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Melbourne Victory had the chance and they blew it. Now Western Sydney Wanderers can make their mark as Australia’s most recognisable club on the continent, after the 2014 AFC Champions League draw was made this week.
If there is one club to watch out for in Group H of next year’s ACL, it’s the Wanderers.
The A-League newcomers have been handed a favourable draw in the continental competition, landing the same group as Chinese outfit Guizhou Renhe, South Korean regulars Ulsan Hyundai and a Japanese side which will almost certainly be this year’s J. League runners-up Yokohama F. Marinos.
And if Wanderers coach Tony Popovic is serious about the competition, he should aim to finish top of the group.
Why? Because having avoided some of Asia’s biggest clubs, the Wanderers should enjoy the distinct advantage of actually wanting to win the tournament, instead of treating it as an afterthought to domestic duties as many Asian clubs do.
Quite frankly, the ACL needs every big club with a demanding supporter base it can get, and the Wanderers are the A-League side which most clearly fits the mould.
That mantle used to belong to Melbourne Victory, but after finishing second in their group behind Gamba Osaka in 2008 – not enough that year to reach the competition’s knock-out stages – Victory soon discovered that dominating the ACL is harder than it looks.
Poor results in 2010 and 2011 saw current Victory coach Kevin Muscat claim that playing in the ACL is “not that enjoyable,” but the truth is that it probably would be if A-League clubs put some effort into preparing for the tournament and stopped hiding behind pre-meditated excuses.
Should Victory overcome their ACL playoff opponent – in all likelihood Thai side Muangthong United – they too would be drawn in a decent group containing Guangzhou Evergrande, Jeonbuk Motors and the winners of Japan’s Emperor’s Cup.
And though Guangzhou are defending Asian champions, the other two sides might be eminently beatable.
Though Jeonbuk are a handy outfit and have plenty of experience on the Asian stage, they were thrashed by 2012 Emperor’s Cup winners Kashiwa Reysol in last year’s ACL Round of 16 – with Kashiwa subsequently losing 8-1 on aggregate to a rampant Guangzhou in the semi-final.
And having watched J. League runners-up Yokohama F. Marinos dispatch Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 at Mitsuzawa Stadium back in September, I don’t believe there’s any reason for A-League sides to be overly fearful of the Japanese representatives either.
If any club copped the short end of the stick, it’s Central Coast Mariners. Not only did they draw last season’s ACL runners-up FC Seoul, they were also grouped with back-to-back J. League winners Sanfrecce Hiroshima and potentially Chinese powerhouse Beijing Guoan.
It’s arguably the toughest draw of all, but even then Phil Moss and his team need not despair, given that Sanfrecce struggled on the continental stage last season and FC Seoul will be diligently maintaining their K-League Classic commitments alongside ACL duties.
There’s one other factor which could work in the three A-League clubs’ favour and that’s the fact that barring one or two exceptions, they’re unlikely to play in front of fiercely passionate crowds.
The Chinese sides are all capable of generating noisy attendances, but the opposite is true for the group stage’s South Korean representatives – with the occasional exception of FC Seoul – and not for the first time Australian clubs will run out in some of the worst examples of Japanese stadia on offer.
To put it bluntly, the only thing A-League fans should be worried about is their clubs trotting out pre-meditated excuses about salary caps and scouting networks before a ball has even been kicked.
There’s nothing to fear but fear itself from the ACL group stage draw, in a year in which Australian clubs should lay down a marker and declare their intent to once again do some damage in the competition.