Sydney FC are on the verge of achieving the unprecedented honour of finishing first in the A-League, W-League and National Youth League in the same season, with two of the three teams hoping to wrap up their minor premierships this weekend.
The Sky Blues sit five points clear atop the A-League ladder, are two points clear at the top of the W-League ladder and are tied for first on the National Youth League ladder. With just one game to go, Sydney will finish the NYL season in outright first place should they secure a draw against Central Coast this weekend.
With two matches to go, the women can also secure first on the ladder if they defeat Newcastle this weekend and other results go their way. Brisbane and Perth have led the A-League and W-League simultaneously in the past, but no A-League club has ever led all three competitions concurrently.
Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata has credited the work of technical director Han Berger in creating a holistic approach to the club's on-field philosophy since taking up the role 18 months ago.
"As a club we've worked very hard over the last probably 12 to 18 months to bring everything together. We've introduced the academy, we've got a technical director, Han Berger, who's looking after all the technical side and that involves all the teams – so the W-League team, A-League team, Youth League, the academy – on building a philosophy on how we play," Pignata said.
W-League coach Daniel Barrett also praised Berger for the creation of a "technical core", a group of coaches and former players who work together to implement the club's technical plan.
"It brings myself, Graham Arnold, Robbie [Stanton] the youth coach, Steve Corica, Terry McFlynn, Kelly Cross from the academy, we all come together and we discuss playing style, how we're going to go about our football as a club, not just as a team. It's a real big collaborated effort and I think that also we're bearing the fruits of the success there as well," Barrett said.
The links between the teams stretch far beyond the on-field play. Since joining Sydney in 2012, Pignata has worked hard to turn the club and its various teams into one club, rather than separate teams carrying the same name and wearing the same uniform.
"It's just about the culture we have at Sydney FC, becoming one club so we're not separate silos and it's about having that family atmosphere at the club and that's all bearing the fruits at the moment," Pignata said.
Pignata, however, cautioned that despite the success, there is a lot of work to do to close out the season.
"We still haven't won anything, so it's really about now. We're halfway through the A-League, towards the pinnacle end of the W-League and the NYL and it's just to keep that momentum going."
