(Transcript from World News Radio)
Next to sport as we preview the upcoming weekend A-League Grand Final.
Attila Mosonyi reports.
Sunday's A-League title decider is promising to be a hard-fought battle between two closely matched teams: Brisbane Roar and the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Brisbane had a dominant campaign to finish the regular season ten points clear of the second-placed Wanderers.
And playing on their home ground, the premiers will go into the match as slight favourites.
Brisbane will be hoping for their third title after victories in their previous two Grand Finals in 2011 and 2012.
Meanwhile it's Western Sydney's second Grand Final appearance, in what is only their second A-League season.
And after losing last year's decider 2-0 to the Central Coast Mariners, Wanderers coach Tony Popovic believes his side is now better prepared.
"You gain experience from every situation, whether you win or lose. We lost and they know how that felt. We have got a chance to put that right. We don't want to taste that sick feeling again. We just seem better mentally, I think the ACL (Asian Champions League) helped us a lot for that. You know, playing every three or four days has really toughened us up."
Brisbane boss Mike Mulvey, who won the A-League's Coach of the Year award earlier this week, has plenty of respect for his counterpart,
He says Popovic has moulded a fantastic team together, which will pose a big test for his side.
"Oh Tony has proven himself this year, more than last year in terms of what he has achieved: thay finished second in the League and they also qualified for the next round of the Asian Champions League and he has done a fantastic job. In fact, more that that, he has done a brilliant job and he will have his team primed to get every ounce out of them on Sunday and it's going to be great task against a formidable opponent."
Brisbane Roar has won just one of their previous matches against the Wanderers, which came in Round 7 in last November.
The other two games between the two sides this season have ended in a draw.
Brisbane's German playmaker and A-League player of the year Thomas Broich is expecting another closely contested affair.
"Every game we played against them was really a tough, tough fight and close games and we will really need to bring our A-game. If we get our free-flowing game going, we have a good chance of winning the game but if their physicality, their intensity gets the upper hand then it's going to be really difficult for us."
The Wanderers will look to the likes of Shinji Ono and Youssouf Hersi for inspiration.
Japanese star Ono and Dutch winger Hersi will both leave the club after the Grand Final and both will be desperate to give the club a maiden championship trophy as a a parting gift.
Hersi played an integral role in Western Sydney's history-making inaugural season last year but was suspended for its Grand Final appearance.
He admits it won't be easy but after two seasons with the club, Hersi says he wants to finish what he started.
"Everybody knows how they play, how good they are and everything, but I don't care. The only thing that I care is that I want to lift the trophy. How we do it, I don't care. If Brisbane have a history or no history, I don't care. It's about the Western Sydney Wanderers and we are confident. We feel good about ourselves. We want to win this bad, because last year we didn't win and we are going to win this one."
Should Western Sydney win on Sunday, it will become the sixth club to secure an A-League title in the competition's nine-year history.
However a victory for Brisbane Roar would make the Queenslanders the first team to win the A-League Grand Final on three occasions.
SBS radio will bring live coverage of Sunday's title decider from Brisbane with coverage beginning from 3:00 pm Eastern time on SBS 3 and online.
You can also watch the A-League Grand Final on SBS 2 and in HD and online on delay from 4.30pm.
Share
