If there is any justice in this world, then AAMI Park will be packed tomorrow night for Archie Thompson’s final home game in Melbourne Victory colours.
Victory take on defending K-League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, for whom one-time Melbourne City man Erik Paartalu is currently out of favour and unlikely to feature.
That Paartalu is failing to get a run for Jeonbuk is testament to the strength of the South Korean champions, and Victory will have their work cut out for them against a team which topped Group E in the AFC Champions League group stage.
The stage is set for an old-fashioned shoot-out against one of Asia’s toughest opponents, and Victory fans will hope Thompson can reprise his goal-scoring form from the final group stage game against Gamba Osaka.
As one of Australian football’s biggest stars, Thompson deserves to be sent off in style by an appreciative home crowd.
And although a Round of 16 clash with the 2006 Asian champions shouldn’t really require a massive build-up, Thompson’s extended farewell to his beloved Victory – along with Matthieu Delpierre retiring and Kosta Barbarouses leaving the club – is the sort of grand narrative that helps sell tickets.
If it helps Australian fans take renewed interest in the AFC Champions League, so much the better.
We’ll be watching plenty of Champions League football going forward – though of the European kind – after beIN Sports started broadcasting in High Definition on Fox Sports over the weekend.
The move was a boon for Australians wanting to watch the very best of European football, with the switch brought forward a day so that fans could watch Barcelona wrap up the La Liga crown.
It’s reminiscent of a time when SBS used to broadcast a host of European leagues on the old World Soccer program on Saturday afternoons.
I used to watch that show religiously, so much so that when I was in my early teens, I honestly thought the Belgian league was one of Europe’s toughest.
It never occurred to me that SBS was showing Belgian football because the likes of Aurelio Vidmar, Paul Okon and later, that man Archie Thompson, were huge stars over there.
Nor did I realise I was often watching games weeks after they had taken place.
I was simply mesmerised by the packed stands at famous old clubs like Standard Liege, Club Brugge and Anderlecht, and I remember my Mum used to make sure to drive me home from playing soccer in time to see Les Murray host World Soccer at 5.30 every Saturday afternoon.
Times have changed, and while SBS no longer shows highlights of the Belgian, Dutch or Portuguese leagues – or basically anything they could get their hands on for free – the introduction of beIN Sports to the Fox Sports line-up means Aussie fans can once again get re-acquainted with Europe.
And I, for one, am delighted.
I’ve already watched Wolfsburg relegate Mitch Langerak’s hapless Stuttgart in Europe’s most exciting league, the Bundesliga.
I saw the Parc des Princes give departing Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic a fitting send-off in their 4-0 thumping of Nantes.
And I watched a gripping League One play-off at Bradford, where Millwall overcame an early deficit to take a commanding 3-1 lead into the second leg at The Den.
The fact beIN Sports broadcasts English football should come as another blow to Optus, whose grandiose plans to broadcast the Premier League next season already look dead in the water.
There is zero chance I will pay Optus any money next season. If I want to watch English football, I will simply tune in to the Championship or whatever else is showing.
The beIN Sports deal is arguably the best thing to happen to football broadcasting in Australia since Fox Sports won the EPL broadcast rights some 18 years ago.
Far from watching fewer games next season, many of us will be watching much more football – only this time with a decidedly more European outlook.
fiddlesticks
Guest
if you consider that an incisive remark about AFL then you have problems. then again it was probably you acting as "Queries"
fiddlesticks
Guest
i never said you (but i am assuming you are fuss) i said Fuss. please show me making a comment against football? you Fuss, are footballs biggest problem, pompous and arrogant supporters
NUFCMVFC
Guest
No this is distinct I have the $16 SD channel, which I will now get rid of The $16 channel must be direct from BeIn, but where they arranged to be able to transmit it on other platforms in order to gain cut-through, But I suspect once Fox Sports lost EPL they decided quicksmart to buy the rights to transmit the HD channels/content in its place to keep susbcribers as a kind of local distributor, so it's like the dynamic has been reversed or something So it seems to be similar to the ESPN channels, eg they bought the rights to on-transmit In this case, like the ESPN channels all you need now is the $25 Fox Sports package and the 3 HD BeIn channels are included at no extra cost
NUFCMVFC
Guest
Good article I was actually set to downscale my Foxtel subscription and get rid of my Fox Sports package, going with the standard BeIN SD subscription Then I heard the ads for 3 HD channels which Fox Sports presumably got its hands on in place of the EPL Well, if it was a trick to get people to keep their Fox Sports subscription it worked as far as I'm concerned BeIn sports is the Football channel we never had, I loved it before but I really love it now that I have a wider choice and get it in higher quality And of course I get to watch Newcastle in the Championship.... Now I just have to get rid of my SD sucbsription
AZ_RBB
Guest
Yeah but they could have gone from Derby v Hull to the 11:30 Bundesliga kick offs then to the Rugby final at 1:30. I guess I care very little for preview/review shows and just want to watch football non-stop without interruption.
Evan Askew
Guest
The thing that worries me with Rogic is that he has only played 7 full games this season. This is his breakout season undoubtedly but with only 7 full games to me it says that they are still keeping him in cotton wool on the basis of his injury history. I know Scotland is caricatured as a hit and run league but with Rangers returning next season the SPL will be a better standard comp and Rogic is a type of player who is appreciated at Celtic who are commited to playing short passing possession football. I agree that it would be good to see Rogic going to a club like Arsenal or a club in Spain Italy or Germany but I also see no harm in staying another season at Celtic to reward the clubs faith and enjoy a full campaign of domestic and European club football.
Evan Askew
Guest
I would say that the EPL and the first division before it was always the most popular league in Australia even when Serie A was at its zenith. (I know the period you refer to and used to live for 10.30 every sunday morning on sbs. But I have always suspected that the main reason for EPL popularity is the cultural familiarity of England and its slick production coupled with its market penetration as a result of popular culture. But I don't know how anyone can make a blanket statement that EPL is the best league in the world when you look at the performance of teams like AC Milan (not in recent times) Inter and Juve in Italy, Bayern Munich in Germany Barcelona and Real in Spain not to mention the performance of Spanish teams such as Valencia, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid in the UEFA/Europa league which they have absolutely dominated.
Waz
Guest
+++++111111
The Phantom Commissioner
Roar Rookie
I think a club like Southampton is the perfect stepping stone if he was to go to England. Two players have headed there from Celtic in recent times in Wanyama and Virgil Van Dijk with both getting plenty of game time. They play good football under Koeman and have european football to look forward to next season, more games would also mean more opportunities for Rogic. I'm a huge fan of Tom but he's coming up on 24 and we want him playing week in week out and that is a big ask at Arsenal with their midfield stocks.
pauly
Guest
Maybe Nat Geo should bid for the HAL. Imagine marquee fixtures on cliffsides and in the middle of isolated national parks. Oh come on, just trying to cheer myself up on a Monday.
pauly
Guest
Off-topic...anyone feel like rolling on the floor crying with laughter? http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36297378 (read the paragraph AFTER the video box).
pauly
Guest
Arsenal are apparently interested. I'm Tom will enjoy coming 4th in the EPL.
CG2430
Guest
Yeah, but my Internet is horrible and I wasn't paying an extra $20/mth for a single extra Foxtel channel that might not even show the games I want to watch (ie Real Madrid and whichever other La Liga and Champions League matches take my interest and/or are on in a decent timeslot). So happy with the new arrangement.
CG2430
Guest
LOL. I've always maintained that the familiarity of the English language is a huge benefit for the English Premier League. That and their very slick TV production.
Mark
Guest
Equating the two says more about you than me. Besides, if Rupert's media can help keep the Greens out of any position of power in this country, I'll consider money given to them very well spent.
pauly
Guest
Watched some Bundesliga last night and the performances both on AND off the pitch were far better than what the EPL would serve up.
Fussball IUL
Roar Rookie
@Mark The fact that Foxtel offers numerous products (National Geographic, Discovery, Disney, ESPN, BBC First, MTv, Blooomberg, etc) that are also available on FetchTV would suggest it's not uncommon for content providers to enter Licence deals with multiple operators within the same jurisdiction.
pauly
Guest
Whatever MF. Growing up in Melbourne during the 1990s Serie A was what people followed. EPL only rose in prominence during the 00s, prior to that was hardly rated at all. AFL fans like the EPL because they can pronounce the team names.
pauly
Guest
Also Brasiliero Campeonato
Mark
Guest
There are no competition law issues if Foxtel and BeIN Sports come to mutual agreement on how they would broadcast the A-League...unless there is a significant disparity between the two in market power (so that it is not a genuine agreement), which there is not, or that mutual benefit significantly lessens competition in the market, which I can't see that it would since it doesn't impact on the ability of Optus or a FTA network to bid for the rights. A big issue for the A-League rights will be managing production. This isn't a problem for Optus for the EPL or the UCL or other leagues that BeIN shows - they buy the rights to screen what the leagues/UEFA produce or other networks produce themselves. I can't see BeIN wanting to manage the production of all A-League games. A joint bid with majority from Foxtel and a smaller share from BeIN, with an agreement for Foxtel to manage production and a suitable broadcasting split would seem to best suit all parties.