Phil Rothfield
Sunday, October 19, 2014 (5:22pm)
fter just two years and seven matches, Sydney’s A-League derby is fast becoming an event to rival the Bledisloe Cup, the NRL grand final, State of Origin or the Golden Slipper and the Championships at Randwick.
Sydney FC v the Wanderers has rocked the foundations of sport in this city with the force of an earthquake.
It has now become such a monumental part of our sporting calendar that it could sell-out ANZ Stadium once a year — all 83,000 seats.
Saturday night’s crowd of 41,263 was the biggest at Allianz Stadium for a club game in any code. Bigger than any of the NRL’s Anzac Day games, bigger than any Waratahs match. And it sold out three days in advance.
Football boss David Gallop can no longer allow his clubs to dictate where this game will be played. The Wanderers insist on playing it at home in front of their 18,000 faithful fans at Pirtek Stadium, ignoring the opportunity to get another 65,000 paying customers at Homebush. Sydney FC wants to stay true to their fans too at Allianz.
The home ground advantage is massive and we love their loyalty to rusted-on fans — but that’s not the point. This game has become simply too big. It is an epic.
These two great soccer clubs meet three times a year in the A-League draw.
The obvious solution is to play one game at ANZ, one at Pirtek and one at Allianz.
That way every sporting fan will get the opportunity to experience a truly marvellous sporting occasion. Easts v West. Everyone picks a side. Bring it on. Make it an annual December showdown in the lead-up to Christmas.
Show it on free-to-air and next time the broadcast deal is negotiated, get the big networks bidding for it alongside Fox Sports.
Sitting in the grandstand for these derbies is like nothing else in Australian sport. The RBB and the Cove supporter groups are the best and most passionate in the country. They make the event as much as the footballers. I know because I’ve sat with both of them. It’s like Blatchy’s Blues at Origin but much louder. Like South Sydney’s Burrow on grand final day but even more fanatical.
Long-time soccer supporters say the atmosphere at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night was like soccer blockbusters in Europe.
The sight of Sydney FC fans invading the pitch to celebrate the match-winning goal might have been a security risk but it was as special as it gets.
The phenomenal success and growth of the A-League, first under Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley, and even more so since David Gallop took charge, is just unbelievable.
After two rounds, the A-League match average is close to 20,000, a level that lifts the A-League, albeit temporarily, above the NRL’s season average.
Even the match report on the Wanderers -Sydney FC game was the No.2 most-read story on The Daily Telegraph website yesterday, with more hits than any other sports story.
Who knows what lies ahead in future years with another side in Sydney, almost certainly in Sydney’s south, to be added to the competition?
The irony is Gallop was famously sacked by NRL chairman John Grant for being too ‘‘reactive’’.
Well, he’s about to react again to the remarkable success of this derby spectacular … like any good administrator would.
“Saturday night was just astonishing,” Gallop said. “The noise, the numbers and the drama went up another level from what we’ve seen before.
“The game’s growth is remarkable and it’s taking football into new territory.
“We will sit down and talk to Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers, and our broadcast partners, to make sure we all make the most of this opportunity.”
It’s times like this when you need a ‘‘reactive’’ man in charge.
Someone who is prepared to break tradition, throw open the gates of ANZ Stadium and sell out every single seat. This game deserves it.
liar extraordinaire 
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