Sydney FC’s 2-2 draw with Shanghai Shenhua was a reminder that for all the problems in Australian football, the game itself remains as exhilarating as ever.

Hands up if you’re tired after watching back-to-back AFC Champions League games from Shanghai this week. I know I am.

But both Melbourne Victory’s 4-1 loss to Shanghai SIPG and Sydney FC’s draw with Shanghai Shenhua were proof that the best elements of football are still to be found on the pitch.

Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share

Victory fans might have winced at the sight of their side struggling to deal with the attacking threat of Hulk and Oscar and co, but there’s no denying that watching SIPG cruise through the gears was spellbinding to watch.

And when Sydney FC went behind, took the lead and ended up drawing with Shanghai Shenhua, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the high standard of football on display.

Maybe it was the cooler climes of Shanghai or, far more likely, the fact that their foreign contingent contained the likes of Gio Moreno, Fredy Guarin and Obafemi Martins, but watching the Sky Blues desperately try to raise their level to counter Shenhua’s attacking threat was as absorbing as any football we’ve seen this season.

[latest_videos_strip category=”football” name=”Football”]

“This is proper football this,” I tweeted at the time – just don’t mention it to the Australian business community.

On the same night the defending A-League champions were locked in a titanic tussle with one of Asia’s biggest clubs, the 2018 Asialink and Asialink Business Chairman’s dinner was enjoying a keynote address by John Wylie AM of the Australian Sports Commission about how to generate business links in the region through sport.



The sports represented on the discussion panel? Aussie rules, cricket and rugby union.

It’s laughable – and symptomatic of the relentlessly Anglo lens through which Australian sport views its relationship with Asia – but I can guarantee you these sort of lobby groups don’t appreciate it when their knowledge of football, or lack thereof, is questioned.

But before we grab the pitchforks and start acting like the hysterical football fans these peak bodies invariably want to portray us as, let’s pause and consider one final aspect of the midweek ACL fixtures.

Who was the midfielder who quietly dominated the centre of the park on Tuesday night, making 44 passes with a 93 per cent accuracy rate and allowing SIPG’s high-profile Brazilian trio to run riot?

Odil Ahmedov.

And why is the current captain of Uzbekistan so thoroughly allowed to boss proceedings in Shanghai SIPG colours?

Because the club makes good use of the ACL’s 3+1 foreign player rule.

But signing an Asian player would never make a difference, said someone to me on Twitter, shortly after Wu Lei’s thumping header flew past Lawrence Thomas.



Stones and glass houses and all that.

But as much as I enjoyed the ACL, what I’m really looking forward to is Saturday afternoon.

Why? Because I’m going to the football!

I honestly can’t wait for Brisbane Roar’s clash with the Newcastle Jets.

I enjoy afternoon kick-offs – and the Roar haven’t had a ‘home’ one since they played Wellington Phoenix at Cbus Stadium on the Gold Coast last year – and I’m looking forward to sinking a beer or two and seeing what two of the most enigmatic teams in the A-League can offer.

It’s a shame Pato Rodriguez is injured – the Argentine is a special player – but if Andrew Nabbout wants to curl home 20-yard classics with the outside of his boot, then I’m not going to complain.

I hope the Roar beat the Jets, though, for the simple reason that I want football in Brisbane to flourish.



And if we want football to kick on in multi-code cities like Sydney, maybe it’s worth ignoring the inconvenience of a Sunday night kick-off and watching the Sydney derby as well.

Our game is going nowhere fast unless football fans support it. No one else will.