Asia meets all our expectations

If Australia ever needed tangible proof of the wondrous appeal of midweek Champions League football, a memorable night in Sydney provided it in no uncertain terms.

As Sydney FC and Urawa Reds got stuck in to each other in Group E last week, 21,000 privileged fans were rewarded with a colossal contest.

What a match! What a buzz! What an advertisement for international club football in Australia!

A country besotted with AFL and rugby league will have discovered in a mere 90 minutes what the fuss about joining Asia was all about.

After Sydney's exploits in Shanghai on Matchday One came this 2-2 Aussie Stadium showdown that will go down as probably one of the best and most pulsating club matches in Australia in recent memory.

A 'Barcelona-Arsenal' it was not but the very agreeable standard and blistering pace of the match, the total commitment from two top teams and the fantastic atmosphere created by Urawa's colourful and impeccably behaved supporters were something to behold.

Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that a fixture between a club from Sydney and Tokyo could draw more than 20,000 fans with most of them going home knowing they had watched one hell of a game.

A few more similar matches and Australia will take to Champions League football, no worries.

Former FFA chief executive John O'Neill, who was the driving force behind Australia's push in to Asia two years ago, was thrilled to bits with the Sydney-Urawa match.

"This is where we belong," he said. "Our move into Asia was a transforming event and we now can see how Asia will change the game of football in Australia. The sky is the limit."

"This is the start of something big. We are now in a proper football economy. Urawa hired two jumbos to bring hundreds of fans with them."

Elated Sydney chairman Edmund Capon paid tribute to Urawa's 'terrific fans for enlivening and invigorating the occasion'.

"The Cove will have learnt a thing or two about concentrated support. It was a great event. We were up against one of Asia's strongest sides and we not only matched them but very nearly beat them. This shows that Sydney FC is a side to be reckoned with."

"The Champions League is giving us top quality football within accessible realm. So it's an absolute objective of ours to finish in the top two next year and qualify for 2009. Unless, of course, we win this year’s event and qualify for 2008 as holders."

Australia's two representatives next year will be Champions Melbourne Victory and grand finalists Adelaide United.

It goes without saying that matches against the continent's weaker teams from less affluent countries will obviously struggle to match the excitement generated by Urawa's visit.

We're talking here about two teams - Sydney and Urawa - who quite possibly could go all the way to the two-legged final in November.

In comparison, last week’s Group G match outside Ho Chi Minh between Dong Tam Long An and Adelaide (0-2) was a very mild and low-key affair.

And Sydney’s next matches with Indonesia’s Persik Kediri will be only marginally more appealing.

But in football you take the good with the bad. Which is why we Australians should treat these big games with Asia’s finest as an opportunity to enjoy a level of competition Oceania could never provide.

Sydney-Urawa was one such blockbuster. Adelaide’s forthcoming confrontation with Korean champions and 2004 ACL finalists Seongnam will be another.

And then there’s the Asian Cup in July. This is really as good as it gets for Australian football.

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