Australia's steep learning curve

So what have we learned, what have we really learned?

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Before the commencement of Australia’s first foray into the AFC Champions League last year, a prominent English commentator based in Korea claimed that Australian clubs will be in for a shock upon entering the ACL, where Asian clubs don't especially care for the competition, crowds are non-existent and the standard isn’t really that high.

While the continuing disappointment of poorly qualified K-League outfits lend the argument some justification, the red army of Urawa put paid to those sentiments last season – with support higher than that found in this season’s leading UEFA Champions League sides.

Indeed, when looking at the concept as a whole it is clear Australian club football has truly entered a sphere unimaginable to all but the most ardent supporters a few short years ago.

The question now, after the penultimate round of the ACL group stage, is where does Australian football sit at the table of continental power and what lessons have/remain to be learned?

As a long-time admirer of and advocate for the benefits of Australian involvement with Asian football, the embrace of the ACL has been on one hand quite bizarre but the other refreshing.

The colonial shackles though are yet to be fully cast aside.

As was the case with last year’s Asian Cup there is a deep divide between the way Australian football is perceived here and on the continent – particularly with questions of context.

Firstly, and there are myriad reasons why and examples for, Australian club football has been shown to be outside the top tier of nations competing regionally.

At a time when there is a concerted push for an increase in the number of A-League clubs participating in next year’s revamped ACL, local clubs have failed to provide a reason why this should happen.

Last year, both Sydney and Adelaide failed to progress from the group stage, this year likewise Melbourne.

Adelaide, under the stewardship of Aurelio Vidmar, has shown they’ve learnt from the experience of a failed campaign but are yet to strike a decisive blow against comparatively weak opposition this year (the 6th best side in Korea last year, for example).

But, at a time when Vietnamese clubs are set to be locked out of the new competition, it’s imperative Australian football earn places in the ACL not by virtue of ‘name’ or economy but by football and the Reds are the last remaining hope.

They have done thus far what they had to – including wins on the road in Korea and Vietnam but the real test, and this was always the likely outcome, will come in Northern China in a fortnight. Never will Adelaide have a better shot at knocking off the Chinese Super League champions with Gao Hongbo’s side losing their last three domestic matches – and a fair whack of confidence with it that was only partly restored with a 5-0 win over Binh Duong.

Australia’s legitimacy in this competition, and continued standing in the eyes of Asian football supporters and pundits will largely rest on this performance. Now that a draw is enough, will it smother the side – particularly without Diego?

On the subject of one of the Reds key imports, it’s clear that one thing A-League clubs need to fix to improve their chances on the continent is recruitment that has been shown to be fairly hit and miss when compared with almost all other clubs.

This nonsense of Japanese, Korean and Chinese clubs only being successful because of ‘buying the best players’ is ridiculous – the prime example being the case of Gamba Osaka.

When not hearing a word about the superior purchasing power of Australian clubs compared to those in Vietnam, Thailand and China the so-called experts are quick to trot out the sums with foreign imports for the J-league clubs.

What’s missed firstly is the huge number of players who’ve come through the youth system at these clubs (Naoki Matsuyo, Takumi Shimohira, Shinichi Terada, Takahiro Futawgawa, Michihiro Yasuda, Shu Kurata, Hideo Hashimoto, and Shoki Hirai at Gamba alone) and the fact they have a well thought out and structured scouting network in place.

What a truly poor reflection on the quality of management at A-League clubs when you hear news that Philani and Ney Fabiano are being linked with local sides. Fine players granted, but fine players who’ve been playing a six-hour plane ride away for several seasons.

Why also are we trotting out the tired excuses about Australian clubs being at a disadvantage due to being out of season – where there are no injuries, no travel concerns and no disharmony. Ask any Kashima supporter whose side has played five matches in the past 2 weeks – indeed ask their coach Osvaldo Oliviera – in which situation he’d rather be in.

Meanwhile, Adelaide, for the time being, are the last card standing and for the future benefit of the A-League’s international future long may they be – but the winds of change shall only truly blow when clubs look beyond their own boundaries – embrace and learn from a region which has been through all these ‘teething’ problems before.

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