Opinion

How Brosque achieved a rare Asian feat

Alex Brosque has done what few Australians have managed to do so far and that is go to the opposite ends of the Asian continent to play, persevere and prosper.

Brosque

Source: The National

The forward may rightly be a Sydney FC legend after over 200 games for the A-League giants but the news that this season will be his last as a professional player has been felt over in Japan and in the United Arab Emirates.

The 35 year-old is coming to the end of a career that has included 20 months with Shimizu S-Pulse and a spell of a similar length with Al Ain, the oasis city home to the Socceroos in January’s AFC Asian Cup.

As with his career in general, he left both sets of fans wanting a little more but wishing him well in future endeavours.

Here was a player who adapted to life in very different cultures with the minimum of fuss and focused on doing what he did best: scoring goals and helping others to do the same.

Brosque joined Al Ain, one of Asia’s biggest clubs with one AFC Champions League success and two final appearances, in September 2012.

He linked up with Ghanaian goal-getter Asamoah Gyan and the blossoming playmaker Omar Abdulrahman and played a major part in the club picking up the league championship the following May in dominant fashion. It was an Al Ain team fondly remembered in that part of the world.

“Alex was a perfect professional,” an Al Ain official told The World Game.

“That was a memorable season and he came in from Japan and slotted in right away. He worked hard at all times: when playing football but also in training and his preparation. In this region, there are a lot of players who come and go without making an impact but Alex did a great job for us. Gyan got the goals that season but those watching knew that Alex played a major role in that team too.”

Gyan scored an incredible 31 goals in that 26-game season and was happy to pay tribute to his teammate at the time. “Alex’s all-round play has given us an extra edge and he never seems to have a bad game,” said the 2010 FIFA World Cup star. “He is a pleasure to play with and it is because of players like him that I can score goals and the team can do well.”

While he won the title and more besides in the Middle East, it was Brosque’s performances in Japan that caught the eye all over Asia. The team, that plays in a lovely atmospheric stadium from which Fuji Mountain can be seen, has never been one of the country’s giants but has a reputation for being a good old family club which likes playing the right way.

Arriving in time for the 2011 season, one that was disrupted by the tragic tsunami of March, Brosque settled in quickly and impressed as S-Pulse finished mid-table.

“Alex did really well in the J.League,” said former Kyodo News sports editor Shintaro Kano. “He was instrumental to Afshin Ghotbi's Shimizu team and performed well enough in Japan to earn a call-up to the Socceroos and a transfer to the Middle East that set him up for life. Maybe he played his best football while he was in Japan…”

Fans were sad to see him head to Al Ain but understood that the Shizuoka outfit were not one of the big-spenders in Japan and, even of they were, could not have come up with the kind of financial package that was on offer in the UAE.

“I'm sure he's still well thought of by Shimizu fans but I don't think he was around long enough in Japan to leave a lasting impression on the entire league,” Kano added. “Certainly, he was one of the more cost-effective foreign players in recent memory.”

That’s quite a compliment. Alex Brosque was a quiet ambassador for Australian football and Australian players. Happy for others to make the headlines, he was valued by fans and teammates alike.


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4 min read
Published 17 April 2019 5:23pm
By John Duerden

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