Some figures close to the putative deal say that it was never a likely starter, that there was some confusion in the negotiations involving separate arms of Chelsea's global management, and that Sydney was always a more likely opponent. Others argue that Victory's bid was not helped by a lack of backing from the then Liberal government. At the time, its Major Events Company successfully negotiated the deal which will bring Real Madrid, Manchester City and Roma to the MCG in July for the International Champions Cup tournament. Major Events boss Brendan McClements said on Sunday that there had not been any lack of support. He explained that his organisation had received no concrete proposals for a Victory game against the Blues, so any discussion on whether local soccer fans had missed out was hypothetical. "We didn't have a proposal in front of us. There is always discussions between groups of people at all times, but I am very comfortable with the teams we have got coming here, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Roma," said McClements, the CEO of the organisation charged with bringing major sporting and cultural events to the city to boost tourism revenues and economic activity.

Its hard to argue that they have not succeeded spectacularly on those fronts with the ICC Cup. The trio who are coming to Melbourne are first-rate teams with some of the biggest names in the world game. It is certain that they will draw bumper crowds and gain soccer some great publicity and earn significant tourism revenues for Melbourne hoteliers, restaurateurs and publicans as interstate visitors arrive to see the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Aguero and hopefully Francesco Totti strut their stuff on the turf of one of world sport's most sacred sites. But for soccer fans it is fascinating to speculate how well Victory, the A-League club with the largest fan base, would have done had they had the chance to play against Chelsea or Tottenham, or indeed in the ICC Cup. Victory have said nothing about the fact that their Sydney rivals are hosting such high-profile opponents, nor the fact that the team they entertained in Australia with such spectacular success in 2013, Liverpool, are playing two games in this country but not in Melbourne.

The Reds took on Victory in July 2013 and pulled 95,446 fans to the MCG for the game, which created an indelible impression in the minds of those who were there. However, Liverpool are bypassing Melbourne this time round and playing games against Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United, who last Friday night hosted leading Spanish club Villarreal. There is no doubt that Madrid, Manchester City and Roma will provide top-class entertainment and the sort of glamour that the biggest clubs in the global game bring, but from a purely footballing perspective it is a great pity that there is no local involvement in what are essentially exhibition games. The big three play each other once in a round-robin format and the crowd will throng to the country's largest venue to see the stars in action. But how much more interesting would it be if either Melbourne Victory or Melbourne City were in the mix and playing in at least some of the games.

City's lack of involvement is perhaps surprising, given that they are owned by Manchester City, one of the three competing teams. But McClements explained that neither the government nor Major Events had any say over the teams competing. The rights for the ICC tournament, which started in 2013, are held by an American sports entrepreneur, Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins and valued at US$6.5 billion in the Forbes Magazine rich list. Last year, 109,000 people watched Real Madrid play Manchester United in Michigan during the American tournament, and this year there are competitions in North America, Australia and China. Still, having a local side involved would give A-League supporters a good reference point. Sydney finished runners-up in the domestic championship behind Victory and had played the grand final only 13 days before, so they were match sharp and ready to give a good account of themselves. It was possible to gauge their effort against Tottenham and get some sort of a line on where the A-League might sit, even if the game was essentially a friendly with nothing at stake.

Adelaide ran Villarreal close on Friday night, going down 2-3 to an injury-time winner for the Spaniards having taken a 2-0 lead early in the second half.