Adelaide United's Cassio is jubilant after scoring the winning goal against Sanfrecce Hiroshima during their AFC Champions League soccer game. AP Photo/David Mariuz
Put your allegiances aside. It’s time to support Australian football, and not just the Socceroos. It got scant satisfaction from its A-League season, but Adelaide United’s adventures in Asia continued this week. And regardless of your domestic followings, isn’t it good to see an Australian club do well in the ACL?
While Melbourne Victory’s woes worsened this week, Adelaide’s dalliance with the region’s continental competition took another romantic twist with its come-from-behind defeat of Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Wednesday night.
Aurelio Vidmar’s three-year reign as United coach had looked shaky as his side finished last in the A-League, but – despite the fact that he’s not officially able to take charge of the side in the competition – the undefeated start to the ACL has gone a long way to rejuvenating his standing among supporters.
The Reds’ run through last season’s competition was an occasionally charmed one, but they still deserved every plaudit they received.
And while the lessons learned in the two-leg final against a clearly superior Gamba Osaka outfit need to be heeded, there are no indications as to why United cannot emulate those successes again.
If those lessons really hit home, maybe those successes could even be bettered.
Although early in both campaign and career, the contrast between the club’s A-League and ACL fortunes mirrors Adelaide’s signings for both.
Lloyd Owusu, Adam Hughes and Inseob Shin failed to win over either Vidmar or Reds fans since their capture for the 2009/10 A-League season.
Proven goalscorer Sergio Van Dijk and midfield schemer Marcos Flores – signed for the ACL and beyond – have perhaps already added more to the Reds squad than the aforementioned did all season.
Flores has released skipper Travis Dodd, so often entrusted to be the side’s only creator. Van Dijk can be as infuriating as he is talented, but 26 goals in 53 appearances for former club Brisbane Roar and the structure he had added for his new team say enough.
Fellow signings Nigel Boogaard and Adam Griffiths are proven domestic performers and are unlikely to bring simply depth to Vidmar’s list of options.
Melbourne sealed its fate with a gut-wrenching 4-0 loss to Kawasaki Frontale on Tuesday, much to the joy of many a rival supporter.
It might be hard to support a team normally despised domestically, but the success of Australian teams only benefits the rest of our domestic league.
Better results will equal more spots, and increased opportunities for other clubs to get their own taste of the region’s premier club competition.
So while Melbourne’s journey grinds to a somewhat premature halt, Adelaide’s run is gathering momentum. Let’s hope it picks up a few supporters – Red or just plain old Australian – along the way.
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