Episode 67 - the legacies of Max Lucchesi; with Col Forster, and Vanessa Lucchesi

Download and listen to this episode here. 

After some "banter", Paul returns to the subject of his Australian soccer cultural map, which he has recently updated. And he may have finally established some trends about how stuff gets named after soccer people in Australia. But also, some interesting entries that were not originally conceived as part of the scope of the project.

Ian then moves on to the topic of who should rightly own the trophy donated by the English for interstate competition in Australia. Also what Ian calls a new twist on the soccer "naming" controversy.

For 100 Years Ago Today, it's photo day for the Claremont club in Western Australia. Then to New South Wales for Balgownie vs Cessnock in the Nurse Cup, and the Hunter Cup.

Then we move on the main theme this week, which is discussing the legacy of the recently deceased Italian-Australian player and coach Max Lucchesi (whom we also discussed in episode 34). We first speak with Col Forster of Weston Bears, who discusses Lucchesi's influence on Weston back in the 1970s, where Lucchesi led the club to significant success in two short stints there. We talk tactical approaches, character, and the bridging of cultures, as well as Lucchesi's focus on home grown talent.

Then for a different perspective on Max's legacy, we speak to his grand-niece Vanessa (whom we also spoke to back in episode 8), where we look at the reasons why Max might have failed to play for Australia; Max's importance across clubs in three states; Max influence on Vanessa, both in terms if Vanessa as a player, but also for her love of Adelaide City Juventus; unlabeled photos; the lost-era of centre-backs being ranked highly in best and fairest polling; the difficulty of broken continuities of public memory, especially where oral histories, non-English languages, and the passage of time render the era harder to understand; 

Episode 8 - Vanessa Lucchesi; Adelaide City archives; 100 year old clubs; AFRA

We received our first not-entirely solicited
 call-in during this episode.

Download and listen to episode 8 here.

This episode begins with cleanup and promotion of book launches, followed by discussion about the existence of extant 100-year-old clubs across the country, and the reasons why some areas are comparatively rich in centurion clubs compared to others.

Then we get our first ever unprompted call - from Vanessa Lucchesi - who has done an honours thesis on ethnic football clubs in post-war South Australia. Vanessa also looks after and researches the archives held by Adelaide City. The discussion expands to include segments on ethnicity; the history of Adelaide City; and the scale of the club's archives.

We then return to our discussion of 100-year-old clubs; the attempt to resuscitate the Dinmore Bushrats as a continuation of the tradition of the historical (but defunct) club; the messy attempts by South Melbourne to claim elements of its own history and the soccer history of the local area it has previously rejected; Moreland City's attempts to claim a cultural continuity back to 1916, through several splits and mergers; comparisons with the continuity at South Hobart; we ask the question why did pre-World War 2 clubs survive and thrive in some areas, despite the arrival of ethnic clubs; and that analysis which enables a dominant single narrative to emerge is impossible, because the experience and history of soccer varies significantly across Australia, and that even if there are administrative and financial centres, in cultural terms the application of a sense a hegemonic history is impossible to assert.

In the episode's very wide-ranging final segment, Ian brings up his idea of establishing the Association of Football Resources in Australia (AFRA), a proposed body which would oversee the protection and preservation of Australia's soccer resources and archives.

We run out of time during this episode to do a proper 100 Years Ago Today segment, but you can chase up what was meant to be on that week's segment here.