Australians should be proud of Adelaide United

 
Mike Tuckerman Columnist

By , 10 May 2010 Mike Tuckerman is a Roar Expert

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It’s the calm before the storm in Adelaide, but come 7.30pm on Wednesday night, the streets around Hindmarsh Stadium will rumble amid a cacophony of noise. Adelaide United and Jeonbuk Motors will face off in the AFC Champions League, and only one team will be left standing.

Adelaide’s rollercoaster ride to the Round of 16 almost took a turn for the worse when they went down 1-0 at home to Chinese side Shandong Luneng in their final group stage game.

However, Aurelio Vidmar’s former club Sanfrecce Hiroshima did him a huge favour in beating defending Asian champions Pohang Steelers at home, allowing Adelaide to top their group and thereby welcome one of the K-League’s toughest teams to Hindmarsh Stadium for this do-or-die showdown.

Now Vidmar and his sidekick Joe Mullen will hope to see their side run out amidst a sea of red shirts in the stands, as United look to reprise their stellar run to the 2008 Champions League final.

United have been dealt another stroke of luck after former South Korean international Kim Sang-Sik and tricky Brazilian striker Luiz Henrique both picked up yellow cards in Jeonbuk’s most recent ACL loss to Kashima Antlers, thus ruling the pair out of this clash through suspension.

Add to that the potential absence through injury of former Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-Guk, and the odds could be stacked in Adelaide’s favour – even if the exciting Matthew Leckie is also suspended.

Despite their absentees, Jeonbuk still have plenty of talent rippling throughout their squad, and to the get the lowdown I asked K-League expert Seungmin Lee for his thoughts on the 2006 Asian champions.

“They have pace with their wings. Choi Tae-Uk and Seo Jung-Jin are ones to watch,” reckons Lee – who just started a new K-League page on Facebook.

“Their ‘game is-not-over-until-the-final-whistle’ spirit is also one of their strengths. They scored a last-gasp equaliser in a few K-League games this season,” he says, before adding that dead-ball expert Eninho is also an obvious threat from free-kicks.

Indeed, a quick glance through the Jeonbuk squad reveals the strength of the reigning K-League champions, with the gritty Park Won-Jae joined by Chinese international Feng Xiaoting and much-travelled Croatian veteran Krunoslav Lovrek, while beanpole striker Sim Woo-Yeon is also a towering threat off the bench.

No doubt Vidmar and his assistants have done their homework, although Channel 9 News sports reporter and keen Reds follower Andrew Montesi tells me that around town, the build-up to the game has been fairly low-key.

“As far as the game goes, the feeling surrounding the whole ACL campaign has been different to 2008, on the back of a poor A-League season, and the fact that ACL success is no longer a new thing for this town.

“The state is currently in the midst of an obsession with the demise of the Adelaide Crows, and that’s occupying a lot of news space that perhaps would’ve been given to the Reds,” Montesi reveals.

Regardless of the slow build-up, Adelaide should be proud of reaching this stage of the tournament and hopefully a near-capacity crowd turns out at one of Australia’s most atmospheric grounds for this sudden-death encounter.

The Reds have opened up plenty of doors for themselves in Asia through their stellar performances so far, and if they can beat Jeonbuk on Wednesday night, they’ll add another major scalp to their collection.

The football hasn’t always been the most free-flowing and questions remain over whether Sergio van Dijk can get the service he needs to rediscover his goal-scoring form, but Adelaide United have done the A-League proud.

Here’s hoping that they can continue their giant-killing exploits against Jeonbuk Motors, as the Reds proudly wave the flag for Australian football in Asia.

Follow Mike on twitter @Mike_Tuckerman
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