Western Sydney Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic, who really should be in the Socceroos squad on form but is apparently too old, has experienced the Nasser Al-Shamrani effect from close range.
The Al-Hilal forward got in Covic's face a couple of times during the first leg of the Asian Champions League final. That was before Al-Shamrani went the whole hog in the second leg, headbutting Matthew Spiranovic during the game and spitting at him after it.
Since arriving as part of the Saudi Arabia team for the Asian Cup, Al-Shamrani has also been involved in an altercation with an admittedly annoying fan before a warm-up game at Geelong, shoving him in the face.
We'll see what sort of mood he's in on the field when Saudi Arabia opens its campaign against Bahrain at AAMI Park on Sunday, but in the meantime we went to Covic for the low-down on the angry man.
ACRO (that's short for Asian Cup Runneth Over, which is too long to type out every time this column wishes to refer to itself in the third person) asked Covic what it was about Al-Shamrani that irritated opponents.
"He's just a stubborn little bloke on the field who, if things don't go his way or things are said against him, he arcs up and, you know, he probably expects things on a platter and when it's not given to him he's a child" - Ante Covic on Nasser Al-Shamrani.
"That's what I make of him.
"He showed his antics over here when things weren't going well for them in that game and he showed his true colours over there in Saudi Arabia and again back over here by pushing a fan in the face. So is that someone you respect as a football player? No."
When Al-Shamrani got in Covic's face, the goalkeeper stood his ground and refused to be intimated.
"Yeah, I couldn't care less," Covic said. "He's a foot shorter than me, what's he going to do?
"I'm not going to back down from anyone on the pitch, including that bloke, and, you know, we'll see how he fares if things aren't going well for his side in the Asian Cup, if he starts having his little tantrums again.
"You get those players and I don't know what he's like off the field, but on the field, yeah, he's pretty much a child to me."
What's in a name?
You have no doubt noticed that the five Asian Cup venues aren't being referred to by their sponsored names during the event.
Ground-name sponsorship is forbidden at tournaments run by the Asian Football Confederation, so AAMI Park, for instance, is referred to as Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
Too bad Pirtek Stadium at Parramatta isn't being used. They could have called it Tired Old Stadium That Should Be Demolished And Start Again.
No carping from Carl
Fancy some refreshing honesty from a star player about missing out on selection for the national team? Well, here it comes from Melbourne Victory's Carl Valeri, who was in Ange Postecoglou's original, 46-man Socceroo squad but didn't survive the cut to 23.
ACRO asked Valeri how disappointed he was to miss out. He replied: "Well, you know, I kind of expected it. I'm realistic and I've always been very realistic about myself and I think Ange has picked the strongest team.
"Obviously I want to play for my national side every chance I get, but he picked his best team and I can't fault it. I knew I was going to be on the edge. There are some great players in form there and I'm excited to see them play in the event."
Valeri urged all Australians to back the team.
"As a country, as supporters, we've got to get behind them because it's such a big tournament and they can do great things," he said. "We've got to support them all the way through."
Valeri said he regarded Australia as a great chance of winning the event and stressed the importance of getting off to a good start against Kuwait on Friday.
"Look, tournaments are always tough," he said. "It's important to win your first game, because if you do that things seem a little bit easier, you can really settle in to what you want to do. I reckon they can get to the final and once you're there anything can happen - it's a one-off-game.
"The Socceroos are fantastic at home, their record is unbelievable. I'm excited to watch it as a fan. I've never really watched the team as a fan before, in Australia, so it'll be great."
History never repeats, I tell myself, before I go to sleep
Apologies to Split Enz for stealing that line, and also to the younger football fans out there who don't know who Split Enz is/was, but imagine if Australia ended up playing Iran in the final.
Could we handle another edition of a match-up that brings back awful memories of the worst night in our football history, the second leg of the World Cup qualifier in 1997 when the Socceroos led 2-0 against Iran but ended up drawing 2-2 and missing out on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate?
Serial pest Peter Hore played a part in that result, invading the pitch at the MCG at 2-0 and cutting the net in the Iranian goal. That delayed the game, giving Iran valuable time to regroup before staging a fightback.
Hore was still active as recently as last year when it came to pest-like activities, so perhaps Asian Cup organisers should keep an eye out for him at the gate. He wouldn't have to go far - there are games in Newcastle, where he lives!
ACRO has had a look back at the SBS coverage of the Australia-Iran game and the attempt by an emotional Johnny Warren to try to come to terms with the heartbreaking result. It is gripping television.
On a lighter note, ACRO also brings you a video clip of The Flock Of Seagulls hit song I Ran. It has nothing to do with the World Cup qualifier, but it does remind us how bad haircuts got in the 1980s.
The Twittersphere
Here's a collection of Socceroos from the past - Peter Katholos, the present (and who knows for how much longer?) - Tim Cahill; and the future - Terry Antonis.
(Looking good on the eve of the tournament kicking off, guys)
