Dear the million or so ‘Eurosnobs’ living in Australia who ‘love’ football. You may or may not have witnessed/noticed the magnificent performance of Melbourne Victory against Guangzhou.
Yeah we lost, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about.
I’m here to explain why, even with our magnificence, we still managed to get beat rather soundly in the end.
See Guangzhou are an unbelievable outfit, they would have the best players in Asia, probably the best facilities and the best manager.
Even still, our grassroots team with our good facilities and our home grown manager gave them a bit of a wake-up call.
And wake up they did, after their near world-class players were given what I can only imagine being a monumental tongue lashing by their World Cup winning manager.
Six or seven years ago I remember Melbourne going to the Asian Champions League for the first time and painstakingly finishing second in our group.
But this is not just about Melbourne – in those days there was no Chinese powerhouse, Changchung couldn’t overcome mighty Adelaide United and Beijing were certainly no match for their Japanese rivals.
Guangzhou were only just being promoted from China division two.
So what changed?
Well China got fair-dinkum about their local league.
No, not just their business billionaires (billionaires own A-League clubs too!) but their local supporters as well.
For so long considered Asia’s ‘sleeping dragon’, so to speak, China is waking up.
The sponsor on Guangzhou’s shirt is worth more than all of Melbourne’s roster, because they have people watching them on TV and following them in the stadium – it was purely buzzing with ‘newbie’ supporters enraptured by the experience of a real football atmosphere.
And you know what? They’re well worth the price of admission.
Having a bit of money to throw at managers like Marcelo Lippi and players like Alessandro Diamanti and no salary cap helps.
But what about us?
What about our tiny comp with its salary cap and its terrible players who are slow and could never match it at premier league level?
Well at least one of our sides in Asia took it to a team with premier league quality and we only came off two goal losers – much like earlier in a pre-season hit-out with a premier league team.
The sad thing though is even blind Freddy can see where they exceed us is the only place we mostly fail – their club is self-sustainable, they need not live by the blessing of some generous business billionaire and they’re the darling of football fans in Guangzhou.
Melbourne 2-4 Awoken Dragon.
Australia 1-2 China.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Wow ... you must be the go-to guy for breaking news? Shame, I knew that result 4 days ago.
Patrick Hargreaves
Roar Guru
Melbourne Heart 4-0 Fuss.
brisvegas
Guest
As for the article ... I guess I can live with the hyperbole. I only saw the first half. Went out thinking, 'well, that's a turn up for the book. Well played, Vics.' Came home to see the result and thought, 'what the ...? How did they blow it so badly?' And, sorry to say, gave a wry chuckle. I blame the beer.
brisvegas
Guest
Depends on whether you want to anglicise it or not, really. By comparison, do you say Barcelona or Barthelona? Paris or Par-ee? Is it Rome or Roma? Do you say Glasgow with a Glaswegian accent? or Newcastle with a Geordie accent?
Luke Gaskett
Roar Rookie
Maybe read the whole article, I mention that not long ago the Chinese teams were nobodies it hasn't happened completely overnight but it has happened as they say success breeds successs.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Simon Hill called them Ever-grand throughout Wednesday night. So i'm guessing Ever-grun-day is the right one.
Stevo
Guest
Ouch, I entered the dragon's den and got singed. Should have known better :)
Titus
Guest
I call it Gwong-joe but I perform a funny little accent on the joe that is a bit more like jow.....hope that helps. And Ever-grun-day Disclaimer: I am most likely completely wrong.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Think it depends if you are a Cantonese or Mandarin speaker. My understanding is that In Canto (and that and Pinyin are the local dialects in the area) it is Guang zhoo - in Mandarin which the majority of main land Chinese speak it is Kwang Zhao. I could have that a bit off but there are definitely multiple pronunciations depending on the language and dialect in use.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Stupid question but is it Guang-zoo or Guang-zow and is it Ever-grun-day or Ever-grade or Ever-grand?
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Fair enough & thank you for that input. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Evergrade on Wednesday night & I just bought my tickets for their visit in April. Yes, Diamanti is pure class and I'm looking forward to seeing him LIVE in the stadium.
ACL Fan
Guest
I was trying to answer your question: "So, the questions you asked for MVFC could also be asked of Lippi & GZE … why were they so poor in the 1st half?" there r 2 reasons I could think of: 1, the 1st match of this year.( reason stated). 2, they were called "2nd half king" in China. (reason stated). PLUS even that 2nd half, is still not the best of Evergrande. I d say Diamanti was just too crazy!!!
clayts
Guest
They made $250k net profit last year
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ACL Fan So, because it was their 1st match ... they were stronger in the 2nd half? That doesn't pass the common sense test. In relation to being "2nd half kings" ... is that just this season, or last season? I didn't watch any Evergrande matches last ACL season, but I do notice they didn't concede a single goal in the 1st half of any ACL match at home last season. So, either they were reasonably strong in the 1st half of ACL home matches last season, or the opponents didn't punish them like MVFC punished them? Something seems very odd with that analysis but, as I said, that was the 1st 90 mins I've watched of Evergrande.
Los Oso
Guest
Outstanding first half from us. Second half, Diamanti just shows you what $10m buys.
ACL Fan
Guest
Because that was their first formal match this year. They weren't very fit and ready due to last year long march competition. Also, in China, Evergrande is called "Second half King". A lot of teams seem can have pretty good performance by investing 100% their efforts into first half wen they are against Evergrande. Modern soccer is about how to divide your energy into different phases.
mahonjt
Guest
The most important contribution of this excellent article in my opinion is that it draws to the reader's attention the stupid, yet consistent assumption underlying the analysis of AFC football nations by many - that they are standing still while Australia seeks to catch up. Australia is already a leading football nation in Asia - if you consider it in the context of the 52ish member nations. However, while we have a baby-seat at the adults table - we have a way to go before becoming footballing peers. Not because of the pace and direction of our own football development, but also because of the developmental pace and direction of those at our table. The economist in me says that the three big nations ahead of us in development terms are about to feel the impact of the 'law of diminishing returns'. Australia on the other hand still has a lot of upside and the gap will begin to close. It is this belief that reassures me that, while the gap has opened in recent years - that we are on the right track. I was very proud of the team. We are learning and for that I am grateful for our participation. Ultimately in Asia, for me anyway, learning is everything. Trophies are a bonus.
mahonjt
Guest
I broadly agree - but think achieving a balance is best. I would hate up to miss the opportunity to develop our football by avoiding the technical fight! That said, I want to win stuff as well :-)
mahonjt
Guest
That's it in a nutshell.
mahonjt
Guest
Mmmmmmmm - what incredible tactical insight.