Matthew Bailey Football United vs Soccer City

Welcome everybody to episode 45 of the Football United vs Soccer City podcast. I would like to sincerely thank all the interviewees, listeners and the soccer public of the Illawarra, Australia and the World who download this podcast. Additionally I would like to say thank you to the people who contribute, comment and reminisce on the social media pages. If you have any photos, programmes or newspaper articles then please message me directly on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter so we can display them to the public.

Matthew Bailey started playing junior soccer with Russell Vale Junior Soccer Club in the mid to late 1980s from U7s through to U10s. Matt's proficiency on the field saw him selected in the under 11s Illawarra representative team. After a couple of seasons here, Matt moved onto the junior Wollongong Wolves representative teams from U13s through to U16s, where the support of his family was immense, his footballing talent evolved and lifelong friendships were formed.

He then joined the NSL youth team with the Wollongong Wolves for 3 years in the latter part of his teenage years. The team was always strong and Matt thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Wolves, in particular the football opportunities it afforded him. After the Wolves, Matt then entered the Illawarra Premier League with the Phil Carr coached Northern United in 1999, it was a great year as they won the league and Matt was playing at a club where his Dad was involved and where he played amongst mates.

In the next few seasons Matt played with Kemblawarra, Western Suburbs, Port Kembla and Cringila Lions. At these clubs Matt played under great coaches in Fleming, Gaffney, Alston and Glover and he significantly contributed on the field with quality team mates. Additionally Matt was awarded Illawarra Premier League player of the year in 2002, won the League and Grand Final double with Port Kembla and played regular finals football.

In 2005 he joined Bulli Football Club under Alan Mangles. It was here where he spent 3 very good years and in the latter 2 seasons he was coached again by Adrian Alston. In 2007 Matt's stellar season was rewarded with a second player of the year award (now named the George Naylor medal). In 2008 Matt pushed himself personally by joining the Wollongong Wolves in the NPL under John Turner. This year was important for many reasons and it was fascinating to hear Matt describe this season.

After off-field decisions in 2009 re-shaped the Wolves, Matt re-joined Bulli FC for a season. He performed well that year and enjoyed the club, but the desire to perform at the NPL level meant that Matt joined Robbie Stanton's Sutherland in 2010. At Sutherland Matt immensely enjoyed his football, Robbie, the playing group and the Club/facilities. Team accolades followed but this stint for Matt meant more than just the trophies, it was pushing himself, the delight of thorough preparation during the week and enjoying time with the family on game days.

Next Matt went back to Bulli FC and enjoyed a great couple of years at the Club under Ben Smith in 2012 and 2013. The next year Matt again re-joined the Wolves to give back to the club that had given him so much. A huge highlight in this year was the FFA Cup tie versus Central Coast, to hear the personal pride Matt exudes in captaining the club and sharing this moment with so many in the Illawarra was a high point for me.

After retiring from playing, Matt had 5 fantastic years at Bulli FC, firstly as a youth grade coach and then as a first grade coach. What he has achieved is amazing and speaks volumes of his abilities as a coach and aligning himself around great people. The conversation around breaking Bulli's first grade grand final hoodoo was beautiful to hear.

From my perspective the interview spoke to me...