It is the final that former Socceroo Mile Sterjovski hoped would happen, and it’s not an understatement to say the Australia Cup decider will be a milestone for Australian football. When Macarthur FC meet Sydney United at Commbank Stadium on Saturday night, not only will a trophy be on the line but it will, for the very first time, be within the grasp of a team from outside the A-Leagues. Never before has a National Premier Leagues outfit been so close to a piece of national silverware and a place in Asia’s continental competition.
When Football Australia launched the Australia Cup – previously known as the FFA Cup – in 2014, it was an acknowledgment by the game’s administrators that there still existed a valuable footballing resource outside the professional tier. The A-Leagues had previously positioned itself as ‘new football’, in a break from the ‘old soccer’ of the National Soccer League. Now, as Sydney United – a former NSL club of repute once called Sydney Croatia – prepare for their date with destiny, old soccer is very much a part of new football.
