Today Gold Coast United will be announcing the signing of Jason Culina as their inaugural marquee player. Jason Culina's decision to return to Australia is fairly easily the biggest move by a player coming to the A-league. However for all the benefits of this move to Australian football there are some negatives.
Pro- Culina is a current socceroo and played at the 2006 world cup. The con to this is you want your best players playing at the highest level possible to them. The playing level of football at PSV Eindhoven one of the best clubs in Netherlands is higher then it is currently in the A-league. However a counter to the con side of the argument is at the age of 28 and having played for 10 years in Netherlands, Jason Culina has most likely learnt all he could.
Pro- Coming back to play with Gold Coast United will enable Culina to share his experiences of playing in a top league of Europe with his teammates. He will also be able to give useful knowledge to any player who is trying to move to a club in Europe.
Con- there are no cons to this, his experience will make his teammates better players, especially the younger players. As well his knowledge could enable a player to play at a higher level of football at a club in Europe then would of been otherwise possible.
Con- the A-league season ends in February, if the socceroo's qualify for South Africa 2010 there will be a three month gap between the end of the season and the start of the tournament in June. This would make it difficult for Culina to maintain match fitness before the world cup. Pro- If Culina isn't playing league matches before the tournament there is less chance of him being injured for the world cup. It may also be possible for Culina to get a loan move to a club in Asia or Europe before the world cup to maintain match fitness.
Pro- Culina's return to Australia will strengthen the A-league and this will in turn make Australian Football stronger. There is no con to something that will put Australia football in a stronger position.
Pro- Culina's move to Gold Coast United could be the trigger to more socceroo players in the future returning to the A-league in their late 20's rather then waiting until their 30's. Con- if more players stop playing at the top level of football possible to them earlier in their careers then the national team will suffer as a result. Qualifying for the Asian Cup and especially World Cup will become more difficult.
Pro- Culina's move to Cold Coast United to be their marquee player may lead to other clubs signing players that are of the same calibre of Culina other then socceroos. There would be no cons if the Culina move lead to better players joining the various A-league clubs. However not all clubs might be in the position financially to do this.
The last pro is with Culina playing in the A-league there will be more media interest and coverage of the A-league. As well his move could lead to new fans coming to A-league matches. Overall there are more pros than cons to Jason Culina's move to Gold Coast United for the next A-league season.
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