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When the Socceroos run out against South Korea in Seoul tomorrow night, most eyes in Australian football will be fixed on ANZ Stadium and the visit of a certain Manchester United instead.
The timing of the East Asian Cup finals and the visit of English Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool to Australia is hardly ideal.
Just when it appeared another dimension to Asian football would be opened up to casual Australian fans, whatever interest that could possibly exist in the East Asian Cup was soon swept away by the fervour surrounding the build-up to Saturday night’s All Star game.
That’s not necessarily Football Federation Australia’s fault – though they’ve hardly resisted the temptation to try and milk United’s visit for all its worth – but as it stands, there seems little reason to get enthused about by the visit of an understrength Socceroos to Seoul.
Which seems a shame, because the tournament is not only an opportunity to get a closer look at the toughest of our Asian rivals, it also offers several fringe players the chance to push their claims for World Cup selection in Brazil.
True to form, the Socceroos face their toughest test first when the run out against host nation South Korea at the impressive Seoul World Cup Stadium on Saturday night.
None of the four nations involved have called up any European-based players, but the South Koreans still boast a handy-looking squad.
Goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong, Guangzhou Evergrande defender Kim Young-Gwon and veteran Yeom Ki-Hun possess plenty of experience at this level, while interestingly the South Koreans have also called up seven players based in Japan’s neighbouring J. League.
Not surprisingly, the Japanese squad is entirely domestic-based, although coach Alberto Zaccheroni has resisted the urge to pick a squad with the sole aim of winning the tournament and has instead cast his eye towards the future.
It’s in the final third of the pitch where Zaccheroni has made his most interesting selections, where Cerezo Osaka starlet Yoichiro Kakitani, tricky Yokohama F. Marinos winger Manabu Saito, Jubilo Iwata youngster Hiroki Yamada and the bulldozing Yohei Toyoda will all be desperate for some game time.
The powerful Toyoda’s inclusion is perhaps the most revealing, as Japan continues its long quest to unearth the sort of genuine number nine striker most football nations take for granted. If the big Sagan Tosu striker can find the net in South Korea, he may just fire himself into World Cup contention.
China have gone the other way and will instead present a squad brimming with age and experience under caretaker coach Fu Bo.
Far from favouring youth, only 20-year-old Hangzhou Greentown defender Shi Ke is uncapped at full international level, while Beijing Guoan youngster Zhang Xizhe has played just the once – with the rest of the Chinese squad packed with veterans.
With little to lose, the Chinese are the dark horses of the finals but the question is; should anyone care either way?
The tournament is quite honestly an anachronistic throwback to a time when Asian football failed to command the kind of global respect it now enjoys.
And while Australia’s involvement may take some of the geopolitical sting out of the finals, it would surprise no one if we see a repeat of the sort of odious scenes which usually accompany showdowns featuring these historical foes – namely the jeering of national anthems.
Too often the East Asian Cup is seen as a chance to settle old scores which have nothing to do with football, though the cheerful ignorance of many Australians towards Asian football means this will invariably come as a shock the first time we see it.
So on a night when the Socceroos proudly fly the flag for our nation, most eyes will instead be on a team which represents the cream of English club football.
Does this the represent the good, the bad or the ugly of the Australian game right now?