John Aloisi has played at virtually every major stadium across Australia, all of which are world class facilities.
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But the football legend responsible for kicking arguably the most important goal in Socceroos history says none of those hold a candle to what his players had the pleasure of playing on at Mudgee on Saturday.
Aloisi’s Brisbane Roar outfit fought hard to secure a 2-all draw with Western Sydney at Glen Willow Regional Sporting Complex, the Wanderers taking their round four A-League community round clash west for the first time.
Aloisi was pleasantly surprised by the standard of the playing surface at Mudgee, too, the former Central Coast Mariners, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart marquee man lauding the turf as "the best pitch in Australia”.
“I haven’t seen a pitch like this in Australia, since I’ve been here,” Aloisi said following his side’s clash at Mudgee.
“It’s a credit to Mudgee. I didn’t expect it, it was great to play on and that’s probably why you saw that good football being played.”
It’s a fair tip of the hat from Australian football royalty.
Aloisi booted the decisive penalty against Uruguay in 2006 to launch Australia to its first World Cup since 1974 at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney.
The 42-year-old boasts a professional career spanning 20 seasons, with league totals of 459 games and 127 goals.
He's also the first Australian to play and score in La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A.
Saturday’s clash was a Wanderers’ home game, and given the A-League only asks clubs to host a community round clash once every two years there’s no guarantee Western Sydney will again bring a competition game to Mudgee next season.
But you get the feeling Aloisi wouldn’t be against Brisbane looking at Glen Willow as a home away from home.
“They’ve been very welcoming … we’ve been looked after and I’ll give them a lot of credit for a pitch like this, it’s sensational,” he added.