In the first of a series of interviews with prominent supporters of Melbourne Victory, today we talk to “Cala”, the (lesser known, and he likes it like that) co-founder of the Blue and White Brigade.

Hi Cala, thanks for taking the time to be interviewed.

1. Firstly, How did the BWB start and who started it?

BWB began way back in the pre season cup prior to season one. I was with a group of friends at the Melbourne Vs Perth pre-season game and we were sitting in the stands. We noticed the Union behind the goals and after the game were at a pub and got talking about starting a second group to work along side the Union.

During that week myself and Tunna (Cala’s good mate and other co-founder of the BWB) continued to discuss the possibility of creating a new group. We contacted some mates and recieved a lot of interest.

The rest is history. We created the group and it continued to grow from there.

2. What’s your role in the BWB?

To be quite honest, my role in the BWB has taken a backward step over the past year or so due to personal reasons. I am a member of the ‘core’ group and very much involved in decision making, however I am the first to admit that certain other members of the core and BWB Youth have continued to put in a hell of a lot of work over the past year and continue to keep it strong.

3. How has it evolved from the start to the present day?

In the Blue & White Brigade opinion, there are 4 elements that need to be individually measured as to whether BWB (the community) has evolved or not.
They are:
1) BWB’s physical numbers
2) BWB’s mentality
3) BWB’s active contribution to the football scene &
4) BWB Youth

In terms of numbers BWB’s membership and core membership has in 3 seasons gone from something quite small and innocent to excessively quite large and un-manageable to present day, compact & committed.

Call it evolution or self-preservation the consolidation of numbers, has allowed for a solid likeminded foundation to be forged, something unachievable when the core group numbered 30 odd.

In terms of mentality, the members of BWB and indeed the whole home-end community are more wary of the media and the football decisions made in this country and how they impact on ‘active support’. The battles that have been fought has made everyone realize that supporting football is no easy feat and the line between supporting the club and supporting the players is constantly (almost weekly) being reviewed and defined.

While organised tifos were not a feature of season 3 (due in part to the 3 month supporter’s rights campaign), in terms of active contribution, BWB or the terrace has never been more organised or active. BWB has participated & stood by loyally to every agreed ’supporter’s rights’ campaign initiative.

It has never shyed away from putting the BWB name behind every decision/discussion raised formally with the club, TD management and VICPOL. As a result BWB is a key player in contributing to the ‘direction of active support’ and remains as a established representative link between supporters and the club.

The establishment of the BWB Youth has clearly added to the BWB brand and due in part to its Capo is one of the positives of BWB’s short history. Again, compact & committed, the BWB Youth are highly organized and have demonstrated on numerous occasions that its core base is clearly prepared to take the BWB brand to the next level.

4. Why did you change the original name from “Blue and White Fighters” to the “Blue and White Brigade”?

Oh the memories. We were throwing around some names for our new group and narrowed it down to two. ‘Blue and White Brigade ‘ and ‘Blue and White Fighters’.

We actually chose ‘Blue and White Fighters’ initially, and released it on the Melbourne Victory.net forum and to some respected mates in other crews on the terrace.

We got a fair amount of negative responses , as many people felt the word ‘Fighters’ had a stigma of hooliganism, which wouldn’t go down well with the new league and what it was trying to achieve. We thought about it and agreed, but were not too fussed to run with ‘Brigade’ as it was a very close decision in the first place.

5. How many members do the BWB have?

Depend what you class as members. If you mean core and BWB Youth then 40 or so.

6. What are the main members roles?

1. Match-day capo
2. Contributing/Publishing/Printing/Distributing match-day fanzine
3. Club/Stadium liaison
4. Inter-crew liaison
5. Funding/merchandise
6. Content management of website
7. Tifo committee
8. Away game bus (new)

7. What would you say the core ideals of the BWB are?

1) Mateship
2) Enjoyment
3) Creating a style of support that lifts the players out on the park
4) Supporting Rights
5) To be the most pro-active supporter group in the country

8. Personally, what’s been your favorite moment as a core member of the BWB?

For me personally, it would be the protest at Olympic Park against the Herald Sun, 3aw and Channel 9. For one day I felt that the whole stadium and football supporters in general had bound together to take a stand at the bullshit we have to read and hear from various sources of media. There was a sense of accomplishment and unity, and I wish we would experience this a lot more in the future.

9. What are your thoughts about the way the club is run and how the BWB interacts with the club?

BWB does not agree with the way certain parts of the club are run, especially its Football department who I personally think should be dispensed with completely and some new figures employed.

To an extent, BWB thinks the club has lost touch with its fan base, which is not helped by the chairman continually using business jargon in his addresses to the press.

BWB’s relationship with the club, is ok but still has some way to go. The Blue & White Brigade have always had some form of relationship since the day it came to being. There has always been open dialogue which has at times been of mutual benefit. There have also been times when the Blue & White Brigade have locked horns but the results at the end of the day have assisted in meeting our progressive needs and allowing us the autonomy to do what we do.

There still are some underlying issues which need to be ironed out but the Blue & White Brigade is confident that it will reach this point with time and persistence.

BWB are the leaders in breaking down the barriers. While this process can be highly frustrating at times, it is for the greater good of all Football supporters.

10. If people are interested in joining the BWB, how would they go about it?

The only way you can join the BWB at the moment is if you are recommended by another BWB Core or Youth member. The group will then decide on a yes or no. It is invite only.

11. Where does the BWB take its supporting culture from? Is it based purely on the Italian ultras or is it more diverse than that?

I would say a mix. We are definitely influenced in some way by the Italian Ultra scene, but that is more to do with choreography and chants and supporter rights, rather than the violent side we are witnessing these days. I would say we are trying to mix the traditional European style support into the new Australian football scene. It takes time and is a learning process, however I think we are on the right track.

12. Where do you see the future for the BWB?

For the Blue & White Brigade to continue to be an integral part of the active scene here in Melbourne.

Personal Profile:

Name: Cala

Nickname and why? Cala. It’s an abbreviation of my surname.

Age: 28

Favourite club outside Australia? AC Milan

Favourite Supporters group outside of Australia and why?

Was Fossa Dei Leoni (AC Milan) however they have disbanded a few years ago. Their tifo and coreogoraphy was second to none in my opinion, and having seen Milan live a fair few times at the San Siro, it has always remained in my memory.

Favourite player of all time and why?

Franco Baresi. He was my idol as a child and the reason I play as a defender. A class player and a true gentleman. If you get a chance , read his life story and the heartache he went through as a child losing both his parents at a young age.

Favourite Victory player of all time and why?

It would have to be Geoffrey Claeys. For some reason I am attached to the team from season 1, and Sir Geoff was always a gentleman and would remember our names and stop to have a chat whenever he came across us.

Most hated A-League team and why?

Sydney and Adelaide for obvious reasons.

Merrick. Love him or hate him?

As a person, no issue. However I would say I ‘dislike’ his tactics, recruitment and decision making.

Where will Victory finish in V4 of the A-League?

Based on our current squad, I would say 4th or 5th. I think we need to recruit some quality players.

Thanks for the great interview Cala.

For more information about the BWB please visit their website www.bluewhitebrigade.com

Gutted, disappointed, but not surprised. I think thats how you can describe the feeling after a Masato Yamazaki brace buried the Victory in Osaka, ending our (albeit, very slim) hopes of going through to the second round knockout stage.

On the forum the usual suspects are calling for Merrick’s head, and seems that a few more of the moderates are starting to join with them. After last season’s disappointment you can hardly blame them.

The “Sack Merrick” campaign is gathering steam, but we all know he will be there for another season at the very least, so we might as well live with it and get behind the boys for V4.

So what can we take away from our failed ACL campaign?

Firstly, we were drastically under prepared, from a physical fitness point of view and a match fitness point of view. Our capitulation in Bangkok was perfect example of this. Didn’t we learn anything from Sydney FC’s loss to Persik Kediri in last years ACL? Or didn’t we learn anything from the Socceroos dismal performance in the Asian Cup?

We heard a lot in the leadup to the ACL that the squad was training in heat tents at the VIS in preperation, as we didn’t want to make the same mistakes as Sydney FC and the Socceroos.

But watching the players hunched over and running out of puff in Bangkok, after slogging their guts out for 90 minutes showed that they were drastically unfit and not prepared for the rigors of Asia.

Secondly, we need a new tall, central defender. Muscat, Vargas and Ryall (bless their hearts, they give it their all week in, week out) are just not equipped physically to deal with high balls from corners, set pieces and crosses. Especially considering we play with wing-backs who get forward and leave us exposed out wide. We got murdered from set pieces against Gamba and A-League teams who often play with big strikers must be licking their lips at the prospect of playing a long ball game against Victory.

Thirdly, we really miss Carlos, more so than Archie. We lacked someone in midfield pulling the strings and controlling the tempo of the game. Someone with a cool head, who could split open a defence with a diagonal through ball, and someone who could lead from the front playing a short passing game bringing our other midfielders into play.

He’s a class above anything else we have in our squad and his loss, moreso than Archie’s injury probably ruled out any chance we had of qualifying before the ACL even started.

And lastly, what most critics of Ernie bang on about week in and week out. Our inflexible tactics, which often see players reverting to the “hoof and hope” when it’s not working and we are being dominated in the midfield.

So looking forward to the Chunnam away match and the Chonburi home game, what can we expect?

We’d hope that some of the young players like Elasi, Berger, Patafta and Langerak would get a run, and that we would start nursing Carlos back to fitness. We’d hope to see the Leigh Broxham from V2, the one who would make great space, demand the ball and play short simple passes forward, instead of the barrel chested, slide tackling maniac who couldn’t complete a pass to save himself that we have now.

And above all, we’d just like to see some football played with the ball on the deck, rather than the long ball rubbish that we’ve predominantly seen throughout the ACL. I know Ernie does not preach this style of play, but if the players are consistently doing it then something is either wrong with the manager or the players, or worse still, both.

Registrations are now back open. An invite only system has been enacted and the usual method of registration is still closed.

Earlier in the week MVFC in conjunction with Telstra Dome announced that starting from the Round 9 match levels 2 and 3 will become no standing areas.

While to the ordinary supporter this would hardly seem newsworthy, Victory supporters are hardly normal.

And this announcement has whipped up a storm of discontent among the supporters who have been fighting for more rights since the inception of the club.

After the initial move from Olympic Park to Telstra Dome in Season 2 of the A-League the Northern Terrace (BWB, Youth and other active) supporters situated themselves on Level 1 at the Coventry End.

This seemed to be an ideal fit for the NT supporters but within weeks limitations came to the fore.

Members of the Northern Terrace were forced to turn up two hours before kick off just to get a seat behind the goals and the many people who were rushing to get into the area ended up adding nothing to the atmosphere and standing araound like statues. By the time the finals series came around wristbands were needed to get into the NT which further dented the moral of the NT.

In the last year many attempts to obtain permission to use a drum and Megaphone have been flatly refused by TD officials with numerous excuses dished out from the absurd of people complaining about the noise (at the library of Football??) or the wacky excuse doing the rounds that drums will lead to tribal behaviour.

Suddenly both TD have forgotten about the excuses that were made to the supporters and have allowed both a drum and megaphone as sweeteners in the removal of Level 3 (Level 2 as well but we all know this isn’t directed at them) as standing areas. Why have they suddenly changed their policies now?

Is it because they need something from the supporters when before the supporters had no bargaining power.

Another question that needs answering is if the aforementioned groups had not moved to Level 3 in the first place would they have been offered the drum and megaphone? I doubt it, it encourages tribalism remember.

That is not to say that the club doesn’t stand up and fight for supporters rights at all because I have heard the contrary along the grapevine but no one has seen any evidence of this.

Particularly since the last link between the fans collectively and the club was broken a few months ago when the Communications and Marketing Manager of MVFC was barred from posting on the supporters forum the communication has all but dried up.

Now to communicate to the fans the club is forced to issue a public statement, not once but twice. This reminds me a lot like a school principle herding a whole school into the gymnasium for an assembly to just tell off a few kids for fighting.

The supporters deserve more then that.

The reason that has been given to the supporters for the crackdown on standing on Level 3 is that of health and safety. When it comes to peoples safety no shortcut or oversight should be welcomed.

Why is it then that for the previous 3 matches and the first match against Sydney in Season 2 were supporters allowed to stand?

It is most probably a case of the dangers just being pointed out to officials since the last home match but to a supporter of Football in this country who has every right to be suspicious of media and big business this smacks of a smokescreen.

Soon enough (if not already) the active support is going to outgrow Level 1 so then supporters will be knocked back from participating and be forced to sit up in level 3 and watch from a distance.

By treating the supporters of MVFC, particularly the NT like children an us vs them culture has developed accompanying this is the suspicion that not only is the FFA and TD against the active support that the NT provide but the club itself is as well.

The only way I see this culture being changed and more pressingly the situation that could unfold on Sunday at TD of supporters ignoring the the new policy is for direct two way communication between the club and supporters.Discuss here.

No free email or throw away email addresses.

All registrations go into a queue to be authorised.

To register visit www.melbournevictory.net/forum

Leandro Love and Steve Panteledis are the new inclusions in the 16 man Melbourne Victory squad that is to face Perth Glory at the Telstra Dome on Saturday night for the Round 2 fixture.

But with an extra player named it is yet to be seen who is going to be the replacement for Ljubo Milicevic who has a slight tear in his medial ligament from the match against Wellington.

Perth Glory are also testing their squad depth after David Tarka was ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing his hamstring in the 0-0 draw against Newcastle.  Jamie Harnwell, Anthony Danze and David Micevski are the inclusions for Perth.

Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory
Saturday, 1 September 2007
Kick-Off 7:00pm AEST (9:00pm NZST, 6:30pm ACST, 5:00pm AWST)
Telstra Dome, Melbourne

Stats, Facts & Milestones: Melbourne’s mid-week signing of 18-year-old Sebastian Ryall brings to four the number of players currently aged under 20 in the Melbourne Victory squad (Leigh Broxham, Mitchell Langerak, Kaz Patafta and Ryall). This is the most number of current under 20 players in any Hyundai A-League squad, the same as Queensland Roar. Ryall becomes the 13th player from the 2007 AFC Under 20 Championship (Australia’s historic first Asian U-20 Championship) to join a Hyundai A-League club in 2007/08.

Melbourne Victory Squad: 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (Captain), 3.Daniel PIORKOWSKI, 6.Steve PANTELIDIS, 7.Matthew KEMP, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.Daniel ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Joseph KEENAN, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 13.Kaz PATAFTA, 14.Adrian CACERES, 15.Leandro LOVE, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 18.Leigh BROXHAM, 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk).
*one to be omitted

In: Steve PANTELIDIS (promoted), Leandro LOVE (promoted)
Out: Ljubo MILICEVIC (knee injury – 4-6 weeks)
Unavailable: Ljubo MILICEVIC (knee injury – 4-6 weeks)

Perth Glory Squad: 50.Tommi TOMICH (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Simon COLOSIMO, 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Anthony DANZE, 8.David MICEVSKI, 9.Mate DRAGICEVIC, 10.Billy CELESKI, 12.Leo BERTOS, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Jamie COYNE, 15.Mitchell PRENTICE, 16.Nick RIZZO, 17.Jimmy DOWNEY, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk).
* two to be omitted

In: Jamie HARNWELL (promoted), Anthony DANZE (return from injury), David MICEVSKI (promoted).
Out: David TARKA (hamstring – season).
Unavailable: Jason PETKOVIC (leg – 8 weeks), Stan LAZARIDIS (suspended), Hayden FOXE (knee – 8 weeks), James ROBINSON (thigh – 1 week).

Radio: SEN1116 (Melbourne) 1116am - www.sen.com.au; 6PR 882AM (Perth) www.mytalk.com.au; SportFM (Perth); 90.5FM www.905.com.au

Melbourne Victory has named a full strength squad, including five of Ernie Merricks new signings to face up against Wellington Pheonix at Westpac Stadium this Sunday (kick-off 2:00pm AEST).

Carlos Hernandez, Ljubo Milicevic, Joseph Keenan, Matthew Kemp and Kaz Patafta have all been named to make their league debuts for the Victory.

Daniel Piorkowski is to make his return to the A-League after a hamstring injury has kept him on the sidelines since round 13 of the 2006/07 A-League season.

In further good news Archie Thompson has recovered from the knock he received against Sydney FC in the Melbourne’s last pre-season cup match.

Hyundai A-League 2007/08 – Round 1
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory
Sunday, 26 August 2007
Kick-off 2:00pm AEST (4:00pm NZST, 1:30pm ACST, 12:00pm AWST)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Mark PASTON (gk), 2.Jeremy CHRISTIE, 3.Tony LOCHHEAD, 4.CLEBERSON, 5.Karl DODD, 6.Tim BROWN, 7.Ross ALOISI (Captain), 8.Vaughan COVENY, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Michael FERRANTE, 11.DANIEL, 12.Richard JOHNSON, 13.Steven OLD, 14.Steven O’DOR, 15.George PALADINI, 19.Greg DRAPER, 20.Glen MOSS (gk), 21.Felipe CAMPOS, 22.Royce BROWNLIE, 30.Jacob SPOONLEY (gk)
*Five to be omitted

Unavailable: 17.Vince LIA (hamstring – 1 week), 23.Costa BARBAROUSES (international duty – 1 week)

Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (Captain), 3.Daniel PIORKOWSKI, 5.Ljubo MILICEVIC, 7.Matthew KEMP, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.Danny ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Joseph KEENAN, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 13.Kaz PATAFTA, 14.Adrian CACERES, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 18.Leigh BROXHAM, 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk)

Unavailable: Nil

For the time being all registrations for the forum have been closed.

EPL club Fulham have confirmed the signing of Adrian Lejier on a three year deal.

The 21-year-old joins the Cottagers from A-League club Melbourne Victory with a undisclosed transfer fee. With rumours pointing to anything between $AU500,000 to $AU1.2 Million.

Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez, said: “Adrian is a young player with great potential and ability. He is an exciting prospect for the future.

“The Premiership is a tough league to come to and we know it will take Adrian some time to acclimatise to the pace and strength that the league is known for.

“However, I am confident that he will contribute to this season’s campaign if called upon and that he will be a great addition to the squad.”

Discuss here.

In what many people would regard as a surprise, Melbourne Victory meet Sydney FC this Saturday at Olympic Park to determine the 7th and 8th place in the 2007 Pre-season Cup.

After failing to win any matches in the tournament so far, both teams will be looking to hit some form before Round 1 of the Hyundai A-League commences on the 24th August.

But Sydney have been hit with an injury crisis and choosing to keep Juninho under wraps have named only a 13 man squad.

Melbourne Victory will be without Ljubo Milicevic, who is suspended due to receiving three yellow cards in as many matches. Both Kaz Patafta and Steve Pantelidis have received call ups.

MELBOURNE VICTORY v SYDNEY FC

Tomorrow, Olympic Park, 7.30pm

Melbourne Victory squad: 1. Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2. Kevin Muscat (c), 3. Daniel Piorkowski, 6. Steve Pantelidis, 8. Grant Brebner, 9. Daniel Allsopp, 10. Archie Thompson, 11. Joseph Keenan, 12. Rodrigo Vargas, 13. Kaz Patafta, 14. Adrian Caceres, 15. Leandro Love, 16. Carlos Hernandez, 18. Leigh Broxham, 20. Eugene Galekovic (gk).

Sydney FC squad: 1. Clint Bolton (gk), 3. Nikolas Tsattalios, 4. Mark Rudan, 6. Tony Popovic (c), 8. Ruben Zadkovich, 9. David Zdrilic, 14. Alex Brosque, 15. Terry McFlynn, 16. Mark Milligan, 19. Michael Enfield, 21. Adam Biddle, 23. Ufuk Talay, 30. Matthew Nash (gk).

With no telecast of the match on either TV or radio the only live coverage is to be provided by mv.net at live.melbournevictory.net .