For the good of the game, Sydney must win the A-League Grand Final
Now, I’m just putting this out there. I’m just going to run it up the flagpole. The A-League, and football in Australia, needs Sydney FC to defeat Melbourne Victory next week.
This season’s decider is the one the game had to have. They’re the best two teams on the field, the biggest two teams of the field and have a rivalry that inspires feelings of joy, anguish, revulsion and, when applicable, a hefty dollop of schadenfreude.
They’ve already played three times in the past month, but that won’t make this game any less interesting. It will more so, in fact, because the two sides know each other inside out and the incidents of the previous few weeks – Sydney’s minor premiership, Terry McFlynn’s tackle on Robbie Kruse, Melbourne win at Etihad, Muscat’s sneaky free-kick – make this fixture tastier than Elvis’s final deep-friend peanut butter sandwich.
And the result matters. For the betterment of all roundballers in this country, Sydney FC must win. They need it more than Melbourne.
Victory already have to titles to their name, they have an excellent coaching set-up, they have an exciting football team, and they have a fanbase the envy of most other sporting clubs. Another grand final win for Melbourne would illustrate a chronic lack of competition in a small and struggling league.
Sydney, have just the one A-League title, way back when the competition first started. They’ve been playing catch-up ever since. The hiring and effect of Czech coach Vitezslav Lavicka was a step in the right direction, but they have a long way to go to convince the Sydney public that this is a team worth sticking with.
And the only way to do that is by winning. Those Harbour City floaters only get off the fence when they see a flash of photographer’s camera, a glimpse of glory.
With the potential fanbase in the greater Sydney area, a strong FC means a strong A-League. The competition needs its big teams to stand up and be counted, when so many of the smaller ones are struggling.
So this Saturday night, it’ll be like eating your greens. You might not like Sydney, but you know it will ultimately do you some good.
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