Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic looking to do a job on his former side Sydney FC
Perth Glory may have secured the Premier’s Plate but coach Tony Popovic will only be content with a win against his old side Sydney FC on Thursday night.
The difference a decade makes can be measured in the weight of the Premiers’ Plate.
Ten years ago, Tony Popovic left Sydney FC to try to make his name overseas, having been told he wasn’t ready to replace John Kosmina as head coach.
His return to Sydney on Thursday night with Perth Glory brings the story full circle, for while he has had success before - winning the Plate with Western Sydney in 2013 - Glory’s capture of the same trophy on Sunday came at the expense of Sydney FC.
Those who know Popovic best will tell you his memory is long, and every one of his experiences gets filed away for future benefit. His benefit, usually.
That’s the human face of what is easily the biggest game of this season so far — potentially a grand final-in-waiting, albeit with the venue switched from one side of Australia to the other.
With a week off guaranteed in 10 days’ time, Popovic can afford to play his strongest side, knowing that victory over Sydney could push the Sky Blues down the table to third spot, depending on Melbourne Victory’s trip to Adelaide 24 hours later.
In a season of more ratings woe, the crunch end of the season is finally delivering us games that matter, and every minute that’s left in the season matters to Popovic.
If the league runs true to form, in a month he will be preparing for his fourth grand final, the previous three all lost.
Whether it will be Sydney FC providing the opposition depends on Steve Corica’s side juggling their resources. A week ago they were outstanding against Shanghai SIPG, and need a similar performance to counter Perth.
The Plate has gone, but the Sky Blues want Popovic to go home empty-handed once again.
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