They are away from home and facing a powerful opponent but Sydney FC boss Steve Corica is adamant his side has the big-game experience and clear motivation to win Sunday’s Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
While Perth Glory were runaway premiers under Tony Popovic this season, this is the club’s first Grand Final since their defeat to Brisbane Roar in 2012, while only one of their squad [Ivan Franjic] has a championship to their name.
In contrast, the majority of Corica’s Sky Blues squad were there for the club’s Premiership and Championship-winning campaign of 2016/17.
Sydney have also won two of the three meetings between the clubs this season (2-1 in December, 1-0 in April).
“Mentally the boys know they’ve been there, done that before, they know what it takes to win,” Corica told reporters at Sydney Airport on Friday before heading west.
“Of course it’s a different game, in a Grand Final anything can happen, but we do have the experience under our belt.
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“The only thing I’m going to say to the boys is that it’s a challenge for us going away from home and winning.”
When asked the key to beating Perth, Corica said: “I can’t give that away. But we’ve got a good track record against them, especially in the last few years.
“A Grand Final is totally different, it’s a one-off game, but our boys know they can beat them.”
Motivation certainly won’t be an issue for the Sky Blues either, especially with skipper Alex Brosque hanging up the boots come the end of Sydney FC’s campaign.
Corica admits the message has been crystal clear in the lead-up to the decider, urging his troops to ‘do it for Brosquey’.
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“Everyone knows he’s retiring. It’s probably going to be his last game. My message is going to be to send him out a winner,” the Sky Blues boss said.
“It’s been my message for the last couple of weeks since he’s announced it.
“He deserves it, he’s club captain, a great leader, he’s done everything for the club and we owe it to him to send him out on a good note.”
Corica confirmed he will have a full-strength squad to choose from for Sunday, with marquee man Siem de Jong (illness) and left-back Michael Zullo (shoulder) both shrugging off concerns to travel.
Sydney FC will get their first look at Optus Stadium on Saturday when they hold their final training session at the venue.
