Farewell Lambert, hello Leichhardt

Rale Rasic, Australia?s 1974 World Cup coach, spent three seasons in the late 1980s at the helm of the then named A.P.I.A. Leichhardt.
In 1987, Rasic was named NSL Coach of the Year for a second time in his career after A.P.I.A. Leichhardt won the NSL title including a magnificent 23-game unbeaten run.
Today he is an avid watcher of the TeleChoice Premier League and deeply admires the professionalism in the competition.
?Look, I applaud the A-League and the W-League and I think it?s all great, but this football here in the TeleChoice Premier League is sadly forgotten by the FFA,? he stated.
?All our international players come from these type of competitions and we should very seriously invest in the TeleChoice Premier League in order to produce top class players. ?This, without any doubt, should be the number one nursery for the A-League clubs and the A-League clubs should be paying handsomely for these players.
?I would really also love to see young players ? up to five under 21 players ? playing every week in the senior teams in the TeleChoice Premier League.?
As the Sydney Tigers prepared for their move to Leichhardt Oval, Rasic wasn?t so sure that Lambert Park in Marion Street should be totally abandoned. With his hand metaphorically on his heart he stated exclusively:
?Lambert Park has a special place in memory. It?s my greatest memory during all my years as a club coach in Australia.
?When we had two or three thousand spectators at Lambert Park it was like having 20,000.
?We had sell-out games against clubs like Sydney Olympic and the 5,000 or 6,000 were like 50,000 such was the atmosphere.
?The best support I ever experienced at club football in Australia was here at Lambert Park with APIA Leichhardt. It was something so special to me and the players of that era.
?It?s still a magnificent venue for club football at any level and one of the best because of the ambience and closeness to the crowd.?
-By Joe Russo