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4 August 2000

MATASSA TOUCHES BASE

Having left Perth Glory on the eve of the 1997/98 season for a backpacking tour of Europe, Vince Matassa eventually settled in London come mid-1998. Out of the game for around 14 months, he "went down to Basingstoke Town in the Ryman Premier League to try and get a bit of fitness back and of course one thing led to another and I was playing within a couple of weeks." With 35 appearances under his belt, Vince was again bitten by the travel bug at the conclusion of the season and by December 1999 had made his way back to Perth where he was married.

Returning to England the following February, Vince signed an 18 month contract with Basingstoke. But having missed the first half of the season, he was loaned to Salisbury City (12 games) in the Dr Martens League for a month to regain his match fitness. "That spell went really well so I stayed with Salisbury until the end of the season - as they needed a bit of help to avoid relegation." Vince impressed not just the folks at the club during this spell and was rewarded with a place in the Ryman Representative XI for an exhibition match.

During the off-season, Salisbury offered to purchase Vince from Basingstoke only to find their asking fee - said to be around £10,000 - a little too steep. Now living in London and with the new season fast approaching, Vince is hoping for a move closer to home. "I am finding the travel a bit too much to get to Basingstoke 3 times a week (for training), so I have asked if I can move to a London based team, so I am a bit in limbo at the moment."
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SINGAPORE, Aug 2 Reuters -

Four foreign soccer players have been arrested in connection with a local match-fixing probe, the Straits Times newspaper reported today.
The players -- Billy Bone, Brian Bothwell, Max Nicholson, and Lutz Pfannenstiel -- were questioned by Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau on Monday and released on bail of S$15,000 ($A14,980) each, the paper said.
Bone, Bothwell and Nicholson are British. Pfannenstiel is German.
Three play for the local S-League's Geylang United club and Nicholson for Woodlands Wellington. Bone, 28, was quoted as saying that he and Bothwell would release a statement in due course.

"But at this moment let us just say that we're helping the authorities with their investigations," the newspaper quoted him as saying. Singapore launched legalised betting on S-League games in 1999 in a move that was seen combatting illegal bookies and allegations of match-fixing. Singaporeans were expected to spend as much as S$250 million on S-League betting in its first few years.

In 1999, Singapore's Inland Revenue Authority collected S$1.32 billion in taxes from betting, sweepstakes and private lotteries. In 1994, a major bribery scandal emerged when the Singapore police arrested a striker and referee for fixing
six matches in the 16-team Malaysian league.
REUTERS

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Sunday 4 June 2000

Striker lights Blues' fuse

By MICHAEL LYNCH (Sunday Age)

ON THE pitch, nothing seems to worry him. He doesn't care whether he picks up the ball on the right, left or in the centre; his objective is the same.

Archie Thompson likes to run direct and hard, and straight at opponents. It's the shortest route to goal and, as Thompson has proved regularly in the past two months, it's the best.

With his pace, agility, close control and balance, the lightly framed 21-year-old striker has, more than any other player, lit Carlton's fuse as the Blues have charged towards today's preliminary final with Wollongong Wolves.

Thompson's trickery played a big part in the 3-0 aggregate win over Marconi in the elimination finals earlier this month. He tormented the Stallions' big and cumbersome defenders to such an extent that Mark Babic was sent off for hauling him down once too often.

Carlton took a 1-0 lead, which it consolidated at home the next week with a 2-0 win - Thompson nailing the clincher with a spectacular half-volleyed strike from the edge of the penalty area.

He was at it again last week, bobbing up in the penalty area to hook the ball home in the first half and putting Carlton in front at a time when Sydney Olympic looked dangerous. The Blues eventually came through 2-1 in extra time.

Thompson has been in rare touch since coach Stuart Munro liberated him from wing back duties, allowing him to play his natural game up front. He has scored six of the team's 14 goals in its past eight outings and a growing media campaign for Olyroo coach Raul Blanco to call him up for the Olympic squad has followed.

``It would be fantastic,'' Thompson said. "The Olympics are the second biggest thing after the World Cup and I would love to go to them.

``I haven't heard anything from Raul yet, but I would like to think he would pick me because I am playing well myself, not just because other people are saying he should pick me.''

Thompson, 21, has relished the move to Carlton, where he has been able to play and train as a full-time professional.

Carlton teammate and Olyroo certainty Simon Colosimo and his mentors, the former Scottish World Cup player David McPherson and Munro, believe he would not be out of place in the Olyroo squad.

Thompson, along with Colosimo, is likely to be one of the Blues' next big money overseas transfer and few at the club doubt he has what it takes to make the jump to the European leagues.

It's a view shared by one of his biggest fans, Marconi coach Eddie Krncevic.

``He's a wonderful kid, enormously talented and he's matured greatly in the last couple of years,'' said Krncevic, who recruited him to Carlton when he was in charge of the Blues.

``Everyone talks about his debut home game for Carlton, when he scored four against Brisbane, but in his first game for the club, against Northern Spirit, he was electrifying.

``I feel that Archie will go far and I think he's capable of playing in the Olympic squad. I would like to see him establish himself in the Australian national team before he went overseas. It makes it easier to get contracts, you are more established, and it also helps with work permits.''

Thompson's commitment and team ethic endear him to colleagues plus his exuberance and sheer joy make him a favorite with the fans.

He has toned down the flashy look of late, abandoning the bleached blonde hair for a close crop and goatee beard. But he is still famously laid back - or disorganised - depending on your interpretation.

Asked by one of the coaching staff for his home phone number at a training session this week he shrugged in the direction of Alex Moreira, Carlton's Brazilian striker with whom he and another teammate, Joey Tricarico, share a house. ``I don't know ... ask Alex,'' was the best he could offer.

Thompson was born in New Zealand, his mother is a native of Papua New Guinea and his father is a New Zealander.

``I get my looks and coloring from her,'' he said. .

The family moved to Australia when Thompson was three weeks old and the first time he went back was when Carlton played the Auckland Kingz last October.

Brandishing a New Zealand passport on which his ID photo shows him wearing a Socceroos' shirt, he must have been a confusing sight for customs officials.

He began playing at four (in a family with three brothers and two sisters he rarely lacked playing partners) and made various country teams while growing up in Wodonga (Vic) and Bathurst (NSW).

``I got into the NSW academy team when I was 15 or 16, playing along with Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton. I didn't take it all that seriously then. Harry was good, but he took it much more seriously than most of us," he said.

``I lost the urge to play for a while and didn't want to be bothered with the travelling. I was 16 or 17, I wanted my own life and to be with my friends.''

Kewell's progress made Thompson reconsider his own commitment.

``I saw Harry playing on TV one day. I think he was just breaking in at Leeds. I thought `I used to play with him just a little while ago. Maybe I can do this as well'.''

He was invited to trial at the Gippsland Falcons, where the former Australian coach Frank Arok quickly identified the youngster with the quick feet and natural flair as something out of the ordinary.

Munro was aware of Thompson's ability when he moved to Carlton this year, but looking to the player's long-term development, he played him as wing back in a five-man midfield. Munro was criticised , but Thompson said it helped his development.

``I was knackered running up and down the wing, but as my fitness got better I got used to it,'' he said. ``I learnt a lot about defending, and it made me a lot harder as a player and more team oriented.''

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