David Clarkson, one of Tasmania’s unsung football heroes, will be back in Tasmania next week when A-League club Western United play two games at UTAS Stadium in Launceston.
Clarkson, 53, has been appointed as Western United’s Tasmanian Ambassador for Football for the two A-League games.
Clarkson is one of our greatest football exports and has played overseas and in Australia at high levels.
He attended South Hobart Primary School and his talent was immediately evident on the football pitch.
He played senior football here for Rapid and Juventus before being accepted into the Australian Institute of Sport in 1986.
The midfielder then joined NSL giants South Melbourne Hellas and won successive league titles with the club.
He also played for South Melbourne at the World Club Cup tournament in Brazil.
Clarkson then headed to England, the country of his birth, and played for Brighton & Hove Albion from 1991 to 1993.
Hong Kong football then beckoned and he turned out for Happy Valley FC and South China from 1993 until 1996, when he returned to Australia.
Clarkson has coached in Victoria and worked with junior Australian representative teams at two youth World Cup tournaments.
He has worked in the media and has been on the executive committee of Professional Footballers Australia.
Clarkson told me was delighted to be coming back to Tasmania as Western United’s Tasmanian Football Ambassador and he was hoping that Tasmanian fans would turn out in large numbers for the two A-League games in Launceston on 17 and 22 April.
He’s pleased that most local league games have been postponed on the Saturday because it was important that Tasmanian fans and players can attend what will be a competitive A-League fixture.
Western United, currently 7th, tale on A-League leaders Central Coast Mariners on Saturday, 17 April at 5.05pm, while on Thursday, 22 April, Western United host Wellington Phoenix (10th) at 7.05pm.
Alessandro Diamanti is probably the best and most exciting player in the A-League at present and he has scored 8 goals in 38 appearances for Western United and will be well worth watching.
He has played for West Ham United and Watford in the EPL and has played for the Italian national team 17 times and scored one goal.
He has played in Serie A for a number of Italian clubs, including Fiorentina, Brescia, Livorno and Palermo.
Another star familiar to Tasmanian fans from his Melbourne Victory days is Besart Berisha, the A-League’s all-time highest scorer (141 goals).
These two games are opportunities not to be missed for Tasmanian fans.
They are competitive games with points that count and feature the current A-League leaders.
3 comments:
Great Walter
What a awful ground to host the game though. You need a pair of binoculars to watch from the grandstand. Surely North Hobart is a better option.
Well I won't be able to make to the game up north.
Can my game on Sunday still take place?
Makes sense.
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