The A-Learoos game against Indonesia brought up the usual arguments about what football should look like. The questions really revolve around whether results based play is the best policy or whether we should be looking for more.
This is an argument well known to Adelaide fans. Even last year, when we managed to reach the final of the ACL, (extremely narrowly) missed out on the Premiership and made but managed to lose the Grand Final again there were plenty of A-League fans who called us boring to watch. Hey, there were even some Adelaide fans who felt that we might not be playing champagne football.
But then, champagne is a drink for special events. Most of the time we realise that beer or cask football is more than good enough for an enjoyable night. If we win.
But the question remains. Is it enough to win, however we win?
I know that the arrival in Adelaide of Matthew Leckie managed to lift my spirits, even when we lost. Mainly because he always looks like he wants to win and is willing to take the play up into the faces of the opposition. Tommy Oar did the same for the A-Learoos the other night. It's inspirational stuff. The kind of thing many of us used to dream of doing when we were ten and strapped on our first real pair of 'soccer' boots.
I love watching high-tempo attacking football. End-to-end stuff that thrills and terrifies. But I also like to win.
Adelaide's first ACL game was not champagne football but it had its fair share of sparkles. The introduction of a fit and firing Flores allowed Travis Dodd to play his best football all year. Other players, including the diminutive Lucas Pantelis, also stepped up. Sergio Van Dijk looked threatening at the top of the pitch and all of a sudden the Reds looked like they were breathing fresh air again. And we won.
Of course a great part of the equation comes down to the ingredients. Flores is a creative, attacking midfielder. At one point he was challenging on the RHS of the field with his face towards the stands. I looked across the field and saw a run down the far side. Without looking round, Flores managed to take the ball, spin and send it flying into the path of the running player. I honestly don't know how he knew it was on - but he did. He plays with his eyes up. That's his job. Having the right players in the right places means that football can start to be played well.
We have a genuine chance in the ACL this year because we have filled some gaps that were open all year.
As for the A-Learoos, well, wouldn't we all be happy if Fatty Hernandez was naturalised? With Culina playing behind him, sending off incisive passes (rather than desperately trying to imagine he is Fatty) we might have cut Indonesia up. With Leckie playing just behind Kennedy maybe we'd have had options that never even hinted at being real last Wednesday. The ingredients just weren't there for a sparkling performance. I'm sure Pim knows this better than any of us and had planned his recipe to achieve a perfectly stodgy win. His CV now looks even better.
If. Might. Maybe.
Does it matter? Is it just horses for courses?
It matters to me. I know that football is business and that careers are started and stopped based on results but I love to watch football being played as if it is - at heart - a game of beauty and skill. I like to see the young tyros charging headlong into dreams of glory. I'm happy to watch a movement break down because a courageous one-touch pass just fails to reach its mark - rather than break down because in the end all we could think of was lobbing it long to the tall bloke.
What do you think? Results? Risk? Beauty? Can we have them all?
The Reds play Shandong Luneng on March 10. I'm looking forward to seeing us play. I hope to see vision and spark. Courage and skill. Froth and bubble.
I'll be happy with a win.
