South Melbourne and Melbourne Victory meet in the Australia Cup final on Saturday at AAMI Park, with a capacity crowd of around 28,000 expected for what has been described as a 'special and historical night' for Australian football.
The fixture pits two clubs with contrasting histories. Melbourne Victory represents the new football, created 21 years ago as a keystone of the rebooted A-League, while South Melbourne traces its roots to the 1950s and a proud history that includes four titles in the now-defunct National Soccer League.
A clash of football's past and present
The diverging paths of the two clubs have been marked by dismissal, envy and apathy, but this coming together has revealed the sport's greatest strength: connection, according to those involved.
Victory captain Jason Davidson, whose father Alan spent his formative years at South Melbourne before a distinguished career in Europe and internationally, said the family connection adds to the occasion. 'We all know the history of him at South Melbourne and what that means to him and to the Davidson family,' the younger Davidson said on Friday. 'So he's super excited, as am I.'
Victory striker Harry Sawyer is a former South Melbourne player who lives 200 metres from the man he could be marked by on Saturday, Hellas captain Marco Janković. Janković, the son of former Real Madrid player Milan Janković, said he is close mates with Sawyer, who spent three years at South, and the build-up has been full of banter.
Tournament's best-attended final
The fixture is a triumph of the Australia Cup concept, which has provided hope for state league optimists in its 12 years of existence but has never entered the broader national sporting consciousness until now.
This will be the tournament's best-attended final, even though one of its teams does not play in the A-Leagues. The crowd is expected to be split evenly between the clubs, and Davidson said it will be the first time Victory support will be challenged at a game in Melbourne.
'That just shows you what a special and historical night tomorrow's going to be, it's amazing for Australian football,' he said.
South Melbourne's road to the final
South Melbourne's cup run began with a victory over Adelaide United in the round of 32 in July, before they edged Fremantle City in a shootout. A late winner from Arran Cocks hauled Hellas past traditional rivals Preston Lions in the quarter-final, a match that drew 6,673, above the average crowd figure for four A-League Men clubs last season. South's semi-final victory over the Queensland Lions set up Saturday's clash.
South Melbourne's side includes Sebastian Pasquali, who has played for Melbourne Victory and Western United as well as a youth stint at Ajax, and midfielder Paulo Retre, a 33-year-old with more than 200 A-League games. Striker Bul Juach was the Victorian NPL's golden boot for Heidelberg last year before moving to South Melbourne and scored a hat-trick in the semi-final.
Melbourne Victory needed penalties to get past Western Sydney Wanderers in the last 16 but did not concede against APIA Leichhardt in the quarter-final or Sydney FC in the semi-final. The Victory side is without Spanish World Cup winner Juan Mata this season, but midfielder Denis Genreau is among the most talented players in the A-Leagues, and forward Guillermo May was signed from Auckland in the off-season.
Janković acknowledged that a full, modern stadium will be novel for most of his teammates, noting only a couple of players have played in front of more than 10,000 fans. He said the group is hardened from a long season and faces an opponent still in their long off-season.
Putting the result aside, Janković said the match will be special. 'Seeing the amount of people that are posting and sending messages of support is incredible,' he said. 'It's shown not only what we're doing now, but where we're going in the future, where this club can go.'
