Adelaide United building a legacy
October 24, 2008
Adelaide United's stunning run in the Asian Champions League will reap rewards much greater than the financial inducements that await.
While Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory might have the glamour - real or imagined - coach Aurelio Vidmar is building a team that could become the dominant force in Australian soccer.
The manner in which it dismantled Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in Adelaide and then defended its 3-0 first leg lead in Tashkent despite suffering from jet lag and fatigue, would have both delighted and alarmed it's A-League rivals.
Succeeding in one competition is tough enough, but to do it in two competitions virtually simultaneously, and to do it with a travel schedule that no team in world football has to deal with, suggests United is already playing in a different league.
At the very least it has created a new template for an A-League club. No longer is it enough to simply have a team capable of winning the A-League. It must also be capable of beating Asia's best.
United almost overnight has raised the bar, and it is now daring the rest of the A-League to try to meet it.
There is a hardness and self belief with United, that gives it the look of a major European club. That, of course, comes with playing 16 matches in the Asian Champions League in the past two seasons and dealing with different styles, extreme weather conditions and the travel.
All that experience will be needed in the weeks ahead as United faces a schedule even more punishing than what it has endured to date.
It not only plays Japan's Gamba Osaka in the two-leg ACL Final on November 5 and 12, but it must also play two of the A-League's toughest teams, Melbourne Victory and Central Coast, in a four-game schedule in 13 days, which also includes a return trip to Japan.
Most teams would be flattened by this schedule, but Vidmar and his players appear to relish it. The fans certainly do. Within hours of United knocking out the Uzbeks in Tashkent, Adelaide fans were queuing for tickets for the home Final against Gamba.
United's Asian success has again highlighted the urgent need of a new venue for Adelaide. Hindmarsh Stadium's 17,000 capacity is nowhere near enough for Adelaide's soccer-hungry public.
United could sell 50,000 tickets for the Final and while it considered AAMI Stadium – home of the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide in the AFL – it resisted the move to what is an inappropriate venue for soccer.
United owner Nick Bianco wants State Government support to build a new 40,000-50,000 venue near the Adelaide CBD. So far the calls have been resisted, but the push for a new venue will intensify as thousands are locked out of Hindmarsh.
It is ludicrous to think that millions around Asia and Europe will see the game live on television but just 17,000 South Australians will see the game live at the venue.
And as Asian champions, United will deserve better.
While Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory might have the glamour - real or imagined - coach Aurelio Vidmar is building a team that could become the dominant force in Australian soccer.
The manner in which it dismantled Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in Adelaide and then defended its 3-0 first leg lead in Tashkent despite suffering from jet lag and fatigue, would have both delighted and alarmed it's A-League rivals.
Succeeding in one competition is tough enough, but to do it in two competitions virtually simultaneously, and to do it with a travel schedule that no team in world football has to deal with, suggests United is already playing in a different league.
At the very least it has created a new template for an A-League club. No longer is it enough to simply have a team capable of winning the A-League. It must also be capable of beating Asia's best.
United almost overnight has raised the bar, and it is now daring the rest of the A-League to try to meet it.
There is a hardness and self belief with United, that gives it the look of a major European club. That, of course, comes with playing 16 matches in the Asian Champions League in the past two seasons and dealing with different styles, extreme weather conditions and the travel.
All that experience will be needed in the weeks ahead as United faces a schedule even more punishing than what it has endured to date.
It not only plays Japan's Gamba Osaka in the two-leg ACL Final on November 5 and 12, but it must also play two of the A-League's toughest teams, Melbourne Victory and Central Coast, in a four-game schedule in 13 days, which also includes a return trip to Japan.
Most teams would be flattened by this schedule, but Vidmar and his players appear to relish it. The fans certainly do. Within hours of United knocking out the Uzbeks in Tashkent, Adelaide fans were queuing for tickets for the home Final against Gamba.
United's Asian success has again highlighted the urgent need of a new venue for Adelaide. Hindmarsh Stadium's 17,000 capacity is nowhere near enough for Adelaide's soccer-hungry public.
United could sell 50,000 tickets for the Final and while it considered AAMI Stadium – home of the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide in the AFL – it resisted the move to what is an inappropriate venue for soccer.
United owner Nick Bianco wants State Government support to build a new 40,000-50,000 venue near the Adelaide CBD. So far the calls have been resisted, but the push for a new venue will intensify as thousands are locked out of Hindmarsh.
It is ludicrous to think that millions around Asia and Europe will see the game live on television but just 17,000 South Australians will see the game live at the venue.
And as Asian champions, United will deserve better.
on est bien ici aussi :D
Il n'y a pas de méchants trolls... .°
Post a comment
To post a new comment, you must Sign in first.