Want to know what happened to former assistant coach Joe Montemurro? Well, he's ended up in Papua New Guinea. Also good to know that the National Soccer League lives on.
NEW kids on the block, FC Port Moresby, WNB Tavur FC and NC Civil Works Oro FC will be out to impress their supporters when they debut in the 2013 Telikom National Soccer League tomorrow.
Aspiring newcomer, FC Port Moresby will face a baptism of fire against reigning champions, Hekari United FC, while Oro will take on neighbouring Milne Bay franchise, Eastern Star FC, in their opening match.
Under Italian coach Joe Montemurro, FC Port Moresby have been preparing well since making their intention known to take part in the semi-professional competition.
Known as Pepe, Montemurro was extremely impressed with the talent of his charges, which include eight national reps plus prominent emerging youth players who have won age group international caps.
“This blend of youth and experience of PNG’s finest home-grown players is a coach’s dream,” he said.
“FC Port Moresby players come from all four regions of PNG and we are excited about building a fan base that extends nationwide.”
On the prospect of facing Hekari first up, Pepe said “Every team wants to play against the champions to truly test themselves.”
“This is a fantastic introduction to the 2013 NSL season, of course, the premiers will start as favourites but I am confident that we can promise Port Moresby residents that your team is here to play.”
Senior player Reginald Davani said his squad had been preparing well for the opening match.
The club has secured the services of former Hekari United player Neil Hans, who will lead the side against his former teammates.
Hekari coach Jerry Allen could not say much about his chances
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
5 comments:
A few notes on comments.
We've had a lot of fun over the years with my freewheeling comments policy, but all good things must come to an end. Therefore I will no longer be approving comments that contain personal abuse of any sort.
Still, if your post doesn't get approved straight away, it's probably because I haven't seen it yet.
As usual, publication of a comment does not mean endorsement of its content.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
he will be missed!
ReplyDeletewhy PNG of all places?
It's a bit of a left field move, isn't it? We wish him all the best - I suppose if he can do well there, the Oceania Champions League becomes available, and from there the World Club Championships...
ReplyDeleteThis goes to show how fucking shit Joe Montemurro was for South Melbourne FC and as a coach in general.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your honest thoughts on this guy as a coach Paul? Surely you would agree he is a joke and his coaching badges making him look better than he is.
In my opinion the NZ clubs are to strong in Oceania and if he wants to get to the Club World Cup with this team or even OCL he is wasting his time.
I hope Joe Montemurro never returns to Australia.
My stance on Joe is pretty straight forward. I think the consensus that he's a good junior coach but a failed senior coach is close to the mark. It was also an odd situation to see three senior coaches in three years with the same assistant.
ReplyDeleteWhile the New Zealand teams dominate the Oceanian scene, Papuan side Hekari did win the title back in 2009/10, so it's not impossible for a PNG side to make something happen. It'll be interesting to see how he goes.
Will he be poaching any of our players? Can we give him a wish-list?
ReplyDelete