Hey mate, what do you hear about regarding the perception of Avondale amongst the Italian community? What do APIA and Marconi for example think of them?
I honestly think most people in the Italian community don’t really think about them, and that’s part of the problem for them. Atleast they don’t think of them as anything more than a suburban club..ie. not the same thing as Marconi or Adelaide city or APIA. Money (particularly when it’s coming from a backer rather than the club itself) or short term success can’t buy history, and let’s be honest that’s what most of the traditional clubs have been running on in the post nsl era, and what attracts people to them, tradition, history and historical context. You cant buy it, you can’t manufacture it. You can’t make a new historic club, it doesn’t work that way
There was a long period of time when clubs like Marconi or Adelaide city were the pinnacle of Australian club soccer, they were as good as it got, so they’re not just normal suburban clubs, and the historic reasons they became clubs that they did also don’t apply to Avondale, they were never the community hub for outcast migrants etc it’s all about context. I think most people just see Avondale as a suburban club who happen to be good at the moment. Just because they’re strong on the field right now doesn’t make them a big club. They’ve got a lot of catching up to do to make up for all those decades of history when they were just a park team
Probably most people at Marconi or APIA think of Avondale the way they would about Bayswater or something in WA. They think it’s a team that happens to be up the top of their state league right now with an Italian connection and that’s it.
Imo and I think most would agree that the big Italian clubs in Australia are Marconi, Adelaide city, APIA, then maybe historically Brunswick juventus, but nowadays it’s probably daylight after those 3 (refer to my comment the other day re many people not considering the current Brunswick juventus to be the actual Brunswick juventus/the merger de merger situation). Not Avondale
And for Melb Italian clubs it was probably originally Brunswick juventus, then Fawkner, then maybe bulleen or Essendon royals. Not Avondale.
Like if Clifton hill got a rich backer and won promotion multiple times and won the npl..that would be good for them, but it doesn’t mean they compare to/are the same thing as a club like South Melbourne or Sydney Olympic or Heidelberg and West Adelaide
