ADELAIDE United are not the champion club team of Asia.
Nor were they, for that matter, the champion club team of Australia. Instead they came in second, back in 2007, to Victory. Like Bauer in this year’s Melbourne Cup, they were beaten by a whisker. No, come to think of it, they were beaten by the length of the straight.This somehow qualified them to play in the Asian Champions League. An invite to the prestigious gathering of the elect clubs of Asia, the triumphant, the victorious. The elite, but also a few non-champion clubs thrown in to make up the numbers.
Perhaps they should change the name? The ‘ACPAFEL’ .. ‘Asian Champions Plus A Few Extras League’.
Such was Adelaide United’s lot. Brought in to fill one of the cheap seats. Having been an eager witness though to every step of the Reds’ passage through the competition, including the final saga played out at Hindmarsh on Wednesday night, I struggle to adequately convey how much I’ve appreciated the team’s endeavour. Their achievements, despite missing out on the ultimate, have been huge.
Some statistics quoted by Val Migliaccio in The Advertiser warrant examination. The team covered more than 100,000kms in air travel throughout their 12-match campaign. That’s a hell of a lot of peanuts. They visited South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan (twice) and Uzbekistan.
A total of 42 nights were spent in foreign lodgings over a 9 month period. More than 120 hours were whittled away in the air. By the end of it the players were giving the air safety demonstrations to the flight attendants.
I guess what I’m trying to say, in a roundabout sort of fashion, is hail the mighty Reds!!!
The city of Adelaide has truly adopted them as their own. We are amazed at all they’ve been able to do. The city now carries a photo of them in its’ collective wallet.
In short, we are proud. Even though they lost to Gamba, a better team over the two legs, we are proud.
A champion team? No.
A champion effort? Without doubt.
