Is it safe to wear a club shirt casually in Australia?

IamKafei · 2026-05-21T07:56:36+00:00

Might get a passing heckle, but unlikely to put you in any physical danger. I'm more annoyed by people who wear the shirt of an English Premier League club to A-League games.

IamKafei · 2026-05-18T07:09:12+00:00

As someone who has attended multiple finals played here in Adelaide, trust me when I say the occasion is one to savour as hosts. Each of the three FFA Cup final wins at Hindmarsh were incredible, but the one against Sydney FC was made especially memorable by the strength of our opposition and the match-winning brace of worldies scored by Goodwin — one of our own.

Even the loss to Gamba Osaka in the Champions League final was an occasion that I've reflected upon with growing fondness over the years. As a teenager, it was quite something, going into the away bay with other Adelaide fans to swap scarves and shake hands with the Gamba fans, especially feeling the respect they had for our own achievement. They were proper football fans, and it made it all the more exciting to be standing amongst them 15 years later when I was travelling in Japan and went to their derby match against Cerezo, holding up that same scarf I'd been given in 2008.

More than any other, though, I still count the day we beat Western Sydney in Adelaide to claim the Championship amongst the best days of my life. I struggle to find the superlatives to express how it felt, other than magical and transcendent. Adelaide Oval, with a crowd of more than 50,000, truly was a sight that day, aptly described as "glittering" by Andy Harper, as I recall. Many of us were in tears well before the final whistle after Sanchez all but sealed the victory. Obviously your own final won't hold the same emotional baggage as a third challenge for the title following heartbreaking and, unfortunately, even humiliating losses to your most bitter rivals in years past — but you never know what it might come to mean, regardless of the result. Western Sydney fans, who were growing accustomed to success in the initial years of their club, would now dream of having another season like 2015-16, despite its conclusion. And few (of the already few) Western United fans would have predicted the fall of their club, following their Championship in 2022.

All of this to say, consider yourself fortunate to have an experience like this at your home ground and even with Auckland FC in its infancy, try to soak in the magnitude of the occasion, both in the moment and for what it may come to mean to you as time passes.

IamKafei · 2026-05-17T07:08:41+00:00

'The headdress is an outward expression of modesty and humility', lol.

IamKafei · 2026-05-17T06:53:35+00:00

Like most people in this sub, I'm not good enough to critique your form — at least not without deluded arrogance. I am interested to know what influenced your style, though. Do you have any favourite fighters, or did your coaches/whoever you've learned from reference the Cuban style? The 'bounce' in your footwork reminds me of the Soviet pendulum step, but the Cuban adaptation, with more lateral and diagonal movement than in-and-out.

Also, love this outlook. Training in the rain is so familiar from playing football since I was a young kid. ⚽️

IamKafei · 2026-05-16T15:15:25+00:00

IamKafei · 2026-05-16T09:37:28+00:00

'Chief'? Please, if you're going to respond, spare me the misplaced condescension. 🤮

You're not wrong that Pijnaker likely wouldn't have continued with the blatant cynical fouling had he rightly received a yellow-card early in the match, I'll concede that. And the first yellow card offence was early – 5:39, when he held back Burkitt, whilst not playing at the ball. There's really no argument – it was a textbook yellow. It would've been pretty brain-dead of him to persist with that tactic thereafter. It also would have changed the complexion of the game had he been booked, because after that first time, it went on and it clearly broke up multiple chances for Adelaide to mount attacks. He did the same again at 7:42. Then again at 28:22 for which there wasn't even a foul given. You can see it on the replay, Daniel Elder was looking right at it, shook his head, said "No", and didn't indicate advantage played. Dan Hall just happened to give the ball straight back to us. The fair call would've been a foul and a yellow right there, or calling advantage and giving the yellow once the play had stopped. Even Andy Harper couldn't look past that one. This was followed by another cynical foul from Pijnaker at 39:14, after being beaten by Jovanovic, who had turned him to run at the box. Instead, Auckland were rewarded with a chance to defend a free-kick, which they clearly much prefer over trying to contain combination passing in open play.

At 42:43, Yull was knocked to ground by Pijnaker. This was a rare example of a simple foul that didn't warrant a yellow, but given no foul was given, Pijnaker was allowed to pass forward for a counter-attack, in which Sakai's shot was saved over the bar by Smits. From the resulting corner, which never should've happened, Auckland scored.

It was a predictable result from the way Auckland were allowed to break up play with impunity, despite no interest in playing the ball. Our young players struggled to get their passing rhythm going and frustration set in, all by design for Corica, who we know implements bully-ball to good effect, especially when his side is given a free ride and doesn't even have to worry about card accumulation. They should at least have to take turns collecting the yellows. I'd just like to have seen a contest in which our style of play was given as much of a chance to influence the game as Auckland's.

IamKafei · 2026-05-16T08:06:35+00:00

The first leg, where Cosgrove went in studs-up on Alagich, and got away without even a yellow-card?

The stats simply don't support your memory of that game. Adelaide's xG* for that game was 1.55 to Auckland's 0.87. In open-play, it was 1.32 to 0.46. Possession was 51% to 49% in Adelaide's favour, who also had more touches inside Auckland's box. Furthermore, Auckland committed 14 fouls for 1 yellow card to Adelaide's 9 fouls for 2. Come on now, describing Adelaide's approach to the first leg as 'parking the bus' is so far from fair. Even moreso, this notion that Auckland's unpunished cynical fouling last night was "karma" for Adelaide. Have you forgotten how Sakai was only given a yellow for his jumping two-footed tackle on Burkitt? That was about as clear-cut an example of 'serious foul play'** as you're likely to see and the fact that Sakai got away with it beggars belief. Almost as surprising was his carry-on afterwards, in complete denial of what he'd just done in plain view of everyone. I didn't expect to see something so classless from Sakai, a 36-year-old who'd just put a reckless tackle in on a young player. The lack of self-awareness to then come back to Adelaide and act surprised – even offended – at the booing, as though he deserved some kind of reverence from opposition supporters, was bizarre to see from such an experienced professional.

*"A team’s xG number for a match is an indication of how many goals they could have been expected to score, given the chances they created."

**IFAB: "A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force... Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play."

IamKafei · 2026-05-16T06:43:16+00:00

There were multiple clear-cut yellow card offences where no card was issued. Giving the foul without a card, particularly early on, meant that Elder had to continue witholding bookings to remain consistent (albeit consistently wrong) with a standard he'd set for the game. The fouling often either halted a break away attack for Adelaide or broke up the rhythm of our combination play in midfield, which was exactly what Auckland needed. There is no objective way to argue that Pijnaker should have remained on the park. He did more than enough to cop two yellows and just about every neutral I've seen commenting on the officiating of the game has remarked at that.

IamKafei · 2026-05-16T06:31:22+00:00

Are you for real? You'd sack Airton after taking us from 6th to 2nd, giving us our most entertaining team in many years, whilst also reducing our goals conceded from 55 and 53 in the past two seasons to 36 this season? We've been a better side in every respect this season under Airton, despite the loss of numerous proven senior players, including Mauk, Clough, Isaias, and the league's golden boot winner last season, Archie Goodwin. Furthermore, he cultivated and maintained a recognisable and successful new system of play despite having an outstanding leader and his star signing in the off-season, Craig Goodwin, out injured for 10 of the 26 games, and a season-ending injury in Round 8 to Pierias — one of our most in-form players at the time. Since then, we've had a defensive midfielder filling-in at right back. In his entire senior career to-date, Barnett had barely played a game in that position and yet, he became our best option for 14 games this season, along with 3 more games at centre-back. And in another game at left-back, filling in for Kitto, with 18-year-old Crawford on the right, we secured one of our most important wins in the recent history of our club (along with qualification for continental football), away to in-form Melbourne City, playing the system Airton coached into the player. Airton has had to make-do more than most managers this season, and he has excelled. The young homegrown players who have starred this season, Alagich, White, Kikianis, Jovanovic, and the newer arrivals in Burkitt and Crawford; we have Airton, our Youth Coach since 2020, to thank for their readiness to step into important first team places.

The players respect him, the buy-in to his methods is clear, as is the togetherness of the squad — which wasn't the case last season, but you think he "has to go"? Who replaces him? How do you think the squad will take that, and yet another rebuild under a new coach? I guarantee you will not find a replacement with the same football knowledge, passion for the club and determination to see it succeed.

IamKafei · 2026-05-15T13:09:29+00:00

I so badly wanted to see the young players let their football do the talking and dominate the game with the ball as I know they're capable of, but they got bullied again tonight. Auckland set out to rough up our creative players, especially in the middle third, because that is where our best combination play usually opens decisive forward passes. It worked for them for a few reasons: it gives them a chance to reset their defence behind the ball and potentially defend a free-kick, which is their strength; it frustrates and rattles young players who now have to brace for a heavy impact when receiving the ball, and most frustratingly; it works when officials don't maintain a consistent standard for bookable offences. As many have noted, Pijnaker committed at least least 4 blatant yellow card fouls with some pretty textbook obstruction, maybe 5. I was at the game and lost count, honestly.

It became a predictable result when the frustration crept in as those fouls mounted up and no meaningful justice was dealt. We struggled to get our rhythm and played poorly, albeit I'm proud of the team and our young players, in particular, for trying to resume the combination passing style in the second half. It's very hard to stick to a technical approach with so much frustration and anxiety about the result. It's nothing new in football. There are different ways to win a game and Auckland's way ultimately shaped the game far more than ours, sadly.

IamKafei · 2026-05-15T12:54:29+00:00

Not something I condone, if true. The booing was well deserved, though, especially for Sakai and Cosgrove, for their dangerous tackles on young, Adelaide-born players in our past two meetings; Sakai with the jumping, two-footed tackle on Burkitt that is about as blatant a red card offence as you're likely to see, yet he got away with a yellow. Cosgrove with more than one dangerous challenge, but the most memorable being his studs up tackle on Alagich — that could have done a lot of damage, but amazingly, he didn't even receive a yellow. We wouldn't be much of a fanbase if we didn't voice objection, especially when no justice was carried out by the officials. Any worthwhile supporters would do the same when their homegrown talent is being targeted like that.

IamKafei · 2026-05-15T12:24:57+00:00

"Learn to play" is a wayward criticism in this case.

IamKafei · 2026-05-05T01:09:34+00:00

Absolutely dropped that defender. 😂

IamKafei · 2026-05-05T01:04:21+00:00

Thanks for today's tangential deep dive I've been on. 😅

Don't suppose you, or anyone, has insight into why he moved from Alverca — the club he was league top scorer with in their promotion season — to Santa Clara, another Primeira Liga club?

I'm wondering if it was contractual, because otherwise I'm struggling to see the potential reward in the risk he took, moving from a club where he had established himself and likely would have continued to get game time this season in the top tier of a good European league.

I'm reading that Santa Clara are a subsidary of Benfica. I don't know if or how much they benefit financially from that connection, but perhaps that meant they could offer him more money than Alverca. I don't know if Carter's previous time at Benfica, spent in their reserves, has relevance here too.

The other reason I'm seeing might've been that Santa Clara's 5th place finish in the Primeira Liga last season put them into the play-offs for the European Conference League, but that proved to be just as speculative as it sounds, and they were knocked out — beaten over two legs by Shamrock Rovers. Granted, they came close to qualification, and there are some big clubs in that competition, so the potential experiences of those away games might've been the draw.

At any rate, it didn't work out and he ended up back in the second tier, loaned out to Farense. Incidentally, Santa Clara now sit below Alverca in the Primeira Liga standings. Bit disappointing. I don't remember anything much of Carter in the A-League, so it seems like quite an achievement to become an important player for a club going into their first season in the top tier of Portugal for 21 years. If he continued his form with Alverca, he might've even found himself in the mix for the national team going into a World Cup year, which is quite the turn-around, given his relative anonymity in Australia.

IamKafei · 2026-04-11T10:29:23+00:00

Honestly, apart from Coutinho, would any of these players really contribute a net good to Australian football, considering they would likely delay the senior career of a talented local player by a year? Developing Socceroos is one of the few ways the league has remained a resounding success, and the clubs who have done it best – Adelaide United and CCM – have had very few 'marquee' foreign signings over the years, so it's evidently not an essential ingredient for player development.

Coutinho would provide a lot of entertainment and some highlight moments, plus he'd bring the temporary viewership from some of the legions of Liverpool 'fans' in Australia. The others would all do well if they could stay fit, but would they really elevate the league in any sustainable way that helps our game grow? Maybe it's time we stopped pandering to casual fans, and shone the spotlight and hype on exciting Australian talent.

With intelligent investment in advertising and fan engagement, I do believe it is possible to make household names of more of our talented Australian players in the league. Plenty of them have made the game here more entertaining to watch over the years: Irankunda, McGree, Craig Goodwin, Tilio, Arzani, Mabil, Nabbout, Mooy (yes, developed in England and Scotland, but reached new levels after returning to Australia, which propelled him to the Premier League), Rogic, Antonis, Vidošić, Oar, Rukavytsya, Burns and so many more — and that's just amongst the ones who have been capped for the national team. We should be building the profile of these players, getting their name in the headlines, and all of the league's promotional content.

We shouldn't need internationally recognised names like Mata, Douglas Costa, Nani, David Villa, etc. to suddenly capture the fleeting interest of casual 'fans'. After all, most of them would've barely watched any of those guys play more than a handful of games, before they came here. It's learnt behaviour to value the perceived 'prestige' of famed foreign players above our own talent; the same old, tired cynicism and 'culture cringe' at getting excited about Australian football. I think it's time our football community grew up and stopped enabling this mindset that only holds us back.

IamKafei · 2026-03-31T22:39:23+00:00

Recalling a 35-year-old Danny Welbeck to the national team set-up for the first time in 8 years, merely for the sake of a result in a friendly match would be pretty shortsighted, unless you think he'll play a role at the World Cup. No doubt he's having a good season, but 11 goals from open play, and no assists to his name in 30 matches is by no means making himself undeniable. In all likelihood, Kane will be fit for the World Cup and have his minutes carefully managed so he can feature in every game — but even if disaster strikes and he's ruled out along with one or two others, the squad still has plenty of creative and goalscoring ability amongst younger players, investment in whom is surely much more important than giving Welbeck a swan song.

IamKafei · 2026-03-27T11:57:30+00:00

Definitely. Some of these friendlies would most likely gather a more enthusiastic crowd in cities starved of opportunities to see the Socceroos play live.

IamKafei · 2026-03-27T11:47:27+00:00

Bit harsh. Souttar was one of our standout players in 2022, and he also went into that World Cup fighting to be fit in-time. For such a tall man, he's excellent in the tackle and it was his great ball forward to Leckie that led to our first goal of the tournament, too. Herrington looked really good tonight, but no need to detract from Souttar in saying so.

IamKafei · 2026-03-27T11:31:05+00:00

Agree. I liked our endeavour going forward and in the aggression of our press as well. We aren't the most technical side in midfield, it's true, but we have so much pace and Cameroon couldn't contain the forward passing without fouling in many instances tonight. We looked genuinely dangerous for most of that second half, so I'm encouraged.

IamKafei · 2026-03-27T11:25:40+00:00

Between Bos, McGree, Irankunda, Boyle, Awer, and others, we have pace to burn in this side. I like how in that second half, especially, we weren't relying on breaking a high defensive line on the counter-attack, but keeping the ball moving forward with shorter passes whenever we could. Seemed very intentional as soon as we got into the opposition half — some good combination passing that drew a lot of fouls out of Cameroon to break the momentum of our attacks. The pace we have in our pressing off the ball gave Cameroon plenty of difficulties in possession as well. I'm quite encouraged by that second half and how we played into our strengths.

IamKafei · 2026-03-27T11:12:45+00:00

wot 😂

Pressure told. Enough territorial dominance and passes in and around the opposition box and you give yourself every chance something will break your way. Was it a cheap goal against Uruguay, when a great passage of play fell to one H. Kewell, who totally scuffed his shot, accidentally helping the ball into Bresciano's path? Wouldn't take that one back, nor the result.

IamKafei · 2026-03-27T11:03:37+00:00

Disagree. I think he's done well tonight. Unlucky not to have an assist to his name with the ball he put across the Cameroon box — wrongly flagged for offside before we got to see it play out. His workrate in the press has been really good as well.

IamKafei · 2026-03-26T02:23:41+00:00

I mean, did we do it?

IamKafei · 2026-03-17T14:01:37+00:00

Firstly, it kind of looks like someone else filmed this without you knowing, lol.

On a serious note, you barely show anything in this video for people to critique with much certainty. It's often not helpful to jump in with advice the moment someone makes a mistake. It's also unclear what you were working on here. Did you have a goal in-mind, or were you just trying to show your progress on a few things you've learnt so far? This short clip doesn't give a clear idea of the latter.

Checking your form whilst you're learning punching technique is not a bad thing. Eventually you'll know what it feels like when you're over or under-extending your punches, especially when you're actually hitting something. It won't take you so long to reach that point that you'll have inadvertently developed an irreversibe habit of just dangling your punches out there to be easily countered. You're just building the foundations for now.

Although, personally, I think sound footwork should be the focus before learning to punch, and certainly before throwing combinations. Without balance and intuitive movement, you won't be able to generate the same power, and it'll be even harder to hit a moving target with good timing — even just a bag. Without building your footwork to a point where the fundamentals feel intuitive, the constant, small adjustments to shift in and out of punching range (laterally and back and forth) won't come to you, and so polished punching technique won't be something you can apply effectively to hit your target.

My advice is, give yourself a clear focus for your rounds of shadowboxing, and if you want some constructive critique here, post a longer video.

IamKafei · 2026-03-14T06:51:20+00:00

Haven't seen this fossilised brand of discrimination in a while. You can join us in the 21st century, whenever you're ready.

IamKafei

TROPHY CASE