Raul Baena’s equaliser in second-half stoppage time for Kitchee FC on Sunday evening sent the Hong Kong-based side through to the final 16 of the 2022 Asian Champions League.
Japanese club Vissel Kobe let their lead slip late, Kitchee pounced through the former Melbourne Victory midfielder with just a handful of minutes remaining on the clock and Melbourne City were the unlucky club to be shuffled out of the first of the knock-out phases, where 16 teams will jostle for quarter-final spots.
It is a bitter pill to swallow for Patrick Kisnorbo’s team. Undefeated in their group matches and only needing Vissel to tally a win on the final match-day to qualify, their collective hearts were broken with a late goal that will now see the squad return to Melbourne with nothing to distract them from their quest for a second straight A-League championship.
Prior to the tournament, logic and form suggested that City were the most polished team Australia had sent into the ACL group stage for some time and they played accordingly.
Undefeated across six matches and second in their group behind Thai club Pathum United thanks only to a slightly inferior goal difference, the A-League leaders were forced to sit tight and await their fate, with a rather cumbersome tournament condition eventually sending them home.
Teams finishing atop their groups advanced automatically, those second were to be measured against each other, with points achieved against the fourth placed finishes to be eliminated to accommodate for the anomaly that was Group J, in which only three teams participated.
In that mathematical calculation, Kitchee FC keep their full seven points accrued and City were stripped of the six they had won against Filipino club United City, thus completing another disappointing year for Australian clubs in confederation play.
Sydney FC did little more than make up the numbers in Group H, failing to win a game and earning just two points to finish bottom and with just the lone automatic spot now held for A-League teams in the ACL, a strong performance from City would have eased the concerns of many that in the mid-term future, no Australian team will be guaranteed a saloon passage into the competition.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
After being a consistent advocate of our domestic teams committing strongly to the event and fighting hard to hopefully one day produce an ACL fairytale similar to the one achieved by the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014, I now find myself wondering whether we should continue to bother at all.
Melbourne City deserved a spot in the knock-out phase, would dust up Kitchee more often than not in quick time and after having exerted immense energy and effort in challenging circumstances, will feel aggrieved at not receiving an opportunity to test themselves against some of the other teams setting the standard in Asia.
In essence, the confederation has rapped Australia across the knuckles with the removal of the second automatic qualifying position directly into the group stage and demanded the country send better teams that advance to the knock-out phase before they are to even contemplate reversing their decision.
In 2022, we sent our domestic champs into the Thai bubble hoping that they would indeed surpass what others have achieved in recent times. In reality they did, when it comes to the win/loss column that is, yet the manufactured awarding of the final Round of 16 spot for second-placed teams should be something around which Football Australia asks a respectful yet concerned question.
Rarely have Australian teams done well and with an opportunity to finally produce something of note in Asia, Kisnorbo’s men were sent packing thanks to the non-appearance of a Chinese team and a subsequently forced and rather flawed process in which the final position in the knock-out phase was awarded to a team that will most likely be sent packing briskly.
Many have cited the ACL as something of a waste of time for Australian clubs, asking what possible benefit it brings to our teams. I had always felt that experience for our young players at the elite level and the symbolic importance of participating in the confederation to which we now below were good enough reasons to commit totally to the event each year.
However, the farce of Melbourne’ City’s non-qualification reeks of amateurism and essentially wasted the time of a squad now feeling fatigued and desperate to refocus for their run at another A-League title.
Many Australian clubs have been accused of not entering the ACL with the serious attitude and approach required. This time around, it appears the confederation itself could well be subjected to the same accusation.
Angus
Guest
Given there were three teams in Kitchees group and realistically Shandong would have probably finished third (if they sent their full squad) I think the third team should have been removed. It means Kitchee has a better chance of advancing with three in the group and two have 2/3 of one group go through and 1/4 of others is farcical. Not only that, they couldn't finish above Vissel Kobe, who are last in the J league.
Mark
Guest
Seattle Sounders say hello.
Mark
Guest
I've seen some ridiculous ideas and suggestions on these pages over the years, but this one that Australian football needs CFG to progress just about tops the lot. Australian football didn't need CFG to get the 'golden generation'. It has been going backwards through much of the time CFG has been involved. CFG is not growing the 'surplus' generated by Australian football, it is just trying to funnel what is generated to its own coffers.
burgermeister
Roar Rookie
Heart had a good record in their group though. Arguably would have gone through if Kitchee were also in a group of 4
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
I don't think this is a team issue. As the article explains, Aussie teams have never done well at AFC. Perhaps we just need to face the fact that our football is just below par. And as we know, this is for a myriad of reasons (recruitment, youth pathways and development, revenue, game scheduling, salary cap, NSD..... the list is endless). Not sure if it is the best comparison, but we are like the Scottish Premier league trying to match it in European Champions league. We have one or two teams with any kind of budget able to put together some kind of competitive team, but still just coming up short year after year.
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
A coach that spends the entire game screaming at his team, clearly did not prepare them well enough during the week. As an amateur coach, this was a lesson I learned very early on. If the players are not doing what you want them to do on game day, you need to start asking questions of your own leadership, methods and plan on the training ground. He has good players, they know how to play the game. All he is doing is eroding confidence, second guessing their real time decisions and robbing them of any creativity on the field to express themselves. In the end, he selected them for a reason. Prepare them properly and then let them do their job.
At work
Roar Rookie
I'm very surprised whenever I hear about him potentially going to Japan to work, I mean yeah he has a tremendous record in his short professional coaching career, but if anyone looked closely enough you'd see it masks many issues.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
We also need that second tier. It will begin to establish the evolutionary step between NPL and A-League. Will someone please get me a Second Div.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Does anyone considert that the messed up fixtures and just utter chaos that Covid has imposed on the league might have also been a factor. With regular occurence of two day turn arounds, I believe that a little more stability and regularity in the league next season will make a world of difference. Perth and Nix will not be a humanitarian assistance cases anymore.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Gee it will be a real shame to see Corica go. I am really going to miss his sportmanship and his articulate post-match comments. Enjoy anonymity Stevie
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
hey if Muscat can do it, anyone can. Struth, it must have been almost impossible for him to tackle the cultural change.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Agree with Veart. He is really working that Reds side up and full credit to him. Maybe he is the hardened version we need I mentioned in my comment below.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Agree, with your comment re: Glover. He has disappointed time and time again. My money is on a keeper being recruited during the off-season.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Stu, good article with questions well asked. You ask the question “why do we bother?” My response is that we need to continually immerse ourselves in football that is a higher standard than the A-League. If we want a better national side, we need more than the trickle of lads who’ve been picked up by European and Asian clubs. We need to ensure we’re striving to make football as strong as it can be on every level. We want to go to the World Cup and be more than three losses. We want to replicate the efforts of the Golden Generation 2006. To do that we need to continually, persistently and tenaciously go head to head with clubs of a higher standard. Secondly, you mention Australian football being “given a wrap over the knuckles”. How long a go was it that the AFC asked FA to establish a second tier of football in this country. With a healthy contribution from the Arnold/Musuem Piece generation we’ve buggerised around for years. Will the second tier come to fruition next season? Maybe just maybe every cloud has a silver lining and that big stick that is the AFC, as much as we sometimes see them in a negative light, is the strategically located size nine we need to get on with building the game. We also have to consider what the options are. If we were not in the AFC we’d regress 25 years. With all respect for the Oceania Confederation, we’d not be getting the stimulation, the standards and the reason to push ourselves that we have right now. Jets till I die, but man I was I disappointed for City. I dont care where your allegiance lies, if you are a true football supporter, you would take one look at the football City is capable of playing and recognise beautiful football straight up. We have to progress past the old days. The perfect example is something i was told the other day. A junior NPL team is getting itself established. The Gaffer is talented, he has a great group of kids at his disposal. The Gaffer is making the time and putting in the effort to scout for kids that fit the bill. The kids were then just not showing up. Then one of the parents made a complaint. His boy was being “encouraged” to play for an older team because they were “more important”. No engagement with the parents or the younger team’s Gaffer. Just text and phone calls straight to minors. Unsatisfactory to say the least. As much as the situation with City is a punch in the guts for Australian football, we need to harden up, we need to instill, and be comfortable in the school of hard knocks, and with strict criteria and conduct. We need to build football past the old days, past the conduct i mentioned above and get serious so that we can compete with the Urawa’s, the Kashima’s and the Guangzhou’s.
Igor Oligarchov
Guest
We definitely stay, what was the point of going into Asia if we are not going to participate? We simply need to get better, our teams should be absolutely destroying AFC teams at any level. I find us being humbled by Asian opposition as embarrassing. We are a country full of great facilities, enthusiasm and people yet cannot play well at pro level. Someone needs to look at our development programs. Whatever the kids are learning is not really working. Would Argentinian or Dutch teams be having similar problems?
burgermeister
Roar Rookie
Football God - that's part of the story but the old a-league clubs have all been around long enough to be doing more with their academies and turning out better young players. They could be making some of their money back by selling more quality young guys overseas instead of treading water waiting for rule changes.
burgermeister
Roar Rookie
Football Fan – Yes. 1000 times yes.
burgermeister
Roar Rookie
City were unlucky with the record they had but that's football. If we don't want a-league clubs to have ambition and measure themselves against the best teams in Asia because we currently don't do well in the comp then why have a league or clubs at all. I for one don't want to accept the current meagre state of our domestic comp becoming the status-quo. Fact is we could be and should be doing a lot better in Asia but a lot of the clubs here are basket cases atm if we're honest.
The Football God
Roar Rookie
Thats right. Until owners can invest in their assets we will continue to scrap for crumbs and fall behind. The salary cap has to go, there is no positive outcome from it.
The Football God
Roar Rookie
Agree completely. Until owners can invest in their assets we will get nowhere. $2.5 million salary cap is a joke