos or Branko Culina, but the pair have been overlooked before. Perhaps Assistant Coach Ian Crook can be promoted for a bargain basement price. Frank Farina is another candidate, but his relationship with Lowy may not remain friendly after Lowy sacked Farina from the Australian national team. It is only clear that the new coach will be someone with a substantially inferior profile and track record (as a player, if not a coach) to Littbarski. Finally, the absence of a star player may hit the club hardest. Undeniably, a large number of fans across Australia have purchased tickets to Sydney FC matches in order to watch Dwight Yorke play football. Lowy seems to favour the optomistic opinion that elite players are no longer required to sustain attendance figures, but even the FFA doesn't support this position. Matt Carroll continues to encourage clubs to seek guest players and marquee signings.
All of this bitter news is reminiscient of Soccer NSW's early exit from the development of Sydney FC in late-2004 due to the excessive interference of Frank Lowy, who was accused of making the club his "plaything".
While Lowy has overseen some of Football's greatest days in Australia, the news of factional in-fighting at the club aimed at the extremely well-liked Bugno has prompted supporters to speculate about darker days on the horizon. Can Australia's second richest man build a successful club without the support of Sydney's diehard football fans?
Update (Mar-23): Bugno is staying.
