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If variety is the spice of life, it appears Sunday’s A-League grand final between the Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers will have just the right amount of tactical seasoning.
A third decider in four years at Suncorp Stadium will have the Roar confident of extending their dynasty and becoming the most successful club in the competition’s history.
But standing in their way will be the combative Wanderers, who have always been less tiki-taka and more hakuna matata. That is to say, Tony Popovic prefers a simpler, more problem-free philosophy – one that, at least defensively, means no worries.
Brisbane will not find it easy to play through Western Sydney. They are an imposing unit, partly by nature but mostly by the design of Popovic.
At the back, Brazil-bound centre-back Matthew Spiranovic and the towering Nikolai Topor-Stanley stand alert. Breaking up attacks in the middle are Mateo Poljak and Iacopo La Rocca.
Up front and ready to wreak havoc is the electric Youssuf Hersi and the increasingly clinical Labinot Haliti, while in Shinji Ono, who plays his final game in Australia, awaits one of the A-League’s best attacking outlets.
Like Popovic himself, the Wanderers are direct but effective.
Some would have you believe that because they’re not about death by one thousand passes, they are “anti-football”. Hacks. Bully boys.
Similar criticism was recently levelled at the Central Coast Mariners, who last weekend kicked Adelaide United coach Josep Gombau and his amazing technicolour playbook out of the finals.
Phil Moss instructed his players to let Adelaide dominate possession, choosing to frustrate first, soak up the pressure and then spring forward into open space.
That made it hard for the Reds to find their usual rhythm, and as a result, it wasn’t the easiest game on the eye for the neutrals.
What else were Central Coast to do? Play a game they’re not suited to and give themselves up to Adelaide? Winning comes first. But how to win remains the point of contention.
That same discussion is taking place in the Premier League right now. Liverpool play a brilliant brand of football but couldn’t get past the “two buses” allegedly parked in front of goal on the weekend by Jose Mourinho. The 2-0 loss may have cost them the title.
Brendan Rodgers did little to hide his disdain for Chelsea or Mourinho’s uber-pragmatic methods, saying his team prefers to play in a “sporting manner” and are better than to resort to reactive football for results. If Mourinho was the bus driver, Rodgers was the self-appointed ticket inspector.
In Australia, Rodgers would find plenty of allies. Style is now something supporters want to dictate and demand from their A-League clubs.
Pretty much everyone wants to play like Ange Postecoglou’s Brisbane. Those teams that don’t, along with those that aren’t capable of it, come in line for scorn.
Coaches from the old school are being increasingly shunned in favour of the new breed, who have memorised the National Curriculum back to front and choose not to divert from the textbook.
But the beauty of football lies in diversity of thought across all spectrums. Everything needs a counterpoint, especially on the park. For every Barcelona, there must be a Stoke City.
Defence might be a darker art but it is no less noble. It takes determination, skill and cunning. The sport would be worse off were it not for teams that are willing to put winning before anything else.
When it comes to grand finals, that is what matters above all else – winning. As Jay Z once put it: “Moral victories is for minor league coaches.”
Whether the application of that belief will be enough to stop Brisbane Roar will make for intriguing viewing. If Brisbane’s technical players and tactical cut-through gain the ascendancy, then it’s a victory for Mike Mulvey and the Roar way.
But if the Wanderers can suffocate the home side by staying compact and then surprise them by sweeping forward on the break, more power to them.
Conflict is key to any great dramatic work, and this A-League grand final has a terrific footballing narrative. More than a test of wits, it will be a battle of beliefs. Passing versus pressure. Invention versus mettle. To the victor go the spoils.
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