Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Melbourne Victory are ready for a somewhat unfamiliar proposition in the Australia Cup final: an AAMI Park crowd that isn’t overwhelmingly in their favour.
Even derbies against Melbourne City are traditionally dominated by Victory fans.
But Saturday night’s crowd is expected to be approximately 50 per cent Victory, 50 per cent South Melbourne – with the former maybe having a slight edge.
“I’m going to be honest – it’s probably the first time ever playing for Melbourne Victory that there’s anyone coming close to giving us a run for our money in regards to our fan base,” Victory captain Jason Davidson said.
“But that just shows you what a special, historical night it’s going to be. It’s amazing for Australian football.
“It’s an opportunity for us to grow the game and get excitement, especially leading into our ACL campaign and the A-League kicking off as well. It’s written in the stars to have this event.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play in Europe, so I’ve experienced that kind of environment where it’s 50-50.
“But it’ll be a different challenge for us, maybe some of the boys aren’t used to that. But I’m sure that we’ll be very prepared for tomorrow.”
It will clearly be the largest crowd most current South Melbourne players have played before.
“Obviously, there’s only a couple players in that squad that have played (in front of) over probably 10,000,” their captain Marco Jankovic said.
“In saying that, going away to Preston, going away to Heidelberg, places like these where the fences are one metre from the sideline and you’re getting yelled at by 10,000 people, that’s also not easy.
“So knowing that there’s going to be 15,000 of our fans behind us is, I think, a positive thing.”
Jankovic is the son of former Real Madrid, Anderlecht, Red Star Belgrade and Yugoslavia midfielder MIlan Jankovic, who will be among those in the stands.
Victory haven’t won any men’s silverware since their 2021 Australia Cup triumph – and want their first trophy under new coach Giovanni Savarese.
“We all know what Melbourne Victory’s about … there’s also that pressure that every game, every season, every trophy, or any tournament that we’re in, we’re expected to perform and win,” Davidson said.
“It’s a full house. We embrace that pressure, and we have to go out there and get the job done.”
South are playing for more than a trophy.
They represent a historic NSL powerhouse that wants to be added to the A-League – and reward loyal fans.
Coach Sinisa Cohadzic was sacked in May, reinstated four days later and now has South on the brink of something special.
“I heard a lot of stories during the week where people would come up to me and talk about their families and their fathers and their brothers, about them passing away and dreaming of this happening in any time in the future,” Cohadzic said.
“And for those people it is very important that we are able to go on that ground tomorrow and … to perform and try to make those people happy and bring some joy to the people that actually dreamt about this match-up all the time.”
