One of the greatest fairytales in Australian sport requires one last fabulous chapter to ensure its heroes live happily ever.
But even without the glorious climax demanded by football romantics, historians of the future will surely scratch their heads and wonder how the Western Sydney Wanderers ever managed to top the A-League in their first year, let alone contest or even win a grand final.
Wonder is the key word. Wanderers fans have a name for their Parramatta Stadium fortress that would bring a smile to the face of Lewis Carroll: Wanderland.
The only thing missing in their miraculous first season has been Alice, but Tony Popovic and his unlikely band of giant-killers must feel as if they have fallen down a rabbit hole in her place, and tumbled into a fantasy world where debutants end up with golden crowns.
They have been, quite literally, wonderful.
An even greater wonder, perhaps, is why it has taken so long for an elite team to emerge from the plains of greater western Sydney, dedicated specifically to the rich catchment area that has spawned Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and a host of other football luminaries.
This region is home to over two million people, or one in 11 Australians.
Its population is greater than South Australia’s, and greater than Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT combined.
It is a multicultural mecca for the world’s most multicultural game. One of its suburbs, Auburn, is home to people from 100 nations.
It is also young, a factor of critical importance for the future. One-third of its people are under 24, making it the focus of an intense turf war in which the big-spending AFL and NRL are turning somersaults to win hearts and minds.
For years they have been screaming for an A-League team. Now they have one they can really scream about.
Six weeks before the start of their first season, the Wanderers had only six contracted players, and only nine at their first training session.
Marquee player Shinji Ono, the Japanese star who has proved a game changer, signed on eight days before the first ball was kicked in anger.
The back room staff never panicked.
“Time was not our friend but we were determined not to let it become our enemy,” said chief executive Lyall Gorman.
“To rush decisions would have been to err.
“We had hundreds of potential players to think about, but we wanted the right ones. We had three criteria.
“What sort of person is he? Does he fit the culture and values of the club? What skills set does he bring to our club? In that order.”
Though a 0-0 draw in their first match against the might of the Central Coast Mariners hinted at solid prospects, they were kept goalless and winless for their first three matches.
But as the season progressed, so did the Wanderers.
Winning became a habit.
So much that the club won 10 successive matches, taking the Premiers’ Plate for finishing on top of the table at the end of the home and away season, a feat considered the grand prize in most countries.
Now they have made the world sit up and take notice. News of their exploits has even made the pages of the New York Times.
And they have the grand final in their sights, too, after a 2-0 victory over Brisbane Roar in their first finals appearance.
No Australian football club in any code has achieved such a feat in any established competition, and it is difficult to find a parallel anywhere in the world for such instant success in team sport at elite level.
The Wanderers have confounded everyone, including their established cross-town rivals Sydney FC, who boast a team led by Alessandro Del Piero, the biggest name to hit the A-League.
Though Del Piero commands $2 million a year, has won a World Cup and starred with Italian giants Juventus, he will be watching Sunday’s final, which ironically will be held at FC’s home ground, Allianz Stadium.
The red and black army of Wanderers fans are expected to come close to making it the stadium’s first ever 45,500 sellout.
The only team standing in the way of the perfect finish for the Wanderers are Graham Arnold’s Central Coast Mariners, who will either break their grand final duck or limp home with a fourth grand final loss in eight seasons.
No matter what happens, the Wanderers have seen enough already to believe the sky is the limit.
“In years to come this club will be massive,” said Gorman.
“I have no doubt it will rival Collingwood in the AFL or the Broncos in rugby league.
“This is not the end of the journey. It is just the beginning.”
Australian Rules
Guest
"AFL’s stats may look impressive if you purely look at the average statistic stat, but given the circumstances it’s not actually that impressive at all." Ok. If you take out all the Melbourne AFL clubs, the remaining average attendance across the country in 2012 was 24,750. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Australian_football_code_crowds That would still rank 7th biggest in the world for football crowds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attendance_figures_at_domestic_professional_sports_leagues Yeah, not that impressive at all.
Australian Rules
Guest
MidFielder, I was agreeing with you. Or at least with the premise that if WSW "become Australia’s biggest club [of any code] within 5 to 7 years"...it would be the biggest fairytale in Australian sport. You say "I have no doubt" this will happen - and I can't agree with that.
Australian Rules
Guest
I'm an avid soccer follower and like most people, follow many sports. As for "Could easily smash your 66k nonsense, your stats are bad and you should feel bad". Duly noted.
clipper
Guest
Great idea Johnno - it would be like a pincer movement!
clipper
Guest
I gathered in the SW Football was ahead of league, but didn't realise it was equal to league in the Lidcombe area. Hopefully with better TV coverage and continued Wanderers success, it will overtake it there too - the next step would be FTA to increase the audience, but it would be hard to let go of SBS after all they've done.
Stavros
Guest
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. If only they had a good start to the campaign. What a shame. I deal in the real world Kylie, and the bottom line is their fan base hasn't improved in 5 years.
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
Hang on a sec, Collingwood haven't played outside Melbourne this year? hmmm... Interesting stats you're pulling out there. If there was a Sydney derby every week it would average a solid 30k+, that's with one full season of history behind it. Could easily smash your 66k nonsense, your stats are bad and you should feel bad. Jog on to the AFL tab, it's only 3 to the left of the football one... You can count to numbers that aren't 6 or miss, can't you?
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
This, we don't click on your links because there's too much football going on. Your season is in full swing, I'm sure there's some drug related third strike happening at one of your famous clubs <half-of-Australian Rules!
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
Rubbish, our highest attendance was this season and would have eclipsed that first season if not for an absolutely abysmal first half of the campaign on the pitch. It's not hard to judge from just that nonsense that you haven't the faintest about football, and your opinion that average attendances wont be >15k for WSW in 5 years is therefore completely irrelevant. Jog on mate, I'm sure there's some fascinating new way some AFL team have developed to cheat, or someone has just recieved their second strike out of three before being sacked :D Fascinating world, that one!
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
This. A blue mountains focused team playing out of Penrith would be a better option, as they would draw on all of the blue mountains and outerlying areas better than WSW does. You could also push Campbelltown, but we're talking a decade or more. I would much rather see, and think it imperative to have, Canberra Wollongong, Fury and possibly Tassie in first before any other clubs in already-used areas. Another South Queensland team needs to be looked at too, probably not in Gold Coast again but the Roar need a local rival and the outskirts of Brisbane are set to expand massively in population within 2 decades so a team there needs to be looked at. Geelong too. All of this before a second WS team!
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
Athletic would be good for Canberra ;)
Stavros
Guest
I think people are overstating the support for WSW. Sydney FC's highest attendance was in their first year. I'm sure people were probably thinking 7 years later they would be around the 30k mark. Just having a lot of people in Western Sydney supporting the team doesn't mean they will turn up to the games.
Punter
Guest
I think his prediction is closer to the mark than yours. I love many sports, cycling, golf, Rugby, cricket, but football is my passion, but I wouldn't go to a golfing thread & discourage any comments on Adam Scott after his great win, even if I disagreed with it. For a multi sports fan, every time you come on the football threads, you are very negative about the game so I don't think football is one of the multi sports you follow.
Stavros
Guest
I'm a multi-sports fan, so not sure what your problem is. Do you have any other interests apart from soccer? Midfielders ridiculous prediction deserves comment. Don't tell me you agree with him.
Football United
Guest
This, these melbourne averages are easy enough when you share a cricket ground that lets every single possible fan that wants to go in. Imagine if every London team played at wembley, Chelsea vs Arsenal, North and West London Derbies, West Ham vs Millwall with no restriction on home stadium size or away allocations, it would be 70k each time. AFL's stats may look impressive if you purely look at the average statistic stat, but given the circumstances it's not actually that impressive at all. As for their Memberships, it's a load of shit, half of these Melbourne AFL teams members aren't even season ticket holders, 3 match memberships don't count.
Punter
Guest
Glad that with the great start in the AFL season, you have time to spend time & care factor to be discussing an A-league club's average attendances. I know at the start of the A-League, I'm so pumped & excited that I'm not caring about who is in the finals of the AFL let alone discussing the average crowds of the Western Bulldogs.
Stavros
Guest
You might think that WSW will be the biggest club in the country, which is a big enough statement in itself. To say that you have 'no doubt' about it is ridiculous. My prediction is that in 5 years time, if they are a decent side then their average attendance won't be more than 15k. If they are a struggling side, then less than 10k.
Football United
Guest
yeah i liked the idea of international, tbh either of athletic or wanderers was going to always work well for ws
Football United
Guest
yeah i liked the idea of international, tbh either of athletic or wanderers was going to always work well for ws
Ian
Guest
interesting article. did you have that 2010 article stored somewhere or did you search for it?