Australia 'discovers' Asian Cup

Buckley said reaching Sunday's (AEDT) final against Japan had come at an ideal time with Australia winning the rights to host the 2015 tournament earlier this month.

"The Socceroos doing so well is great for making the Asian Cup better known, it puts it on the map commercially too," Buckley said.

"People now have a much better idea of what it is, what is happening, who is involved, how big it is.

"People now see that it is a legitimate, credible tournament which is contested by a huge number of countries.

"This effort by the Socceroos will boost everything about the 2015 Asian Cup."

With the wounds of missing out on the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup still raw, Buckley believed the Socceroos' success could also get the game moving in the right direction again in Australia.

"As we know 2010 had some challenges with the deflating result of the World Cup bid and some of the turbulence in the A-League with our clubs so this has been a real boost to put football in the spotlight for the right reasons," he said.

"The A-League players doing so well, it's also been a big boost for the domestic game. Matty McKay, Jason Culina, Robbie Kruse, Jade North, and although Sasa Ognenovski is not there now he did come through the A-League.

"It's come at a good time as it will give our finals series a big lift, and also with the World Cup qualifiers later in the year."

Australia switched to the Asian confederation from Oceania after the 2006 World Cup and captain Lucas Neill said the switch had allowed the Socceroos become a stronger, more-respected side around the world.