Two clubs, one representing the rich history of Australian football and one that hopes to embody its future, will collide in the Australia Cup final on Saturday.
Sydney United 58, who became the first NPL side to reach the final of the rebranded FFA Cup, will aim to engineer another giant-killing feat when they take on A-League Men side Macarthur FC.
United, who knocked off Brisbane Roar and ALM champions Western United to get to the decider, take their name from the year they were founded by Croatian expats and signify the heritage of the game in this country.
United’s list of past players is a who’s who of Australian football with the likes of Mark Bosnich, Tony Popovic and Mile Jedinak among their alumni.
The part-timers will be hoping that the Bulls’ new manager Dwight Yorke has an unhappy night in his first quest for silverware.
Macarthur by contrast, are the new kids on the block having only entered the ALM in 2020.
A cup win in front of an anticipated 15,000-strong crowd at CommBank Stadium might be what prompts people to start taking them seriously.
The histories of the clubs differ greatly but they are deeply intertwined.
Macarthur chief executive Sam Krslovic grew up watching United and was previously the club’s president.
“My dad came over in the mid 1960s and he and his brother were among the pioneers. I don’t think they missed a game for 20 years,” Krslovic told AAP.
“It (United 58) was a vehicle of assimilation. It started in the city and evolved by moving to where it is to today, and there are parallels in the formation of Macarthur.”
Krslovic is not the only one with split loyalties.
United defender Jacob Poscoliero has a day job with the Bulls as a development officer, while Krslovic and their manager Miro Vlastelica go back years.
Vlastelica even received a phone call from legendary NRL coach Wayne Bennett this week offering him a pearl of wisdom.
“I nearly smashed my car,” he said.
“To get best wishes from Wayne blew me away. He said to go out and enjoy the moment and to take it all in.”
Then there’s Macarthur defender Ivan Vujica who began playing for Saturday’s opponents as a three-year-old.
His mother Ivanka volunteered in the canteen at United’s Edensor Park home ground and his father Marinko was on the club’s board.
“My parents came to a new country where they didn’t speak the language 30 years ago,” he said.
“For them, Sydney United was their little refuge where they could be among their own people.
“There’s a lot of pride in that.”
Despite the fact his son is playing in a cup final, Marinko has already nailed his colours to the mast.
“Without a doubt my father wants United to win,” Vujica said.
“The best-case scenario for him is that I score a hat-trick but we lose 4-3. I think mum is the only one who wants me to win.”
As for Krslovic, he’s relaxed about what will happen on Saturday, saying: “For the first time in my life I’m going to go to a game knowing I’m going to win.”
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