The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Asian Champions League is the right place at the wrong time

21st April, 2014
Advertisement
Could Youssouf Hersi be heading back to Wanderland? (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Expert
21st April, 2014
60
1637 Reads

With three of the four remaining A-League finalists also playing Champions League football, the commencement of the fixture debate was a matter of when, not if.

Central Coast Mariners veteran Mile Sterjovski joined the chorus of disapproval over the weekend, calling on the FFA and Professional Footballers Australia to intervene over the scheduling of matches during the A-League final series.

Understandable, too. The Mariners have a 40-hour round trip to Hiroshima for their match against Sanfrecce on Wednesday before returning for Saturday’s semi-final against Western Sydney. They will have just 24 hours on the ground ahead of the match.

The state of play is just as damaging for Melbourne Victory, who will have more than 40 hours’ worth of travel between a trip to Jeonbuk on Tuesday and a match against the Roar in Brisbane on Sunday.

Western Sydney have drawn the long straw this time, but would undoubtedly back changes to the fixture list.

In an ideal world, all three A-League teams would have been able to successfully lobby for home matches in the ACL this week, but negotiating with the AFC regarding Asian competition hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing in recent years.

A-League boss Damien De Bohun said over the weekend “not much more can be done” to improve the balance between ACL and A-League fixtures, highlighting the fact that Central Coast’s match was moved from Friday to Saturday to account for their trip to Japan.

But considering the bulk of Asia’s leagues play their season through the winter, it’s hard to believe there couldn’t be some leniency around the finals series for Australian clubs. After all, it’s only three weeks – two group matches.

Advertisement

The apologists will argue that A-League clubs simply need to learn to adapt to an increased playing load, citing the European example. Surely if Bayern Munich can play three games in a week, A-League clubs can manage two?

The thing not factored into this argument is travel. It’s not a matter of coaches not taking the Asian Champions League seriously or players not being fit enough to compete.

During the group stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League, Bayern spent less than 20 hours total in the air en route to their three away games in Manchester, Plzen and Moscow. That is the bare minimum for Australian clubs for just one intercontinental fixture.

A-League clubs often finish the group stage in or close to the financial red, with prize money and travel subsidies far from lucrative. But with a reported $1.5 million on offer for the winner and $750,000 for the runners up, incentive remains for the tournament to be taken seriously, if Aussie outfits are given the opportunity to do so.

This week’s fixtures present an unnecessary risk at the trickiest time. The Mariners, Victory and Wanderers are all within reach of progressing to the knockout stage, but could easily be undone by a negative result.

It’s a far from ideal situation, and the three coaches will be forced into making significant changes between the two matches, as we’ve seen with Kevin Muscat not sending James Troisi and Pablo Contreras to South Korea, seemingly as a precaution with “soreness” the cause.

The ball is not only in the court of the FFA but also the AFC, who need to give the A-League some help to offset a substantial disadvantage.

Advertisement

It’s unfortunate that being part of the Asia’s most prestigious competition can create this kind of burden, but clubs aren’t to blame and it’s up to the organising bodies to ensure that Asia’s best sees Australia’s best.

close