Melbourne Heart v Western Sydney Wanderers. Wanderer's Labinot Haliti celebrates his 2nd goal at AAMI Park.16th March 2013.Picture Sebastian Costanzo. The Age.
IT would be a promoter's dream except the game doesn't need any promoting.
It sold out weeks ago.
Big? It's so big there was even idle talk of moving it to a bigger venue.
It's the one A-League soccer fans have been waiting for: the Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC at Parramatta Stadium this Saturday night.
And it's so big because it has an unbeatable theme attached.
There's Sydney FC with the best team Australian soccer money can buy — superstar Alessandro Del Piero and a supporting cast of mere mortal stars, such as Lucas Neill and Brett Emerton.
Sydney FC . . fighting to make the finals with two rounds left after their 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory on the weekend (and Del Piero proving he's mortal by missing a penalty shot).
And then there's the Wanderers, the sporting story of this or any summer.
The team of returning Westies, of rejects and players on their last legs and last contracts elsewhere, put together in five minutes and with a first-time coach in Tony Popovic.
The team is five points clear on top and virtually assured of the Premier's Plate and a sport in the Asian Champion's League.
The Wanderers scored their 10th straight win by beating the Melbourne Heart 3-1 away on Saturday.
Striker Labinot Haliti scored his first double in the A-League and repeated the now-familiar theme: "We're not looking too far ahead.
"Maybe at the end of the year we can look back at it."
The plan?
"Go back on Monday and start working again," he said.
The only clouds on the Wanderers horizon are the injuries to Aaron Mooy and Jerome Molenz.
They will have to be checked along with Shinji Ono, who missed the game with a hamstring injury.