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Could Sydney FC be the worst team in Australian sport to potentially win a championship? The Sky Blues more often than not look hopeless, yet a top-six finals series means they’re in the mix to win the A-League.
Make no mistake – Sydney’s 4-1 win over Wellington Phoenix at a soaked Sydney Football Stadium yesterday afternoon was rollicking good entertainment.
A couple of Alessandro Del Piero goals, a screamer from Ali Abbas and a collector’s item from Seb Ryall were the rewards for the 10,000-odd Sydney supporters who braved the elements to watch their team claim a much-needed three points.
It was a win which could be enough to see Frank Farina’s men fight off Newcastle Jets for a sixth-place finish and with it, a spot in the finals. But do they deserve it? Probably not, if the past 26 rounds are anything to go by.
In fact, to watch an average Sydney FC game is to view a collection of 11 distinct individuals who possess no element of cohesion whatsoever.
At one point during the gritty win, Richard Garcia played an intelligent ball in behind the Phoenix defence for Joel Chianese, only to discover his strike partner was running in precisely the opposite direction.
It sums up the performances of a team which continues to rely almost exclusively on Del Piero.
The Italian was at his impish best against the Phoenix, winning and converting a penalty, curling home a fabulous free-kick and rattling the crossbar with another, setting up Ryall for a superb goal and generally proving a constant menace.
Del Piero is by such distance Sydney’s best player it’s embarrassing, so it defies belief that club officials would deem him too expensive to retain for another season.
Is it because he doesn’t track back? Neither does half the Sydney midfield, yet you don’t hear club officials talk about getting rid of Milos Dimitrijevic.
Are his wage demands too high? Perhaps billionaire owner David Traktovenko might be better off jettisoning high-earning non-playing staff like Nicky Carle instead?
Whatever the rationale for not wanting to re-sign the club’s second-highest goal scorer of all time, Del Piero could yet play a major role in the finals.
Incredibly, if results go Sydney FC’s way next weekend, the Sky Blues could finish as high as second, despite being one of the worst teams in the league all season. They’re unlikely to go on and win the competition – even allowing for Del Piero’s singular influence – but it doesn’t say much for the format of the finals.
Sydney fans would do well to see off the Italian in style in what is almost certainly his final regular season game at home to Perth Glory next weekend, after Western Sydney Wanderers supporters paid fitting tribute to the departing Shinji Ono on Saturday night.
The Japanese maestro has done more than any other to dispel the myth that Asian players can’t be stars, and the former Urawa Reds and Shimizu S-Pulse midfielder thoroughly deserved his warm send-off in the 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar.
The Wanderers have looked odds-on to finish second for much of the campaign, but now the Mariners, Adelaide and Melbourne Victory are breathing down their neck with one round to play.
And surely the Reds and their eccentric tactician Josep Gombau are the team with the momentum to snatch the all-important second spot.
At times this season Adelaide have played some of the most exhilarating football we’ve ever seen, and though a lack of defensive nous prevented them from challenging Brisbane for top spot, they’ll have it all to play for in the rough-and-tumble of knock-out football.
It’s all to play for with one round remaining, with six teams still jostling for a chance to win the competition.
Sydney FC are unlikely to, but after recording an entertaining win over the Phoenix, that’s a story for another day.