What the Socceroos versus Japan means to me

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Mike

Six years ago to the day, I was sweltering in Kaiserslautern. It was one of the hottest afternoons I’ve ever experienced. I’m certain Guus Hiddink was well aware of what conditions to prepare for the day the Socceroos recorded one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Australian sport.

The 2006 World Cup wasn’t my first trip to Germany. I first visited as a 14-year-old on a two-week student exchange program and three years later I was back for more. This time I stayed for a year – ostensibly to learn German, but mostly to watch football. I watched plenty of football in those twelve months, mostly at Borussia Dortmund’s legendary Westfalenstadion, which is now home to Europe’s largest average attendance.

I know what football means to Dortmund fans because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The derby with Ruhrpott rivals Schalke is one of Europe’s most fiercely contested affairs, and if there’s one way for a new player to ingratiate himself with Dortmund fans, it’s to score against Schalke. Shinji Kagawa did more than just score against the hated side from Gelsenkirchen – he scored twice – and that’s after predicting he would do exactly that in his first ever Revierderby.

It takes a special kind of player to successfully predict scoring two goals in one of Europe’s most heated games and Kagawa is precisely that. It’s not for nothing the 23-year-old has just been signed by Manchester United. Plenty were surprised when Dortmund lured him to Germany from second division Japanese side Cerezo Osaka in 2010, but the truth is he’d been scouted by the Germans at a young age. Kagawa was different from most young Japanese players. He had the skills and the discipline, but further to that he had confidence.

It’s exactly that confidence which could undo the Socceroos in Brisbane tonight. The Samurai Blue have always had talented stars but seldom have they had a playmaker so brimming with confidence he’s compared to Lionel Messi. The likes of Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura may have come and gone but Kagawa could take things to the next level. If the little midfielder can replicate his club form in the international arena – Kagawa was the focal point of Dortmund’s recent back-to-back title wins – he could become Asia’s first truly global superstar.

It’s funny how things come full circle. Six years ago Japan’s squad was full of experienced but decidedly ageing players. The likes of Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Takashi Fukunishi, Alex and several others were jettisoned following Japan’s first round World Cup exit. I know this because I moved to Japan for three years shortly after the World Cup. And having watched the Samurai Blue in action on countless occasions, I know exactly what a big game like tonight’s World Cup qualifier means to them.

It meant everything to Socceroos fans to see Tim Cahill score the nation’s first ever goal in the World Cup finals, and if his 84^th minute toe-poke sparked wild celebrations, his long-range rocket five minutes later delivered pure bedlam. Such is the aura surrounding Cahill in the Japan camp – don’t forget he also scored twice in the corresponding fixture at the MCG four years ago – it would seem a smart move for Socceroos coach Holger Osieck to recall him to the starting line-up. Like a certain Dutch coach who trained his squad so hard their superior match fitness proved decisive in Kaiserslautern, Osieck knows he may need an ace up his sleeve to beat Japan.

Having strong ties to Japanese football means I relish watching Australia go head-to-head with the Asian giants. And personally I think Japan currently has a better squad than we do. Their star players are at clubs like Manchester United, Inter and Wolfsburg. Ours are at the likes of Melbourne Victory, Nagoya Grampus or club-less. And although club football has little in common with the international game, the fact Alberto Zaccheroni’s team beat Oman 3-0 and Jordan 6-0 in their two most recent qualifiers in Saitama should have sent alarm bells ringing through the Socceroos camp.

Back in a certain English clash in high school, it was the bell of the boxing ring I heard more often than not. The bureau boffins had come up with one of those well-intentioned but ultimately misguided attempts to cajole boys into creative writing, but rather than encourage his all-male class to write anything, my English teacher instead screened boxing videos almost every lesson. I learned a lot about the sweetest science in that class, including the exploits of the famous bantamweight, Masahiko ‘Fighting’ Harada. And if my Japanese friends will excuse the poetic licence, tonight – just as in Kaiserslautern six years ago – I’d love to see the Socceroos send one of our greatest rivals home feeling black and Samurai blue.

Why the Socceroos should fear Kagawa and Honda

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Mike

Australian football fans will get the chance to see two of Asian football’s best players in action in Brisbane on Tuesday night. Whether they realise as much is another matter, but there’s no doubt Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda have the potential to become Asian football’s first global superstars.

Kagawa, for those unaware, has just been signed by Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson chased hard for his signature and ultimately signed the former Borussia Dortmund wunderkind for a bargain £12 million – although that fee is likely to rise based on appearances. There are critics who believe a European powerhouse like United are only interested in Kagawa for his commercial value in Asia. Those critics are wrong.

The best way to win over sceptics, as Kagawa himself has proved, is on the pitch. In September 2010, the diminutive midfielder wrote himself into Borussia Dortmund folklore when just a handful of games into his Bundesliga career, he predicted he would score twice in the derby against Schalke. Dortmund beat their most bitter rivals 3-1 on the road that day and, you guessed it, Kagawa scored twice.

After that he couldn’t stop scoring. Kagawa scored eight goals in his first 18 games in the Bundesliga, only to miss the second half of the 2010-11 campaign after breaking a bone in his foot at the Asian Cup. He still made Kicker Magazin’s Bundesliga Team of the Season.

Last season proved even more profitable at club level. Kagawa banged home 13 goals in 31 league games – no mean feat for a midfielder – and laid on a further 11 goals for his team-mates. Not only did Dortmund claim a second successive league title, they also beat Bayern Munich in the German Cup final, with Kagawa helping himself to a goal and an assist in his German swansong.

Sir Alex was in the crowd to see Dortmund lift the German Cup and was clearly convinced by what he saw. And Australian fans could be next to witness Kagawa’s twinkle-toed skills – provided the playmaker can step up at international level. Over the past week he’s proved influential in Japan’s dominant wins over Oman and Jordan, but their go-to man still tends to be the talismanic Keisuke Honda.

A key figure at European club CSKA Moscow for the past two seasons, Honda also appears destined for the English Premier League. Liverpool are reputedly desperate to sign the powerful midfielder and it’s no surprise given that he dazzled at the 2010 World Cup. Indeed, Honda has already made a name for himself at international level and he is rated by those in the know as one of the most versatile attacking talents in the game.

What Kagawa lacks in physical presence, Honda makes up in spades. The six-foot tall attacking midfielder has the physique to compete with the most bustling of defences yet his powerful frame belies a silky technique and subtle touch. He’s also made a habit of scoring key goals for the Samurai Blue and with nerves of steel – he converted vital penalties at both the World Cup and Asian Cup – Honda is no shrinking violet in the international arena.

Japan’s key players once tended to ply their trade domestically, but Kagawa and Honda are leading the vanguard of Japanese talent in Europe. They may not be household names in Australia – yet – but all that could change come Tuesday night. After dominant displays against Oman and Jordan, it’s next stop Brisbane for Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda – two of Asian football’s most in-form and influential players.

Calling all ACL fans

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Mike

If Brisbane Roar thought they had played in front of some small crowds in the A-League, attendances at Big Crown Stadium – where the Roar take on Ulsan Hyundai in tonight’s AFC Champions League clash – make Skilled Park look like a fiery hotbed of footballing hell.

The atmosphere provided by three men and the proverbial dog will rattle around a practically empty Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium – to give the 44,000-capacity behemoth its preferred AFC-sanctioned Champions League moniker. That won’t bother Ange Postecoglou, but a cursory glance at Ulsan’s squad should.

The Tigers are positively brimming with attacking talent, lead by the predatory Lee Keun-Ho – one of the most in-form goal scorers in Asian football. Eminent football journalist John Duerden tweeted that he limped off in a 2-2 with Sangju Sangmu last weekend, but some quick digging around by yours truly suggests coach Kim Ho-Gon has also been complaining about Ulsan’s hectic fixture list. Could the South Korean international be set to start against the Roar? Time will tell.

Even if Lee doesn’t get on the pitch, Ulsan have plenty more attacking talent. I’ve seen Maranhao and Akihiro Ienaga in action several times in the J. League. The Brazilian got on the scoresheet when I saw him in the flesh for Ventforet Kofu, and while Ienaga’s specialty used to be crossing the ball into Row H every time I caught a glimpse of him at Gamba Osaka, I’ve been reliably informed he’s improved since joining Spanish side Mallorca, from whom he is currently on loan at Ulsan.

In fact, several of the Ulsan squad have recent J. League experience. Skipper Kwak Tae-Hwi, the much-travelled Lee Ho and the pacy Kim Seung-Yong among them. This is one battle-hardened, match-ready squad. And with the towering Kim Shin-Wook to call upon, the Roar defence will have its hands full for the entire evening in Ulsan.

It’s just a shame more fans don’t turn up at Champions League fixtures, particularly in South Korea. The Steelyard has to be one of the best football grounds in Asia, but as we saw last night when Pohang Steelers played Adelaide United off the park, it’s usually nine-tenths empty. And the problem will be exacerbated tonight when another small crowd turns out in Ulsan to watch two of Asia’s most exciting teams go head to head.

It’s football, but not as we know it. And that’s mainly because no one is watching.

Why Besart Berisha is the A-League’s best striker

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Mike

Besart Berisha is the best striker in the A-League. Not because of the 13 goals he’s scored to date or the fiery temperament which makes him a love-hate figure with fans. It’s because his cunning football nous consistently gets him into goal scoring positions and makes him by far Brisbane Roar’s most dangerous attacking weapon.

It’s a long way from Berlin-Westend to Brisbane’s own version, and Berisha has taken in plenty of sights along the way. The Albanian started his professional career at the wonderfully named Tennis Borussia Berlin, and I might be one of the few pundits in Australia to have actually seen them play.

Just over a decade ago I spent plenty of time lurking around the football grounds of Germany’s second division, when Tennis Borussia were relegated from the second tier at the same time as the club I supported, Fortuna Köln. Some of the football I saw that season was dire, yet it was clear the 2.Bundesliga was still a significant step up from anything I’d seen in Australia.

Berisha didn’t stick around in Berlin for long, joining top-tier outfit Hamburg before embarking on a seven-year jaunt around Europe’s lower leagues. He spent time on loan at no less than three different clubs before returning to Germany to join strugglers Arminia Bielefeld, who had just been relegated back to the second tier.

Despite featuring in 28 league games over two seasons, Berisha scored just four goals in total as Bielefield churned through five different coaches en route to dropping into the third tier. Playing alongside him in 2011 was Australian midfielder Dario Vidosic, whose father Rado just so happened to be Brisbane Roar’s assistant coach. So it was that the Roar stumbled across one of the sharpest attacking talents this country has ever seen.

The Roar deserve some credit for taking a punt on a striker with a mediocre goal scoring record in Europe, just as Berisha deserves kudos for taking a risk and bringing his young family to Australia. Were it not for a dismal time in Bielefeld, a player clearly talented enough to ply his trade at a much higher level may have moved elsewhere. But the gamble has paid off as Berisha coasts towards the A-League’s Golden Boot award.

What makes Berisha such a dangerous striker is his ability to exploit space. Time and again the little Albanian has dropped off his marker to finish simple chances. He’s done it twice against Sydney FC, devastated Adelaide United and Perth Glory and proved a thorn in the side of local rivals Gold Coast United. Yet Berisha is so much more than just a penalty-box poacher, as his most recent goal against Wellington Phoenix attests.

Once again the pacy front man got in between two defenders, but there was still plenty for him to do as he charged towards Erik Paartalu’s ball over the top. Berisha angled his run to perfection to meet Paartalu’s lofted pass in mid-air, before smashing a first-time volley back across his body and into the bottom corner. It may have looked simple, but it was a goal of real technical accomplishment.

You just can’t seem to keep the Roar striker down. He ballooned a penalty over the crossbar against Melbourne Heart, yet still popped up to score the equaliser. He broke a long goal drought by scoring the most dramatic of winners against Sydney FC, created a goal for himself against Central Coast when decent service was lacking and now he’s just gone and signed a new two-year contract for himself.

That contract is a real boon for Brisbane Roar, who have secured the services of a striker who – barring unforeseen injury – should seriously challenge Archie Thompson’s all-time goal scoring record. Many point to Thomas Broich as the Roar’s best player, and on skill-level alone he probably is.

But when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net, there’s none better than a plucky Albanian with a well-stamped passport made out to one Besart Berisha.

A day in the life of an A-League away fan

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Mike

“It’s fantastic scoring a goal. I go crazy, it’s like having sex,” explained Milan’s unnecessarily candid midfielder Kevin Prince-Boateng last month.

But like a seedy one-night stand viewed in the cold, hard light of day, there’s often a crestfallen, emotionally wounded party on the flipside of that relationship coin. And on Saturday night, I was that wounded party.

When Sayed Mohamed Adnan crashed home his spectacular free-kick, I was standing in Bay 317 with a small but vocal contingent of Sydney FC supporters. Little did we know our evening was about to get much, much worse.

It all started with a refreshing ale at one of Brisbane’s fine taphouses. The plan was to sink a sneaky pint or two and then head up to Caxton Street to meet friends who had travelled up from Sydney for the game. But like all great plans, particularly those involving alcohol, mine went awry when I spent far too long pontificating on the state of the game to my hapless wife, and we ended up stumbling into the ground not long before kick-off.

The first thing I noticed was that stadium staff were far less aggressive than on previous visits. I’ve attended several A-League games as an away fan, including a couple of trips to Suncorp Stadium, and on at least one occasion I spent more time warding off the overzealous attention of stewards than I did watching any football.

That was happily not the case this time around, although one aspect of getting into the ground left me bemused. As an interstate member of Sydney FC, this season a ticket to my closest away game landed in my mailbox. It’s a terrific initiative, but my ticket wasn’t actually for the away end of the ground. Why? Are clubs so concerned a casual supporter might potentially run into a genuine fan they’d rather stick interstate members on the opposite side of the ground? Seems strange.

At any rate, I strolled into the away end unhindered and the game itself progressed satisfactorily enough – helped along by a rare goal from that poster boy for goals-to-games ratios, Mark Bridge. In fact, for a solid hour the Sky Blues looked liable to do the double over the Roar. But then something happened which changed the complexion of the game irrevocably. Something so transformative, no A-League coach could possibly hope to blunt its effect. Thomas Broich came on.

The game could best be summed up as being played out in two distinct phases, ‘Before Broich’ and ‘After Broich.’ Before Broich, Sydney youngster Rhyan Grant looked cool, calm and collected in defence. After Broich, Grant played as though faced with a long walk on a hot bitumen road having forgotten his pair of thongs. Such was the inherent panic the German caused in the Sydney defence, a Roar goal seemed inevitable.

And it duly arrived in the 87^th minute. Only it didn’t. Besart Berisha – hitherto seen in fleeting glimpses nipping at the heels of Pascal Bosschaart – tapped home from close range, only for the goal to be ruled out by an offside flag. And that’s when I made the fatal error of leaning over to my wife and whispering that I’d just won enough to pay for our drinks by backing the Sky Blues. Big mistake.

For what it’s worth, I thought Adnan’s goal was superb. It reminded me of another goal which made my heart sink when I saw it live on ground – Darijo Srna’s stupendous free-kick against the Socceroos in Stuttgart. Except this game had a far different outcome, at least from my vantage point.

Berisha’s winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time seemed largely academic. As Sydney fans, we were still reeling from Adnan’s equaliser to care about another dropped point. And while I’m not technically sure if Berisha qualifies as being mad as a march hare or crazy as a cut snake, whatever his definition of lunacy, we only came to life again when the excitable Albanian careered shirtless towards the tunnel, gesticulating wildly at Bosschaart.

From where I was standing it was impossible to tell what happened next, so I’m relieved the commercial TV networks informed me the following day that the match had been “marred by ugly scenes” culminating in “an all-in brawl.” Phew. Lucky they mentioned it, or I’d have forgotten lives were in mortal danger simply attending an A-League game!

Subdued, tired and already nursing the impending effects of a hangover, I somehow conspired to lose sight of my friends precisely five seconds after we’d exited the ground. So like a sheepish lothario setting out on a walk of shame, the next stop was home. The result may not have been as desired, but that’s to overlook an important point.

When you’re on the losing side of a game of football – no matter how eventful – sometimes the best remedy is to just pick yourself up, brush yourself off… and pretend it never happened.

Roar discover final ACL opponent

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Mike

After finally snapping a five-game losing streak with a comprehensive 3-1 win over Melbourne Victory on New Year’s Eve, the good news continued for Brisbane Roar when their final AFC Champions League group stage opponent was confirmed 24 hours later.

Ange Postecoglou’s side will face off against FC Tokyo after they beat Kyoto Sanga 4-2 in Japan’s Emperor’s Cup final on New Year’s Day. Not only does the Gasmen’s victory ensure a logistically straight-forward trip to the Japanese capital, it also means the Roar avoid travelling to Kyoto’s dilapidated Nishikyogoku Stadium home – one of the most hopelessly outdated venues in all of Asian football.

But before Roar fans start rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of facing a side which spent the 2011 campaign in the Japanese second division, they might first consider a few facts about the Chofu-based club.

FC Tokyo won J2 at a canter this year, swatting aside the challenge of Sagan Tosu and Consadole Sapporo to win promotion at the first attempt. They did so with ever-present Japanese international Yasuyuki Konno at the core of the team, while the likes of goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, towering striker Sota Hirayama and tricky winger Naoki Ishikawa have all been in the mix for national team call-ups of late. Add to that the goal-scoring influence of veteran Lucas Severino and FC Tokyo possess a pretty potent mix of young talent and experienced campaigners.

They can also call upon some of the most passionate support in Japan and travelling Roar fans will be treated to the sight of FC Tokyo running out to the strains of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at the cavernous Ajinomoto Stadium. It can be a bemusing sight, but there’s no doubting the intensity of the support, and the Roar will need to be at their best to beat one of the more imposing outfits in the Japanese game.

Has the edge gone dull?

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Mike

Are Brisbane Roar staring down the barrel of four straight defeats?

A month ago it would have seemed unthinkable but the Roar go into tonight’s top-of-the-table showdown with Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium under real pressure. A 2-0 defeat away at Sydney FC was followed by a shock 2-1 home loss to Melbourne Heart and another 2-0 loss against Wellington Phoenix in Dunedin.

A home defeat to the Mariners – who go into game on the back of four straight victories – would see the Gosford side go three points clear at the top of the table. Brisbane’s misfortune has coincided with the injury-enforced absence of playmaker Thomas Broich and prompts the question: has the edge gone dull in terms of the Roar’s attacking instincts?

Only Mitch Nichols has scored during Brisbane’s losing streak and it seems no coincidence the Roar have looked bereft of ideas in attack without their mercurial German import Broich. Coach Ange Postecoglou has repeatedly said his team is more than a one-man show but it seems clear the Roar rely heavily on Broich for inspiration.

He’s missing again tonight along with captain Matt Smith and tricky winger Henrique and this game marks a real test of Brisbane’s mental strength. The Mariners are itching for revenge after last season’s dramatic Grand Final defeat, making this one of the must-see games of the A-League season to date.

Brisbane Roar to face Asia’s best… sort of

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Mike

The draw for the 2012 AFC Champions League is out and the good news for Brisbane Roar fans is it could have been worse. After avoiding the obligatory “group of death,” Roar fans can start planning their trips to China, South Korea and Japan in the knowledge they’ll be facing some of Asia’s second-best teams.

They start off with a home clash against Japan’s Emperor’s Cup winners, with the final of Japan’s oldest sporting competition set to take place on New Year’s Day. The Roar may have avoided facing the J. League’s newest champions Kashiwa Reysol, Nagoya Grampus and perennial Asian heavyweights Gamba Osaka but there are still plenty of big guns left in the Emperor’s Cup draw, including Japan’s most successful club Kashima Antlers, the ever popular Urawa Reds and cup specialists Shimizu S-Pulse.

Ange Postecoglou at least knows the composition of the rest of the group and Matchday 2 sees the Roar travel to the Workers Stadium in Beijing where they’ll take on 2009 Chinese Super League champions Beijing Guoan. Coached by former Portugese international Jaime Pacheco and with a squad containing Australian striker Joel Griffiths – for the time being at least - this season Guoan saw their status as the nouveau riche of Chinese football usurped by the mega-rich Guangzhou Evergrande, who won the 2011 league title at a canter.

Ulsan Hyundai hail from a slightly more humble background and after slogging their way through the K-League playoffs, the team from South Korea’s industrial heartland may find the ACL a tough ask. They’ve got a couple of useful stalwarts including captain Kwak Tae-Hwi and former Reading and Fulham striker Seol Ki-Hyeon in their midst but after losing the recent K-League final to 2011 ACL runners-up Jeonbuk Motors, they’ll need to step up a gear on the continent.

It doesn’t help that Ulsan play out of the cavernous Big Crown Stadium. With an almost 45,000 seat capacity, it’s rarely more than one-third full and attendances will be even smaller for midweek Champions League fixtures. Beijing Guoan should fare better in the attendance stakes – much better, in fact – but unless Urawa Reds win the Emperor’s Cup, then Suncorp Stadium won’t be the only venue to offer the backdrop of empty seats.

In fact, the Champions League has largely failed to capture imaginations on the sprawling continent, although the wild semi-final brawl between Suwon Bluewings and eventual winners Al-Sadd generated a bit of interest in this year’s competition.

It’s a shame Brisbane won’t get to test themselves against the likes of J. League champions Kashiwa Reysol or K-League winners Jeonbuk – drawn together in Group H alongside Ghangzhou Evergrande and the unlucky winners of the Thai Premier League – although the reigning A-League champions are in with a good shout of progressing beyond the group stage.

That’s perhaps more than can be said for a Central Coast Mariners side drawn with Nagoya Grampus, 2010 ACL winners Seongnam Ilwha and Chinese combatants Tianjin Teda, while Adelaide United face old foes Gamba Osaka and Uzbek giants Bunyodkor, as well as a yet to be determined playoff winner.

On the whole, Brisbane fans should be happy with the draw and realistic about the Roar’s chances of progression. Several big guns have been avoided, tricky trips to some far-flung destinations have been ruled out and there’s still a chance a second division side (or better yet, third tier Matusmoto Yamaga) could win the Emperor’s Cup.

All in all a good’s night work for Ange Postecoglou and his side didn’t even kick a ball.

Going undefeated a tough ask for Brisbane Roar

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Mike

On September 21, 2003 a match took place in the English Premier League which was to have a marked significance on the rest of the season. Later dubbed “The Battle of Old Trafford,” the clash between Manchester United and Arsenal finished in a scoreless draw.

What was significant about the match was that Manchester United were awarded a penalty in the final minute. History shows that Ruud van Nistelrooy smacked his spot-kick against the crossbar and Arsenal went on to win the league undefeated.

A matter of inches. That’s all that can stand between success and failure in football, although the way Brisbane Roar are currently playing it’s hard to see anyone holding them scoreless, let alone going close to beating them. Perth Glory were certainly not in the hunt in their 4-0 defeat to the Roar on Saturday night and for all that’s been written about Brisbane’s stunning performance, there’s been little recognition of just how poor Perth were in that game.

Whispers abound Brisbane can go through the entire campaign undefeated but had Ruud van Nistelrooy hit his penalty two inches lower back in September 2003, there’d be no such comparisons to Arsenal’s so-called “Invincibles.”

So who can stop Brisbane Roar? On current form, seemingly no one. But the bounce of the ball will go against Ange Postecoglou’s team sooner or later and they start life as Australian record holders with a tricky looking fixture indeed.

Brisbane’s clash with Sydney FC next weekend is notable for the fact it takes place at WIN Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah. Better known as the home of rugby league outfit the St George-Illawarra Dragons, “Kogarah Oval” is the kind of old-school suburban ground slowly dying out in Australian sport. That makes it an attractive fixture for stadium buffs, although sadly Sydney’s imposing supporter group The Cove will take up residence in the northern terrace rather than on the famous grass hill fringing the eastern side of the ground.

And the Roar’s trip to Kogarah is not the only out of the ordinary venue they’ll be visiting in the coming weeks. They also take on Wellington Phoenix at the brand new Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin next month and crucially they do so on a Wednesday night – just five days after playing Melbourne Heart at Suncorp Stadium.

Then there are away trips to teams the Roar have embarrassed in Brisbane this season. Perth Glory. Adelaide United. Even two games against Gold Coast United at Skilled Park, including a much-anticipated Boxing Day showdown at the Robina venue. The Roar might have dominated the season so far but the rest of the campaign will be far from easy.

That said, there’s no reason to play down what Ange Postecoglou has achieved with his swashbuckling side. It shouldn’t be forgotten the two players who scored braces in the 4-0 win over Perth last weekend were both foreign recruits signed by Postecoglou at the start of the season. What the Roar coach has done is devise a system relying on team work rather than individual players and it’s a strategy which will fuel widespread success well into the future.

But to borrow an old cliché, ninety minutes is a long time in football. Plenty of tough tests await and they start with a tricky looking trip to Kogarah to face an old foe in Sydney FC desperate to put a two-game losing streak behind them.

Brisbane S-Pulse?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Mike

“Ground control to Major Tom. Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong.”

Apologies for the break in transmission and welcome back to the show. Rather unhelpfully I’ve somehow managed to delete the Login tab from the home page, so to divert your attention from that unhappy fact I’ve decided to reveal a secret.

Brisbane Roar and Shimizu S-Pulse wear the exact same jersey. Yup. Check out the visual evidence below.

Here in a pic I’ve nicked from the Brisbane Roar website a grinning Erik Paartalu practically screams, “hey eligible singles, let me buy you a drink at a coffee vendor of your choice!”

And in a strikingly similar photo I’ve flogged directly from Barry Valder’s excellent S-Pulse UK Ultras site, one notes the similarities as Shimizu’s Dutch battletank Calvin Jong-a-Pin telepathically informs Freddie Ljungberg that by moving to the J. League, he’s just waved goodbye to the chances of ever being called up to the Swedish national team again.

There are of course some subtle differences. S-Pulse have numbers on the front of their jersey, the league badges are in slightly different positions and Freddie Ljungberg retired from international football more than three years ago.

But essentially Brisbane Roar and Shimizu S-Pulse wear the exact same Puma-made jersey. And if that’s not a reason for the pair to form an alliance, play friendlies and loan out erstwhile Roar attacker Alex Brosque between the two clubs, then nothing is.