They’re both Aussies and they’re in opposite camps ahead of next weekend’s Lilliputian versus leviathan Malaysian Cup final.
 
Enter former Perth Glory boss Alistair Edwards, now CEO of south East Asian superpower Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, and his adversary ex-Tottenham junior Giancarlo Gallifuoco - a player Edwards once coached in another time and place with the Young Socceroos.
 
To say their paths have diverged since is an understatement.
 
Whilst Edwards enjoys a lavish budget and lifestyle to match at a club owned by crown prince Tunku Mahkota Johor Ismail - next in line to the throne - ex-Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory defender Gallifuoco, 29, is in his third season at Kuala Lumpur City, an outfit so impoverished it rents a humble training ground and plays out of a stadium where the change room toilets often don’t flush and home support rarely tops 2000 loyal souls..
 
The City Boys aren’t just the poor relations of Malaysia’s capital, where they are dwarfed by traditional heavyweights Selengor, they’re the have-nots of the Malaysian Super League, despite reaching three finals in three years and competing in the AFC Champions League.
 
Next Saturday at Johor’s $220 million Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, the team which leads the MSL ladder in pursuit of a tenth successive title collides with seventh-placed KLC in the ultimate fat cat versus alley cat contest before an audience of 30,000 parochial fans.
 
The fact that KLC are involved in the showpiece at all has Gallifuoco’s head spinning.
“This is all part of a fantastic adventure for our little club, amazing it’s our third final in three years (Malaysian Cup winners 2021, AFC Cup runners up 2022),” he told FTBL.
 
“It’s going to very tough and I think it’s safe to say we’re the underdogs. But, as we all know in football, anything can happen.
 
“We’ve had to do it pretty tough, whilst Johor basically has an unlimited budget and quality an imports from Brazil, Spain and Italy we’re at the opposite end of the spectrum.
 
“It sounds like an exaggeration but there are times we’ve had to change out of car boots for games, whilst they’re on sky high wages, enjoy incredible facilities and have the best training and fitness staff in the region.
 
“We’re a club built on spirit and camaraderie and we pride ourselves on that.”
 
KLC’s monthly outgoings would barely cover Johor’s laundry and luncheon budget, and it was only two months ago the previously nomadic club rented a permanent training base for the first time.
 
“It’s not that we have our own lockers or anything but at least it’s an improvement on where we were,” added Gallifuoco.
 
“But we’ve got a long way to go in terms of finances and infrastructure and are hoping somebody comes along to invest in this club and provide the stability and growth so we can try and hold onto our best players.”
 
Support for The City Boys is so thin on the ground that away fans invariably outnumber home followers at their rented KLFA Stadium base in the gritty inner city suburb of Cheras.
 
“It’s been a challenge - but it’s these are types of things that stories are written about,” added Gallifuoco, who once trained alongside Harry Kane in Spurs’ junior ranks.
 
“We should be proud of ourselves, the players, management and fan base because no matter what happens we’ve put ourselves in a David and Goliath situation, and a lot of the time we’ve come out on top.
 
“It’s pretty monumental what we’ve achieved with a squad that’s not changed a lot in the past three years.
 
"Outside of Johor, we’re probably Malaysia’s most successive club in that time and everything is down to hard work and the brotherhood in the team. We’ve achieved a lot with very little.
 
“We’re not part timers but when you go to training every day knowing all the teams you're beating have players earning triple your salary it can you feel that way.”
 
Gallifuoco’s Asian adventure was, in his eyes, always written in the stars.
 
“I left home at 15 for Italy and spent the next 10 years in Europe before coming home,” he explained. “But I’d always had this nagging desire to spend a chapter of my life in Asia.
 
“I stopped over in KL many times and developed a soft spot for the place. I’m a bit of a believer in destiny and when the opportunity came I saw it as a sig. My wife and I are really happy here in what I regard as a second home.
 
“It’s a project and I think for me it was meant to be. Ideally, if we could just find that somebody to invest consistently then I see us continuing to rise.
 
“But when you’re limited monetarily you always find yourself in the same loop, players increase in market value and will ultimately leave for a club with better facilities, better wages or a better fan base. Perhaps all three.
 
“It’s a problem that can only be solved by substantial investment.”
 
Gallifuoco stays in touch with Edwards and is planning to buy the daughter of his former coach a present to take down with him for the final.
 
KLC, though, won’t receive any free gifts from a Johor side which two weeks thrashed them 6-1 in the league.
 
“We know we’re the underdogs but we beat some big teams to get to the final including Sabah (where former Socceroos winger Scott Ollerenshaw is technical director), so why not?” said Gallifuoco.