Macarthur FC: Two Key Players Absent, Head Coach Has Experience in the Chinese Super League

Written by Han Bing On the afternoon of October 2, Beijing Guoan will compete in the AFC Cup 2nd League, traveling to face Macarthur FC from the Australian A-League. In their previous game, Macarthur FC was defeated 1-2 away by Hong Kong’s Wofoo Tai Po, indicating a dip in form. Could Guoan manage to win all three points?

Macarthur FC, established in 2018, is an A-League team and the third club from Sydney in the league. They began competing in the A-League in the 2020/21 season and have finished mid-table in each of the past five seasons, ranking only 8th last season. In 2022, they won the Australia Cup, which qualified them for the AFC Cup; they won the Australia Cup again in 2024, earning a spot in this season’s AFC Cup 2nd League.

This season, the A-League will not start until October 17, meaning Macarthur FC has gone a long period without official matches since the end of last season in May. Over the past two months, they have played only three Australia Cup matches and one AFC Cup 2nd League game. On August 24, Macarthur FC suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat to Newcastle Jets in the Australia Cup quarterfinals, leading to elimination. On September 18, they lost 1-2 away to Hong Kong’s Wofoo Tai Po in the AFC Cup 2nd League; key right-back Taput received a red card in first-half injury time, and main midfielder Caceres was substituted out due to injury in the 60th minute. Both players will miss the home game against Beijing Guoan.

Macarthur FC’s head coach, Steljovski, has ties to Chinese football. In 2012, he played for Chinese Super League side Dalian Aerbin but returned to Australia after only four months to join Central Coast Mariners. During his time at Dalian Aerbin, he appeared in 14 CSL matches and provided 2 assists. In May 2012, Dalian Aerbin lost 0-1 away to Beijing Guoan, with Steljovski starting as a defensive midfielder and playing 63 minutes. Guoan’s starting goalkeeper at the time was Hou Sen, and Zhang Xizhe came on as a substitute in the second half; both encountered Steljovski on the pitch.

In the 2014 AFC Champions League group stage, Steljovski’s Central Coast Mariners were in the same group as Beijing Guoan. For the two matches against Guoan, he was not included in the squad for the away game, and in the home match where Central Coast Mariners won 1-0, Steljovski remained on the bench without playing.

Meeting Guoan again after 11 years, Steljovski has become a coach but still had to watch the match from the bench up close. Unfortunately, the Ivorian defender Boli, who played for Guizhou Hengfeng in 2018, left Macarthur FC this summer to join a Swiss third-tier club. Otherwise, Guoan would have faced another former Chinese Super League player in this match.

Macarthur FC’s key center-back Yulman and captain Brattan have both faced Guoan in the AFC Champions League. In 2012, both played for Brisbane Roar and met Guoan in the group stage, with both matches ending in 1-1 draws. In the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage, Brisbane Roar and Guoan were again grouped together; Brattan played full matches in both legs, with Roar winning 1-0 away but losing 0-1 at home. Hou Sen was Guoan’s goalkeeper in both games. After leaving Brisbane Roar, Yulman played for Sydney FC, Suwon Samsung, and Western Sydney Wanderers, competing against teams like Shenhua, Guoan, Evergrande, and Luneng, gaining familiarity with Chinese Super League clubs.

The most well-known player currently at Macarthur FC is South Korean striker Ji Dong-won, who has played in the English Premier League for Sunderland and in the Bundesliga for Augsburg and Mainz 05. At 34 years old, Ji joined the club in early August but was not included in the squad for the AFC Cup 2nd League opener against Tai Po. Additionally, defender Yulman, midfielders Brattan and Caceres, and forward Ikonomidis all have experience as Australian internationals. The 24-year-old midfielder Christian Popovic is the son of Australia’s national team coach, also named Popovic.

Macarthur FC mainly uses a 4-3-3 formation, with Polish goalkeeper Kuto, center-back Uskok, captain Brattan, midfielder Caceres, and forward Ikonomidis forming the core spine. However, they seem to place less emphasis on the AFC Cup 2nd League than expected; in the first round away to Wofoo Tai Po, young players Bosnjak and Landazore were given starting roles. It is anticipated that they will rotate the squad again against Guoan. Veteran center-back Yulman is likely to start, and coach Steljovski will need to find replacements for Caceres and Taput. Most likely, Croatian right-back Gozzan will move back to cover, while last season’s main midfielder Ross may fill in for Caceres.