Melbourne Victory supporters. AAP Image/Paul Miller
This week is all about Melbourne. With the A-League’s only intra-city derby on the horizon, the self-proclaimed centre of the sporting world is currently the focus of the Australian football public’s attention.
However, with both Heart and Victory gripped by mini crises of confidence, it’s not just the weekend’s high profile fixture that is drawing curious glances from across the country.
While both have underachieved in their first two games of the new season, for Victory, responsibility seems to have been placed almost squarely upon the shoulders of Mehmet Durakovic.
What a challenge for such an inexperienced coach, but equally it remains a fantastic opportunity.
Durakovic’s tactics against Adelaide last Friday have been questioned roundly, and that’s not unreasonable. However he must trust his judgement and not fall into the trap of self-doubt.
Even before the season it was inevitable that this type of pressure would fall upon everyone at the Victory. Harry Kewell’s signing painted a big target on the club and it’s one weighed down with astronomical expectation.
Yet in my opinion the biggest troubles in Melbourne lie across town in Bundoora where Heart still seem to be finding their feet over 12 months after the club played its first competitive game.
Last season there was little pressure put on the A-League new boys for their debut campaign. It was a case of “lets just see how they go”.
Well we did see, and they went poorly.
So a crucial second season has now begun. After two losses, and controversy off the field with the replacement of Simon Colosimo as captain, there is some unease at the club.
I suspect the issue is one of comfort. Ever since criticism from outside the club was tempered last season, expectations have been a bit too nice for everyone at Heart, both on and off the pitch.
What makes this a genuine problem however is Heart are up against the A-League’s most successful club in Victory, who have had a five-year head start in winning the hearts and minds of Victorians.
To make up this difference, a touch of ruthlessness, not just passion and good ideas, is needed.
Striker David Williams probably didn’t realise how accurate he was being on Tuesday when he said the players are “too friendly” at the Heart.
To borrow from seminal electronica duo Daft Punk, could a bit of “harder, better, faster, stronger” help put the red and white half of Melbourne back on track?
Kasey
Guest
Sometimes that just happens in football, the build up is imense and the expectations rise to the point that the game can't possibly match. FA Cup finals and derbies a plenty fall 'victim' to this issue. I still feel that with the defensive frailties of MHFC and the MVFC desperate to show they can score we will see a fiery encounter and one with plenty of talking points. defensively: Clint Bolton will be in for his first game so he mightn't be match sharp just yet and Colosimo is still out for the Red n Wites. The opening round MVFC vs SFC was talked up and I'm yet to find a football literate person who didn't enjoy that game. Of course given the scoreline, thre were some predictable core draw coments, but I seriously doubt if anyone making that comment actuall watched the game or understands football at all.
jamesb
Guest
why do i get the feeling the melbourne derby could turn out to be a fizzer. I hope i'm wrong
Kasey
Guest
Ahh, the old, “if we cant have what we want, we’ll try to destroy what others have created and blow the whole thing up” gambit….gee, I wonder where we’ve seen that before? One doesn’t have to have lived in NSW/QLD to understand the horrors of the Super League war, from which RL, even with the amazing boost it gets from News Ltd is only just recovering today. To be honest, I’m not surprised that you claim to be a fan of the NSL, after all that competition changed its club membership and structure seemingly yearly in a vainglorious attempt to stumble across the magic formula for successfully running a national football competition in Australia. So when a model with serious potential to do just that is presented to you, in the A-League, I’m not surprised that you side with Mr ‘Rump Board’ Galati and can’t see the tremendous potential of the A-League laid out for the future of the professional domestic game. Luckily, and I stand to be corrected here, FIFA has thought ahead in instances such as this and only allows one governing body and one tier-one domestic league to be sanctioned. I imagine that were the ex-NSL clubs to discover oil under King Tom park and be able to fund a ‘break-away’ league from the FFA. FIFA would just (not so) quietly withdraw their sanction from Australia leaving us unable to play international games or in FIFA tournaments. No internationals would leave Fox pretty cold considering the ratings the Socceroos get and the uproar would leave the breakaway competition fatally wounded in the eyes of football purists in this country and the backlash would see the break-away comp still born.
Titus
Guest
I think this would indeed be a good rivalry considering WS doesn't even have a team yet and the rivalry is already pretty strong.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Johnno
Guest
Kasey i know there is next to no chance the A-league will let Hellas , lembourne knights, sydney olympic, pan hellenic, sydney united, or marconi in. What i find interesting though Kasey , and fuss and others is this. what if all these old NSL clubs, and a few new franchsies got together and formed there own break away NSL super league. Would they get a pay tv deal form fox, or would the federal government simply just ban them using names like hellas. But sydney olympic name as it means meant things, and melbourne knights should be fine. It would annoy me but the federal government maybe an a rebel a league if they think it is based on ethnic allegiances, the federal government may go overkill and not see as they may not have an education soccer in australia and not even tolerate the melbourne knights.
Midfielder
Guest
Griffo Should be a great game and after we win we will hold the record for the most number of days of a win over another club...
Midfielder
Guest
Griffo Yellow and navy I assume...
Midfielder
Guest
Fuss ... mate its time to stop taking those dark blue pills ... Carlos before Flores ... maatteeie..
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ BoPP Yes, the longest trip indeed happened only 2 weeks ago in Russia's Division 1 (which is the 2nd tier after the Russian Premier League), but ... imagine the celebrations on the journey home! :-) 4/10/11 FK Baltika Kaliningrad 0 - 1 FK SKA-Energiya Khabarovsk Earlier this year - the match in Khabarovsk ended in a 1-1 draw. Not sure how we survived before the Internet! EDIT: I see what you mean .. you are right Perth Glory v The Nix is the 2nd longest trip in a pro-football league! Sorry, I missed that point.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Luch Energia have been in the 2nd div since 2008. Mind you that would make the Kalinigrad-Vladivostok game hell of a trip if Baltika are still there.
punter
Guest
I rate Broich ahead of Carlos. Not a Brisbane fan either.
Michael
Guest
Give 'em to me Griffo!
Australian Rules
Guest
Carlos every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Comfortably the best player so far in A-League history.
Australian Rules
Guest
If Victory are competitive toward the end of the year, I'd bet that the heady crowds of 50,000+ will return to the blockbuster games at Etihad (for Melb vs Adel, Syd, Bris and Melb Hrt). Also, I'm sure the dream is to create a fierce Sydney derby within the HAL as well...and yes, GWS is a no-brainer for the second team. Unfortunately, the fickle Sydney fans wouldn't be convincing the FFA that they could handle/deserve a 2nd team quite yet.
TomC
Guest
Ah, but they've already played! Friendly at Bob Jane before the 07/08 season. (possibly another one since then, actually). Victory won 5-1 on a freezing South Melbourne night. Great fun though. Probably Ljubo Milicevic's best performance for the Victory. Ha.
Kasey
Guest
Johnno, I can say hand on heart(cardio vascular not the *may resemble football based product in red &white) , I'll sprout wings and fly before the FFA let Hellas into the A-League. Your only chance of seeing a MV vs SMH game is if the FFA can get the FFA cup off the ground. And I guarantee, that any breath of crowd 'worries' and it will last but one year:(
Johnno
Guest
HBig away legs fuss in russian league such a big country, Perth to wellington to is a killer. Bring back Hellas Hellas. Can't wait to see int he A-league a Mebourne victory vs Hellas local derby will be awesome.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Apparently, it's the 3rd most extreme road-trip in any football league :-) 1. Baltika Kaliningrad (Russia B) to SKA-Energia Khabarovsk (Russia B) - 7026km 2. Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia) to Luch-Energia Vladivostok (Russia) - 6531km 3. Wellington Phoenix (A-League) to Perth Glory (A-League) - 5258km Source: http://www.thebesteleven.com/2008/07/worlds-longest-soccer-road-trips.html
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
I do like this round. Melbourne derby, F3 derby, Queensland derby, Extreme Paramater match (being 2nd most exteme in the world) and Adelaide v Sydney because, well, there are two teams left over.