Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
"Worst moments of my career": Garuccio opens up on dark side of Western United's folding
Sam Kosack • October 9th, 2025 7:14 pm
One day, you’re the captain of an A-League club. The next, that club is folding and your professional career hangs in the balance.
That’s the experience of former Western United captain Ben Garuccio and many other players as the men’s A-League prepares to kick off next week.
Western United were stripped of their A-League licence in August due to the club’s financial issues, before they later failed to find a new major stakeholder to help support the club.
The men’s side was already in pre-season preparing for the 2025/26 season, while their women’s side were still in their off-season.
The collapse of the club was sudden, with players and staff left in limbo regarding their futures at Western United and within the A-League.
Speaking to SEN 1170 Afternoons, Garuccio recalled “one of the worst moments of his career”; the moment they were informed of the fate of their club.
“What ended up happening in the end was probably something that football in this country did not need at this time and we can't afford for clubs to be going out,” Garuccio admitted.
“I think probably towards the end of last season, the proposed sale was meant to go through for the club with an American consortium that obviously took a little bit longer than it should have.
“The longer it goes on for, the more kind of worrying it gets and the less likely it is to actually happen so that was when things started to turn a little bit.
“In terms of the football operations, everything was still running really smoothly and even this pre-season, our full focus was on obviously what happens on the field.
“I think as players and coaches, that's all you can really control, but you hope that the people up above are doing everything in their power to make sure that the club's running well and unfortunately, in this case, it was the opposite and it's just really sad.
“It was the whole ATO, that actually probably made it come undone, more so than the ownership.
“I think when they sent in liquidators - that was after training one day - that was probably one of the worst moments in my career.
“When we sat up in that room, all the staff, all the players, and you get the news that Western Melbourne group wound up, you're thinking there's no way that this can be happening.
“I think after that it was really just an uphill battle. They got a week extension, but in the end, it was too little too late and obviously, the A-League needed to release their fixtures. There were all sorts of other things that were coming undone.
“The timing of it is the most disappointing thing, because for myself, I've landed at Sydney FC, which is absolutely amazing, but I really feel for my teammates, guys that should have had opportunities to play in a professional club this year and are now looking at options playing an NPL and potentially getting a job.”
Garuccio signed a two-year deal with Sydney FC, with the deal announced yesterday.
The two-time premiership winner will add leadership to a Sydney FC-side desperate to bounce back after a disappointing season in which they missed finals for the first time since 2022.
“A few months ago, I wouldn't have imagined ever living in Sydney but that's the way football is and professional sport in general,” Garuccio said.
“Everything that happened with Western United, which was very disappointing, has led me here. I signed the contract probably about a week and a half ago now and the next day I was on the plane over to Sydney.
“It's all happened very quickly, but I'm really happy to be here and to be honest, with everything bad that happened to land at a club like Sydney FC is probably the best thing that could have happened.”
