Adrian Alston
Adrian Alston ( born February 6, 1949 in Preston, England ) is a former Australian football player and coach. The striker played among others in the English Premier League at Luton Town FC and in the heyday of the North American Soccer League with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Sustainability to be attentive but he made at the World Cup 1974 in Germany. In the first finals appearance in Australia, he was one of the most prominent players of the team from the fifth continent.
Life
Adrian " Noddy " Alston played in the offspring of the English club Preston North End FC before he was brought in 1967 by South Coast United in Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales in Australia. He already came in July 1969 in Sydney in a 1-0 victory against Greece in his first appearance for the Australian national football team.
In the qualifying rounds of the World Cup Soccer Championships in 1970 and 1974, he proved to be the most prolific Australian striker. In the final round of the 1974 World Cup coached by Rale Rašić team of amateurs from different but already after the first round, to have achieved without a goal. The dribbling strong Alston, the Australian 4-5 1 system the only spearhead, had it in their second group game in the 0-3 defeat against Germany the greatest chance when he was in the second half after Georg Schwarz Beck and Franz Beckenbauer - with which he exchanged the jersey after the game - left behind, but alone in front of goalkeeper Sepp Maier missed the goal scarce. Before the game, national coach Helmut Schön still said " in Australia, we have nothing to fear, except Adrian Alston ".
After the tournament, had in the meantime about the St. George Budapest Club in Sydney at Safeway United which had reached Alston offers from the Bundesliga Hamburg, Hertha BSC and Eintracht Frankfurt, but withdrew before the English Erstligaaufsteiger Luton Town FC; a decision which he regretted in hindsight. After only one season in which he scored eight goals in 29 games - he was so beside Ron Futcher 's top scorer Luton - he went down with the club. He then played at third division Cardiff City FC with whom he against Hereford United won the cup from Wales to results of 3:3 and 3:2 and also ascended to the second division. He became the first player from Cardiff in a match for the English Cup, scoring a hat -trick after the Second World War. In this game won 6-2 against Exeter City FC, he convinced, as well as total ascent year. In Europe Cup Winners' Cup the following season he became the first Australians of a goal scored a European club competition. But in the second division, he was no longer able to impress so.
In 1977, he joined the North American Soccer League, where many veterans of that era such as Pele, Beckenbauer and Cruijff once again earned good money. In the 1977 season of the NASL, he scored seven goals in 17 games for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. After the season in the U.S., he once again plays at the end of the year in Australia at the Canberra City SC 1978 before he returned back to the Rowdies. Persistent knee complaints attended but for a career end after just two more games with a goal. Over a period of six months, he tried again in his parent club Preston North End play, but then decided to go back to Australia.
In November 1977 he arrived in Tehran at a 0:1 defeat in a World Cup qualifier against Iran on its last mission in the green and gold of the Australian national team for the seven times he carried the ball into the opposing goal in 43 games.
After his footballer career he worked professionally with mentally handicapped children. Between 1997 and 2004, he also coached the team from Port Kembla to Wollongong in the Illawarra regional Premier League. 2004/ 05 trained " Noddy " Alston 's team Wollongong City in the State League of New South Wales - and turned it even once even on.
Achievements
- Cup of Wales: 1976
- World Cup: Qualifying 1974