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Western Sydney Wanderers coach Alen Stajcic has used his side\u2019s 1-0 Sydney derby win as a platform for a passionate plea for unity across Australian football, comparing it to the NRL, and urging the game to \u201ccelebrate the good stuff\u201d instead of tearing itself apart.<\/p>\n
Speaking after Alou Kuol\u2019s second-half strike sealed the Wanderers\u2019 first derby victory in two years, Stajcic launched into a passionate defence of the A-League.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s talk about the spectacle. How good a spectacle is it?\u201d Stajcic said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo often we\u2019ve got infighting in football in Australia and we put ourselves down and we say all the things that are wrong. The criticism of our own game by our own people is just over the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stajcic said he had \u201ctruly believed\u201d that the Sydney derby remained the best event in the domestic sporting calendar. What he couldn\u2019t understand was why football people seemed determined to criticise their sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the NRL and I don\u2019t want to give any other sports stick because I watch six or seven NRL games every weekend,\u201d Stajcic said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut ever since I was a little kid in the mid-80s and 90s, all I hear is \u2018the greatest game of all\u2019. NRL people pump up their own sport all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see Peter V\u2019landys at every single press conference telling the whole world how good his sport is. He\u2019s an advocate for his game. He\u2019s passionate. He\u2019s an advocate for his product. And we don\u2019t do any of that. We\u2019re infighting all the time. We\u2019re like two seagulls fighting over one chip. We\u2019ve got nothing and we fight over it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got an amazing product here, amazing fan groups. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sydney FC end was full. Our end was full. It\u2019s a great spectacle. I don\u2019t know why we always put ourselves down.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Let’s talk about a spectacle, how good of a spectacle is it (the Sydney Derby).”<\/p>\n
A ????????????????-???????????????????? press conference snippet from head coach Alen Stajcic ???? #WSW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SD1rpfqEnL<\/a><\/p>\n