Small Hops to Giant Leaps: Where are Australia's 1999 Under 17 World Cup Joeys? | Thebigtip

Some time ago I was reading, at my leisure as I often do, one of my favourite football websites – ESPN Soccernet. Yes, I know, thanks to the annoying Yankssports channel it seems a sanitised wash of the European leagues and is always being spruiked by that annoying Irish bloke (although, when given the choice between Tommy Smyth ‘widdawoi’ and David Basheer, I’ll take the bloke in the Boston sound booth any day of the week), but if you look beyond the cheesy veneer, ESPN’s football website offers truly some excellent pieces.

One article (by Justin Rodriguez) that struck me recently recalled the success of the US 1999 U-17 World Cup team. In the States, that team is still revered as one of their most successful at any level in international football – they made the quarter-finals and exposed to the world the likes of Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey and Oguchi Onyewu.

Most Australian football fans remember that particular New Zealand-hosted tournament in a similarly nostalgic light, as the Joeys heartbreaking loss in the final of that tournament, 8-7 on penalties to Brazil following a 0-0 draw, gave Australian soccer great hope for the future. For these reasons, the class of ‘99 are held in similar esteem on our shores to their American contemporaries.

As the article ran through the obligatory ‘where are they now’s – the US youngsters’ careers have taken in some of Europe’s top club teams, no less – it got me thinking about the Australian squad. How many people remember the players who took part in that tournament? How many even remember how close we came to what would have been our most significant success in international football? But, more pertinent to the comparison between the two sides, what happened in the ensuing years of those players’ careers and where are the key men from that squad now?

A palm away from winning the title, Jess Vanstrattan performed heroics in the 1999 final, keeping a clean sheet and denying the highly fancied Brazilians throughout 120 minutes of football. He conceded just five goals in the tournament, not only keeping out the Brazilians in the final, but also restricting Germany to just one goal in the group stage, ensuring a 2-1 victory and progression to the latter stages.

Vanstrattan was earmarked for big things and his World Cup performances earned him a move to Hellas Verona in Serie A. However, in seven seasons, he would appear just eight times for the gialloblu and was sent on loan with little on-field success. He spent a season as understudy to Gigi Buffon at Juventus. Alas, even being second choice to a man many believe to be among the best keepers of the past 30 years is hardly the makings of a successful career.

It was hoped his move to Gold Coast United would see some of that marvelous potential come to the fore at home, but with little time spent between the sticks in the eight years since he left for Italy, it was conceivable he could end up the A-League’s new Frank Juric. As it was, his time on the Gold Coast was beset with injuries and he swapped one coast for another – Central Coast – where he continues to spend more time troubling the medical men than opposition strikers.

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff served his footballing apprenticeship at Leeds United but failed to make the step up. His only taste of first team action came via a loan spell at Rochdale before he moved to Danish club AGF Aarhus in 2003 and represented Australia at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Three successful seasons and 82 appearances in the Superliga earned him a move back to English football, signing for Tranmere Rovers in 2006. Despite making over 80 appearances in just over two seasons, and having the Rovers’ captaincy bestowed upon him, he was moved on to League Two club Shrewsbury for £312,000 in 2008, where he has continued to play regularly in the ensuing two-and-a-half seasons.

Perth-born defender Adrian Madaschi enjoyed a brief spell as a Socceroo in 2004 – quite a successful season for the centre-half, as he was turning out week in, week out for Scottish Premier League side Partick Thistle. Madaschi represented Australia at the Olympic Games and won four caps under Frank Farina.

Scooped up by Serie A club Atalanta following the under 17 tournament, but only managing 10 games during two separate loan spells to Serie C clubs Monza and Pistoiese, he joined Partick after his contract expired. Following the Jags’ relegation from the Scottish Premier League, Madaschi spent a lean season at Dundee and left Scottish football after failing to hold down a regular place. Returning to familiar pastures in Italy, Madaschi has since turned out for Grosseto and, since 2006, Portosummaga.

Captain Mark Byrnes’ name is one well known to Perth Glory fans. The versatile defender was an important cog in the Glory’s back-to-back NSL triumphs, and following his return from failed spells in Europe with Salzburg and Vicenza, Byrnes was part of the Melbourne Victory squad that sauntered its way to the A-League championship so convincingly in 2006/07.

He currently turns out for APIA Leichardt in the NSW Premier League, and but for injuries, could have earned a European reprieve at Luton or Port Vale in 2008. Far too good a talent to be wasting away in state league football, he made a brief return to Australia’s premier domestic competition as injury cover spell at Gold Coast United, but at 28 his best is no doubt behind him and his potential squandered.

One of Byrnes’ Joeys team-mates was also a former Perth Glory team-mate. Jade North won two NSL titles (Sydney Olympic and Glory) after competing at the U-17 World Cup and famously became the first indigenous Australian to captain a team to grand final glory in any football code, as he steered the Jets to an A-League crown.

He has played more than 30 times for Australia, becoming the first indigenous Socceroos captain in the process, and represented the Olyroos at the 2004 and 2008 Games. Following his success with the Jets he was signed as the marquee man at North Queensland Fury but before getting a whiff of deep heat in the Dairy Farmers Stadium change room he agreed a deal with K-League club Incheon United. Enduring a frustrating time, North turned out just nine times for his Korean club before taking in an equally short stint at Tromso in Norway. Now back enjoying time on the green in the A-League with Wellington Phoenix, North was named in the Socceroos 23-man squad for this month’s Asian Cup.

Adelaide United vice-captain Lucas Pantelis wore the coveted number 10 shirt at the U-17 tournament, and the Hindmarsh faithful have enjoyed a long love affair with the fleet-footed flyer since. Pantelis signed for Adelaide City in the NSL shortly after the tournament and, barring one season at Parramatta Power, has spent his entire football career in his home town helping the Reds become one of the dominant forces in Australian football.

Perhaps the most successful of the ’99 Joeys is Scott McDonald. Already with an NSL club (Gippsland) when the 1999 tournament rolled around, having made his NSL debut at 15, McDonald’s star has continued to rise – but not without perseverance. A move to Southampton’s youth academy in 2000 yielded rave reviews concerning his potential but saw McDonald make just a three first team appearances. Lean spells on loan at Huddersfield Town and Bournemouth did little to enhance his chances at the Saints – he made a combined total of 20 appearances for just two goals while on loan, before an equally uninspiring spell at Wimbledon followed in 2003.

McDonald eventually found his niche in Scottish football. A slow start at Motherwell, for whom he signed after an unsuccessful trial at Dundee United, turned around in the second half of the 2003/04 season, and McDonald scored 15 goals in his second season at Fir Park, including two late goals against Celtic which changed the destiny of the 2004/05 Scottish Premier League title.

Eleven goals followed the next season and after being named BBC Sportsound Scottish Player of the Year, McDonald transferred to the team he supported as a boy, Celtic, for £700,000. McDonald netted 65 goals in three years in the famous white and green hoops, including Champions League strikes against Manchester United and AC Milan. He was also Scottish football’s deadliest marksman in 2007/08 (25 in 36 games) and won a league title (2007/08) and Scottish League Cup (2008/09).

He joined former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan at English Championship side Middlesbrough for £3.5 million in January 2010, where he has scored just 10 times in what many pundits consider a poor and underachieving side.

McDonald’s international career has mirrored that of his club fortunes. He reportedly considered an offer to play for Scotland, whom he was eligible for through his parentage, but made his bow in the green and gold against Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier in February 2006. And where he struggled for goals early in his club career, McDonald is still yet to find the mark for Australia – at the time of writing he hadn’t broken his duck in 23 attempts and is still waiting for his international Motherwell moment. (McDonald still has some way to go before he breaks Frank Farina’s record barren spell – despite excellent goalscoring form for a host of European clubs, Farina didn’t score his first international goal for Australia until his 34^th cap).