As torrents of rain fell down upon Allianz Stadium, the 13,125 fans that braved the inclement conditions witnessed a late comeback by the Sky Blues against Melbourne Heart.
A Rhyan Grant goal deep into stoppage time capped a gutsy performance. A gritty performance. But certainly not a beautiful performance. This has been the story of Sydney FC.
The reality is, while the glamour surrounding the Sydney-based club has returned, in the form of Alessandro Del Piero, the glamour on the pitch has long since faded into the distance.
Season one of the A-League saw Sydney FC play an entertaining style of football that brought success and a horde of loyal supporters. But since then the quality of football, at least in comparison to the rest of the competition, and success has snowballed.
Accordingly, crowd attendance dropped. In the Sydney community the flame of passion and excitement inspired by Dwight Yorke was extinguished.
The signing of Alessandro Del Piero has no doubt renewed interest in the A-League, not just in Sydney. It brought the bling back to Bling FC. Crowd attendances all over the a-league have skyrocketed.
He has been an inspiration, not just on the pitch but off it too. Del Piero is the figurehead the A-League needs right now but perhaps he isn’t the type of player Sydney FC needs.
Ian Crook tried to introduce a less direct style of play to entertain the massive crowds that turned out for Sydney games and to utilise Del Piero.
Not only did the experiment fail in terms of results but the team seemed unable to reproduce the slick passing game that had been adopted by teams like Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Heart. The team relied too heavily on Del Piero’s skills as a trequartista.
They were afraid of bringing other players into the game. Del Piero featured prominently in each match, playing 90 minutes most weeks – an impressive feat for a 38 year old. Sydney became a one man team.
It’s good to see the board, with the appointment of Frank Farina as manager, have finally accepted the truth. Sydney FC have never played the beautiful game. Sydney FC have never been a technically gifted team. But what they can do is fight, as they demonstrated against Melbourne Heart.
Their first real chance of the game, which only came in the 38th minute, was from a free-kick. This is how Sydney plays. Farina has harnessed desire and determination and rightfully prioritised them over entertaining the crowds.
Sydney has witnessed wobbling fluctuations in crowd attendances since the beginning of the A-League. The city is a pressure pot.
There is no hiding the fact that Sky Blue supporters demand results and attendances depend heavily on the success of the team. The media demands results. Half of Italy demands results.
But perhaps the new approach by players and staff has come too late. The Western Sydney Wanders have already taken the tag as the blue-collar workhorses of the A-League. Considering the location of the club this is logical move.
The signing of Del Piero has been a revelation for the A-League. It was a smart move by the Sky Blue staff to distinguish themselves from the Wanderers. However, on the pitch are the Sky Blues really that different from the Wanderers?
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