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This past week, I corresponded with three Korean football fans on their opinions of the Wanderers and the A-League ahead of Wednesday’s AFC Champions League semi-final first leg.
Despite the burgeoning growth of Australian domestic football, the A-League still exists as somewhat of an unknown quantity to those on the outside looking in. It’s a veil of mystery that the Wanderers are hoping to further uncloak when they take on FC Seoul at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium.
In an effort to gauge the continental gap in the lead-up to the tie, I traded emails with Korean football blogger Jae Chee, father of one and lifelong FC Seoul fan Byoung Ho Park and college student Kim Dae-Ryeong.
Our piecemeal exchanges revealed that Australian football is beginning to garner real and close attention in Korea – so much so, that the creation of the K-League’s newest club is being modeled almost exclusively on the Wanderers themselves.
Chee, Park and Kim were all quick to praise the Wanderers’ rise through Asia, but asserted the difficulty of the challenge that awaits the boys from Parramatta.
“We know that with players like [Tomi] Juric and [Labinot] Haliti that Western Sydney are strong and dangerous,” says Park.
“They might not have a long history, but Popovic is fantastic with his strategy and tactics.”
“Seoul fans are well aware that Western Sydney knocked out Guangzhao Evergrande, “ says Chee.
“Fans and pundits here view Guangzhou as the strongest team in Asia, so that alone is enough to respect the Wanderers.
“But Seoul is a quality team. They are well organised, disciplined and experienced. They are difficult to break down and have the individual quality up front to grab a goal or two.”
Kim reiterates this image of a team, who, like the Wanderers, are built on their resilience and willingness to soak up pressure.
“FC Seoul’s strength is definitely their defence,” he says.
“They are flexible and are able to use either a back three or a back four, and they have only conceded 19 goals in 26 league matches. The team is near unbeatable at the moment, having lost only one game in their last 15.”
Though Seoul’s weakness, it seems, is their inability to find the net consistently. Chee says that since the departure of goal-scoring hero Dejan Damjanovic last winter, the team has struggled to find a suitable replacement to lead the line.
“For the most part they have relied on a trio of decent attacking midfielders for goals, but they’re not a high scoring side,” he says.
“They’ve tried to work-in a few other attackers, but none have really established themselves as first-choice starters.”
“No single player has scored more than five league goals this season,” notes Kim.
“And one of the main forwards, Yun Il-lok, will be absent from the first leg due to the 2014 Asian Games. A main worry is also fatigue – Western Sydney has the advantage because the A-League is not underway yet.”
Not that FC Seoul is overly concerned, the trio says that both the Korean media and the wider population are expecting Seoul to progress.
“The Korean media feels that FC Seoul firmly has the advantage,” says Park.
“They have experience at this stage of the competition and are hoping to do what they failed to do last year.”
“Many fans felt relieved when it was decided that the opposing team in the semi-final would be Western Sydney, not Guangzhou,” agrees Kim.
“But it doesn’t mean fans look down on the A-League. The typical Korean football fan just doesn’t know about Australian domestic football because the A-League is still young. Yet the Champions League is helping people to get to know more about the A-League.”
And it appears some are taking more notice than others – like the brain trust of incoming Korean team Seoul E-Land FC.
“There will be a new team in Seoul next season and their ownership has cited Western Sydney as an example as team model to follow,” says Chee.
The Wanderers, along with the Seattle Sounders of the MLS, have been identified by E-Land FC as a benchmark in terms of turning paper concepts into tangible outcomes, especially in terms of fan engagement.
It’s a massive vote of confidence for our domestic scene’s international standing.
“Australia is getting stronger,” says Park.
“Australian football has a lot of potential, with players who are similar in talent and physical ability to many Europeans. If your youth players get the right education, it will keep getting stronger and stronger.”
“I suspect most Koreans view the A-League as average but growing,” Chee says.
“This view is probably because the average Korean still knows very little about the league and forms their opinions based on the Australian national team.”
With this, Chee says that Korea traditionally views the Socceroos as a good team, but a notch below their own national squad.
“Regardless of how true it is, Koreans tend to see themselves and Japan as the top of Asian football, with Australia a close third,” he says.
“But the Australian national team is highly regarded,” adds Kim.
“Many fans have praised and respected Australia’s performances in major tournaments.”
The Wanderers’ foray into Asian therefore stands as more than just a quest for silverware. The players, the club and the people of Western Sydney have the precious opportunity to be ambassadors for Australian football, in a way that could signal a new untouched area for our domestic game.
Should Western Sydney achieve the unlikely and lift the AFC Champions League trophy, one can imagine that the A-League will experience a surge that is more wave than ripple.
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