Western United will lean on the scorer of Australia’s most famous spot-kick ahead of the A-League Men’s grand Final against Melbourne City, just in case it goes down to a penalty shootout.
And Socceroos legend John Aloisi, now Western’s head coach, will be more than happy to pass on his words of advice.
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“Maybe not me, because I’m not sure if I’ll put my hand up, but I’m sure he will have a few words to the boys this week,” Western defender Josh Risdon said.
“Who better to ask about (standing up) in pressure moments?”
Former striker Aloisi masterfully held his nerve to fire past Uruguay goalkeeper Fabian Carini at Stadium Australia in 2005.
The clean stroke of his left boot ended Australia’s 32-year wait for a World Cup appearance and sparked wild, shirtless celebrations down the touchline.
“He does like to bring it up a little bit but it’s awesome when he talks about that sort of stuff and being at World Cups because a lot of the players watched him growing up and he’s been there and done that,” Risdon said.
“He can impart his wisdom and let us know tips on how to approach a game like this (grand final).”
Recent meetings between Western and City suggest a tight contest, and perhaps a penalty shoot-out could be on the cards in the first all-Victorian Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final.
The cross-town rivals have met three times this season, resulting in two draws and a narrow Western win back in December, settled by a sole Dylan Wenzel-Halls strike.
City are aiming to become the first ALM club to secure back-to-back Premiership-Championship doubles and start warm favourites.
But Western relished the underdog tag in their semi-final upset of Melbourne Victory and are comfortable playing the role again.
“We love the underdog tag. We’ve had it all year; I don’t think anyone tipped us at the start of the year to even be in the finals,” Risdon said.
“We’ll ride that tag again on the weekend and with the bunch of boys we’ve got, when no one is backing us, we get up for it and prove people wrong.”
Risdon had ankle surgery in March but returned in time to feature in each of Western’s three finals matchesÂ
One of a handful of players remaining from the expansion club’s debut season, the 29-year-old right-back said winning the championship would be a special achievement.
“It would mean a lot to the club,” he said.
“We’ve seen where the club’s come from, it started from nothing and in three short years we’ve made a grand final.
“A lot of people at the club have put in a lot of hard effort and have a big vision for where the club’s going to go.”
