Wanderers topple Guangzhou 1-0 in ACL

Just on that Saba incident, I think he is being criticised a bit harshly and i think Bozza went too far after the game .... from my point of view the Chinese guy raised his leg and caught him so I actually had no problem with the red card as the bloke had no good reason to raise his leg. And for my final point ... What Lazza initially said was he couldn't understand why some Australians accepted strangling and punching but not diving ........ and i merely said that diving is not manly enough for those said people ....... and some 10 posts later here we are :-) Anyway roll on the FFA draw, maybe the Roar will draw the team you support ... a bit hard if its WSW though :-)

Pablo Here is my last point. Firstly if we had an EPL quality competition we would have the biggest competition in Australia,and football would be the most popular sport in Australia. That straightaway negates the argument that "manliness" is the reason the sport does not click with many Aussies. For most it's the quality. Otherwise we would be filling huge stadiums (diving or not). Secondly I don't like diving either. I don't like what happened the other night. But it happened for 5 mins of the game (and to be honest has added a spice/rivalry for the return leg). Did those people who are jumping up and down about the diving watch the other 85 mins, which was a tense and close tussle? My point that "people will see what they want to see" is quite relavant. You see if the diving stops, then it will be the time wasting. Then it will be the lack of scoring. Then it will go on and on because they simply don't like the sport no matter what you say. They were born with something else in their blood so they will always find something wrong. By adding to the discussion you are justifying their cause. I'm sure Popa will take Saba aside and tell him to calm down a little. Then we will all wonder why we had this argument.

Firstly I am an not an Aussie so my views don't come with any hidden love of afl or league. Secondly, I said many Aussies, not all, don't like diving. That's just a facts boys - cant understand why you find that so hard to accept. Thirdly if you want to accept diving as part of the "culture" of football that's fine by me, thats your choice. Sure as hell wasn't that way when i grew up with the likes of Paul McGrath, Frank Stapelton, Kevin Sheedy etc. Personally I don't like it but I'm not about to stop watching a sport I have played and watched for over 35 years, but thanks for the suggestion. And Bondy, you're right it is "our sport" so i'm entitled to have an opinion on aspects of it just like anyone else, sorry it doesn't match your views. Best not mention my thoughts on Blatter for fear of being told to go support another code. Thanks for the debate lads, think wires are still getting crossed but that's life heh. Roll on season 10.

Pablo Stop trying to change the culture of our sport if you dont like it dont watch and stop telling us how it should be done around here.

Pablo Can I ask you a question? Why are you even on this thread? Nobody cares about your insecurities about why you feel so bad about the diving that happens in football. You come on here and give some irrelevant comment about how Aussies hate diving (which we've all heard a million times before). My crowd statistic is very relevant because it shows that actually people want to watch top notch football in this country and the diving stigma is a boring stereotype which doesn't affect the popularity like people make it out to be. Of course I'm going to compare it to the AFL/NRL/Rugby because they are the "manly" sports which we keep getting told Aussies only like and they are central to what you argument is about. Even Punter could see that. I notice you didn't counter my point with anything but just threw an insult. Maybe one day you should just love the sport that you love (if you really are a football fan)and stop getting paranoid about what David Koch or some other white guy on a morning show behind a desk says about the sport. I spoke with 4 or 5 other people from my work about the game and they loved it. But of course I'm the one on drugs.

SVB .... what drugs are you on? .... now you bring league, union and afl into this. You mange to see "diving is not manly enough for many" and your brain changes that to "football is despised and derided so much in Australia" and then start banging on about attendances. Jesus wept, are you a wind up merchant? But it's no bloody wonder fans of other codes think we are a bunch of sooks if this is how you carry on when dealing with a fellow football fan. Save you attendance mantra and code comparisions for someone else and good luck with the paranoia.

That's where the intense hatred of WSW comes from, I wouldn't call it jealousy - more so a slight annoyance that one's own active support isn't performing the same.

There is a difference between stumbling after contact or going down, versus just going down with no contact. I'm talking about the later.

So Pablo, if Football is despised and derided so much in Australia because of all the diving that goes on, then why do overseas teams like Man Utd sell out ANZ Stadium so quickly when they come here. The Socceroos sold out ANZ Stadium in the last World Cup Qualifier against Iraq. My bet would be that Wanderers would go close to selling out in a grand final.. Meanwhile the Waratahs or Wallabies can't sell out ANZ Stadium anymore. AFL can't even half fill it up anymore. RL only for SOO and Grand Final. This thing about Aussies not liking "soccer" is a load of bull. You put on a good event and it will out rate any sport in Sydney. Only RL competes with it because of it's local nature. Maybe you should check out the demographics in Sydney today (not the 1970's).

Apparently the police had to be called to the dressing rooms as Lippi continued to be aggressive after the game and threatened to fight Saba. Good thing there are plenty of cops on hand around Wanderland.

Calm down SVB. I'm sure you can pee in your own mouth if you want, knock yourself out. Now what i said was "diving is not manly enough for many" ..... thats just a fact in Australia, what with it loving contact sport ...... I have not mentioned my own personal thoughts on the subject but just so you know i play and follow football (the round one) I just hate diving, didnt think that would upset anyone so much, but your obviously one of these sensitive football fans who dare not hear anything bad about football and automatically thinks its from a league troll.

I agree it happens get over it.

Fantastic for football all round. Controversy red cards dodgy refereeing. I imagine more people tuned into last nights game than watch all the codes put together over a single round. Next weeks game in China will have a television audience at least 10 million.

That match had everything last night a great promotion for football in Australia go back to your boring manufactured sport.

I thought La Rocca's reaction was exaggerated but, according to people who were sitting in the vicinity of the incident, the contact resulted in a wound that required stitches to stop the bleeding. In relation to the 2nd red card ... well, this photo clears up any doubts I had: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BvfHmVmCUAAvCvt.jpg Fantastic job done by the match officials - under immense pressure from a World Cup winning coach.

The return leg will be a spicy affair. Can't wait.

Firstly, I certainly do understand the enforcer's role, from direct experience at a reasonable footballing level. Try to avoid patronising people you know nothing about. Secondly, non football views do concern me, from the perspective that our game's progress in this country is tied to the way it is perceived by the broader public. And I personally have a problem with these kind of absurd theatrics. As I player I would never have dreamt of pulling the kind of nonsense displayed by Saba and La Rocca. I - and the players who I played with, at least - quite correctly considered it beneath our dignity as athletes.

Neo con nonsense, so discredited that it's barely worth responding.

Oh yes. We are all just dying to be as "manly" as Todd Carney and Nate Myles. Maybe I can pee in my own mouth or defacate in the middle of a hotel room sometime soon. Maybe you are so offended by the diving because you use so much hyperbole in your argument. People will see what they want to see.

Tough game to try and promote soccer in Australia - soft reds - where was the ref from ? Unibet...