The concept of a Grand Final to determine a league champion may be a little foreign to Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka but the Czech-born coach is getting right into the spirit of the Hyundai A-League’s biggest day.
Sydney has already claimed a Premiers’ Plate this season and in many countries around the world that would be enough to win the league. But Lavicka is by no means a purist, saying that he believed the Grand Final was suitable way to decide a winner.
“For me it’s something special. It’s a big game, a massive game. We played well against them in the regular season. We won two of the three matches and won the premiership. But finals series and the Grand Final is something special for me personally and for the players as well,” he said.
The Grand Final will be the culmination of a Melbourne -Sydney rivalry which has built up over the past five years and Lavicka is looking forward to helping writing a new chapter on Saturday night.
“Before I came here to Sydney as a coach I heard about the big rivalry between the clubs, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. It-s similar in Czech Republic to the rivalry between Slavia and Sparta Prague. We are opponents on the pitch but friends off the pitch,” he said.
The rivalry began in the opening round of the Hyundai A-League way back in 2005 when Sydney and Melbourne played out a 1-1 draw at the Sydney Football Stadium. Terry McFlynn, who will captain Sydney in Saturday night’s match, was part of the Sky Blues team that night and remembers it fondly.
“The first game was very special, it was the first game for us in the A-League. It’s been close between us all the way through the A-League. This rivalry is a match for any country. The two best teams in the league play off in the Grand Final and that’s great.” he said.
There have been many memorable encounters between the two teams over the years. Most of the memorable matches ended happily for Melbourne, including a 3-2 win at Etihad Stadium last season and the 2-2 result at the SFS two weeks ago which was enough to earn Melbourne hosting rights for the Grand Final.
But despite that result and Melbourne’s strong record in the big matches, Sydney striker Alex Brosque feels the momentum is with his team heading into the Grand Final had under Lavicka this season.
“From our club’s point of view it’s good to be back up there again after a tough couple of seasons. It-s where we want to be,” he said. “It would just cap off a good year for the club. It-s been a lot of hard work for all of us.”
