The club was built in just 146 days before the start of their inaugural season and has reached the A-League final for the first two years of their existence, picking up one of the most fanatical followings in Australian sport along the way.
They may have fallen short in both finals but have continued their remarkable progress at a continental level this year, reaching the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League at the first attempt.
Their passage to the last eight - only the second Australian side to achieve the feat after Adelaide United - has included wins over South Korea's 2012 Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai and Japan's J.League champions Sanfrecce Honda.
Next up, in the first leg of the quarter-final on Aug. 20 is Chinese power Guangzhou, led by World Cup-winning former Italy coach Marcello Lippi and boasting the prolific Alberto Gilardino in their forward line.
Further complicating matters for Popovic is that the Australian domestic season finished in May and does not resume until October, so he is preparing for the match with a radically different squad from that which won the last 16 tie.
"They have got the resources, they have got the players, they have got the coach and they want to be the best and they proved that last year," Popovic said of Guangzhou.
"It will be a huge challenge coming off a pre-season and playing against such a heavyweight.
"But on the other hand, that is something you expect when you are amongst the best eight teams in Asia, that you are going to have to play a great side to get through."
BEDDING IN
Japanese playmaker Shinji Ono, nicknamed simply "genius" by the Wanderers fans, is one of 10 players who have left the club since their loss to Brisbane Roar in the A-League final.
Popovic has been able to restock his squad but it might take time to bed the players in, while Socceroos central defender Matthew Spiranovic will be absent because of an ankle injury.
Still, the Wanderers will have the backing of their passionate fans for the home leg at Parramatta Stadium as they look to build up a lead they can defend in Guangzhou in the return on Aug. 27.
"It is huge challenge, but it is one that we are really looking forward to, I think the club is embracing it and I think our fans will embrace it as well," former Crystal Palace stalwart Popovic added.
"We showed against the Japanese champions that we can handle pressure against a top opponent and this is another one. "We expected it to be tough regardless of whom we got and we have got the very best and we want to see how we match up against them."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O'Brien)
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