Australia’s top flight, the A-League, is still a relatively young competition, yet Down Under clubs and officials are hard at work to create a competitive and substantial championship. To this end, the A-League has played host to some sublime talents, who have done their bit to raise the standard of play.

In no particular order, Inside Futbol look at some of the best players ever to turn out in Australia’s top flight. Chosen for their skills, record and their impact or image – there are plenty of notable mentions who don’t quite make the grade – these ten speak for themselves:

1. Archie Thompson

With Archie Thompson it is easy to argue his case purely through statistics: 62 goals in 109 games is better than a goal every other game. Throw in another 30 odd assists and the innumerable panic he instils in defences through his very presence and he is a formidable prospect. Deadly in front of goal and a one-club man, his five goal haul in the 2007 Grand Final almost made a mockery of the competition as his side ran out 6-0 winners. And that’s just in domestic competition. Thompson holds the record for most goals scored in an international game with 13 notched against American Samoa, although it’s fair to say his impact against the bigger teams out there, like the chances he has been given against them, have been fairly limited.

This season Melbourne Victory struggled, looking disjointed and toothless. And then Thompson came back from injury. He may never cut it in one of the bigger leagues, a stint in Belgium giving only reasonable returns for the striker, but in the A-League he remains the standard bearer and it’s telling that a recent ankle injury at once had fans seriously questioning whether Victory could still go all the way.

2. Leo Bertos

It was the qualification for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. New Zealand were playing Saudi Arabia for an automatic spot, but Mr Bertos was busy, and not able to watch the game. Instead he was helping his wife give birth to their son Leo. He probably didn’t realise that he was bringing a future World Cup player into the world. And after spells at Barnsley, Rochdale, Chester and a handful of non-league clubs in Britain, Leo would have shared these doubts. But when Nick Carle left Perth Glory it was the Wellington-born midfielder Bertos who filled his shoes and dazzled in the centre.

After two seasons he returned to Wellington, this time to play for Wellington Phoenix and has been instrumental in making them a team to take seriously in the A-League, with a finals appearance in the 2009/10 season. Although slight, Bertos is skilful, has a deceptive turn of pace and has started to add a few more goals to his game. The hometown boy come good, he played all three games at the World Cup, returning unbeaten, and as an advert for the New Zealand game it’s hard to think of a better example.

3. Sergio Van Dijk

Sergio Van Dijk has not stopped scoring since he came to Australia, bagging goals at a steady rate of one every other game. It should certainly not be held against him that his move away from Brisbane has coincided with the best run of form in their history, after all, his appearances for Adelaide United this season have seen them jump from bottom of the table to second. Signed initially as a combination guiding hand for Brisbane’s youngsters and as a foil for their attacking players, what he has shown, in spades, is clinical link-up play and a deadly eye for the back of the net.

 

The Assen-born striker said on joining Adelaide: "I’m confident if I just do what I’m good at then I’m going to score goals, so for me there is not really any pressure." However, this laid back exterior hides a committed athlete with something to prove. His sheer consistency marks him out and Van Dijk has already become the first Adelaide player to score ten goals in a season. More importantly he’s managed to keep Adelaide’s title push going in the absence of injured team-mates and looks set to keep breaking records in South Australia.

4. Shane Smeltz

Shane Smeltz came to Australia with a mixed record in English football, but his long-time association with the New Zealand national set-ups meant he was on All Whites coach Ricki Herbert’s radar and when it came to filling the books for the inaugural Wellington Phoenix squad he was bought in. Any doubt that he might struggle in the A-league was quickly allayed, and Herbert vindicated, as he scored in their very first game against Melbourne Victory. 20 more followed in the next two seasons earning Smeltz a move to the newly formed Gold Coast United and then a mighty 19-goal haul in one season – a record.

Such performances were always going to attract interested parties and so it was that he signed up for a stint at Chinese side Shandong Luneng, only to back out after five days, escape his contract on a technicality and then move to Turkish club Genclerbirligi where he continued to turn out at the time of writing. There may never be such a freakishly talented goalscorer in the A-League, but even if there is, the most a player can hope on leaving a league is that their record is the one to beat. Smeltz did just that.

5. Carlos Hernandez

There are some players who when seen instantly cause fans to think ‘I could do that’ – Carlos Hernandez Valverde is just such a player. Not because he’s bad, quite the opposite, he displays exquisite skill and vision, with a cheeky grin as he beats his man with the swagger of a scallywag. It is just that Hernandez looks like someone who might be met at a pub and not much like a professional sports person. This is certainly a disservice to the Costa Rican, but only adds to his charm. He certainly remains one of Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick’s shrewdest signings, helping them to an impressive double winning season in 2008/09.

Hernandez has starred for Costa Rica, helping them to the 2006 World Cup and playing twice whilst there, as well as turning out at the Olympics. Having signed on a two-year loan deal from LD Alajuelense, he made the move permanent in 2009 in what Victory operations manager Gary Cole described as ‘the most significant transfer deal in Melbourne Victory’s short history’ and what was believed to be one of the highest fees ever paid in the A-League. It’s significant that Victory would do that, but Hernandez is one player the A-League side knew that they, or the league, really couldn’t afford to lose.

6. Steve Corica

The sobriquet given to Sydney as they broke through to win the Minor Championship and the Grand Final for the second time in 2009/10 was oftentimes ‘Stevie Corica and ten mates’, such was his importance to the team. Providing the pivot at the head of a diamond midfield, leading with the captain’s armband, scoring vital goals, setting up more, he was, most vitally, setting the tone for Sydney’s measured performances. In the inaugural season Sydney were arguably the best team in the competition, but in 2009/10 they clearly weren’t. The difference, for them, was Corica, who understood and executed the game plans perfectly.

The sad ending to his career, an injury in the final game of the regular season seeing the midfielder ruled out for the remainder of the campaign and hence to an early retirement, makes it the more poignant, but there was no doubt at the final whistle who should be holding the trophy aloft. Now working as the head coach of Sydney’s youth team, the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder continues to be held high in fans’ affections, and should be for some time.

7. Dwight Yorke

At the A-League’s inception a star was needed and Yorke was it, both on and off the field, a player as likely to be seen leading his team on the pitch as out on the Sydney social scene, winning admirers in both spheres of Australian life. Sydney’s early moniker ‘Bling FC’ had much to do with Yorke who brought star power, big crowds and crucially, results on the pitch, leading the team to second in the league and then setting up the winning goal in the Grand Final.

Alas, it was to be short-lived, for in season two the striker’s former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane came calling and it was hard for Yorke to say no, returning to the UK to play for Sunderland and help them into the Premier League.  But this should not take away Yorke’s achievement, playing unselfishly in a midfield role for Pierre Littbarski’s team and instantly launching the A-League into the limelight. A great player, and even greater asset, the first of his seven goals that season was the first ever to be scored in the A-League.

8. Robbie Fowler

The man they call "God" certainly hasn’t performed any miracles, but he’s harnessed an existing and passionate Liverpool fan-base across Australia and brought them out to watch the domestic league. The fear, of course, was that the A-League would get a striker well past his peak, who was only Down Under for the money. Instead, Australia got a passionate performer who dragged North Queensland Fury through their first season in the league with some aplomb, scoring nine goals into the bargain, with a few crackers among them, as well as deft penalties and instinctive finishes.

 

With financial problems emerging at the Townsville outfit, Fowler looked around for more options and settled on Perth, instantly increasing their season ticket take-up, and this despite it apparently not being the best offer financially. Things for Perth have not gone well, but Fowler continues to lead the line at one of the poorer clubs in the country, scoring seven goals so far, over double anyone else in his team, including a memorable hat-trick. If the side around him starts performing, you’d expect a lot more, and a recent win against Adelaide suggest that might be on the cards.

9. Jason Culina

Jason Culina is the favourite son of Australian football. After a youth career at Sydney’s United and Olympic, the son of coach and media pundit Branko Culina went on to ply his trade in the Netherlands. After stints at Ajax and FC Twente, Culina finally settled down at PSV Eindhoven where we was under the tutelage of Guus Hiddink, the same manager who later took him to the World Cup with Australia, coaxing out a starring role for the Socceroos from the midfielder. But then, with new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek stating publicly he preferred foreign-based players, and with Culina still very much at the peak of his powers, he returned home to become the marquee signing for the newly established Gold Coast United.

"I decided to follow my heart. I spent 10 years in Holland and I’m looking forward to the new challenge", said Culina of his return, and he’s certainly not come back to cash in and relax. His work ethic on the pitch is beyond reproach, his behaviour off it exemplrary and his technical skills mark him out as one of the best in the league. With him at their heart, newly formed Gold Coast were instantly a threat, and as the first current international to return to play in the A-League Culina is setting an example for his peers. A great player, but also a symbol of something more, he remains the only A-League player who could reasonably expect to start for his country.

10. Kevin Muscat

For longevity alone Muscat deserves the nod, but the fact that he’s brought results certainly sweetens the deal. No stranger to controversy, or putting up a good fight, the defender has led his Melbourne Victory team to two Minor Premierships and two Grand Final victories, knocking in a hatful of penalties along the way and achieving more appearances than any other Melbourne Victory player, as captain.

Muscat’s colourful attitude towards discipline has made him always entertaining to watch, and even if he’s not well liked elsewhere he is a character that players would far rather have on their team than playing against them. After a career taking in Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rangers and Millwall, this year’s Melbourne derbies have given him the chance to show his fight once again, and after losing in the first of these he led his team to victory in the return leg, involved in the opener and on the pitch throughout. His motor just keeps going as he heads towards his 38th birthday in 2011 and there’s no doubt the league will be poorer whenever Muscat does retire. His manager at Millwall, Mark McGee once said of Muscat following some disciplinary issues: "Normally we’ll stick up for each other after something like this. But nobody seemed to want to stick up for him." In Melbourne, that’s certainly no longer true.