Western Sydney Wanderers are kings of Asia - and the football story of the year

From the opening minutes and the relatively recent phenomenon of laser beams in the eyes to the final moments and the much older practice of spitting, and the 90 minutes in between, Al Hilal threw everything at Western Sydney Wanderers in the 2014 Asian Champions League final. Yet, the A-League team, leading 1-0 from the first leg a week previously, stood firm to draw 0-0 in Riyadh in front of 65,000 fans.

It is surely the football story of the year. The Wanderers are champions of Asia. Three years ago, people would have claimed you were crazy to say such a thing – and they would have been right. Three years ago, there was no such thing as Western Sydney Wanderers yet here they were on Saturday evening, driving millions of Saudi Arabian fans mad with frustration before lifting the biggest prize in the world’s biggest continent.

The Red and Black rode their luck. Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura probably should have given Al Hilal three penalties but the official, perhaps mindful of his performance in this year’s World Cup when he gave the Brazilian hosts a soft spot kick, was in no mind to give the Riyadh club the same treatment. Croatia fans will sympathise. Aussies won’t care, especially the 14 who managed to get visas and travelled all the way from Sydney, a trip of almost 13,000km, the longest ever in Asian club history.

More than the referee however, Ante Covic and Tony Popovic deserve the focus. The goalkeeper was great in Sydney and godlike in Saudi Arabia with a late save from Yasser Al Qahtani particularly memorable for the visitors and heartbreaking for the hosts. The coach got it exactly right, for the second time in seven days. At the age of 41, he has pulled off one of the greatest ever achievements in Asian football. There was luck in the final, as there has been along the way, but there has been plenty more besides.

Regardless of the result in Riyadh, the Wanderers had already made Asia sit up and take notice. Dismissed after that opening game defeat at home to Ulsan Horang-i and then playing some of the really big boys, the A-League club’s adventures looked like they were about to end more times than Peter Jackson’s Return of the King. Sanfrecce Hiroshima were coming off successive Japanese championships and went out on away goals. Fine, but Guangzhou Evergrande was different – holders and far more besides. Yet the Chinese powerhouse was also run over by this Aussie express and a meek FC Seoul, 2013 runners-up, were overcome in the semi-finals. It was like beating the English, Spanish and German champions on the way to the European final. Nobody can argue that the Wanderers didn’t deserve to take the King Fahd field.

Only the Wanderers know if they have surprised themselves but they have certainly amazed Asia though it remains to be seen what effect the success has on the perception of the A-League on the giant continent. These exploits have deepened respect for the traditional Aussie football strengths without, perhaps, changing any opinions.

As Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque told the Guardian of his time with two past Asian Champions League winners Urawa Reds and Al Ain, the Wanderers’ style reinforces existing stereotypes – they play pretty much how people expect Aussie teams to play. “With my time both in Japan and the UAE I’ve noticed that the general feel for Australian footballers is that we’re hard working, physical players. And that Australian teams are also very physical but well organised.” Brosque believes that perceptions about the strength of the A-League will change only with sustained and regular success in Asia.

What has changed (apart from, it is to be hoped, Australia’s view of the Asian game), is how Asia sees Australian football off the pitch. Empty seats are a Champions League staple in many countries but not in Western Sydney. More than that, the Red and Black provide passion and spectacle that have captivated many a television commentator or reporter from China, Japan and Korea and now wider afield. The Wanderers have improved the image of the A-League more with what they did off the field than what they did on it, impressive though that was. All knew that Australian teams were usually tough to play against but few knew about the Red and Black Bloc and what had been happening in the country’s biggest city. Looking down under from Asia, Australian football seems to be buzzing and booming.

What all in Asia did know, and the Wanderers are finding out, is that poor domestic form is another tradition observed by those teams that achieve continental success. Guangzhou Evergrande are the only team in recent years to claim both domestic and continental titles but had the squad to wrap the Chinese league up long before defeating FC Seoul in the ACL final. The Koreans had no such luxury and reaching the final led to the club dropping out of the K-League title race. That had nothing on the sorry tale of Urawa Reds in 2007. The Japanese giant won the Asian crown and then, so exhausted were Holger Osieck’s men that they let a 10-point lead at the top of the J-League slip. That’s bad enough, but that cushion only had to last for five games. The Wanderers have lost both their games so far this season, conceding seven goals, not enough to cause serious worries but enough to remind that success in Asia comes at a price, even if it is one worth paying.

And it is definitely worth paying. Nights such as this don’t come around very often. Al Hilal with all their millions have yet to win the Asian Champions League and as was clear, are pretty desperate to do so. Yet here are Western Sydney Wanderers, with a salary cap that is less than 10% of the Riyadh club’s broadcasting deal, heading to the Fifa Club World Cup. It could be Real Madrid’s turn to tear their hair out when faced with this red and black wall but whatever happens in December, the Wanderers are already the football story of the year, anywhere.