Soccer: Sydney FC switch focus to Asia after record A-League title

Not satisfied with taking down every record in Australian football, Sydney FC have set their sights on conquering Asia.

Sydney FC’s grand final goalscorer Rhyan Grant poses with the A-League trophy during a presentation at Sydney Opera House on Monday. Picture: Getty Images

Not satisfied with taking down every record in Australian football history, Sydney FC have set their sights on the fresh challenge of conquering Asia and an unprecedented A-League threepeat.

Sydney this season claimed the fourth Premiers’ Plate and fifth grand final victory – two records that are unmatched in Australian history.

But Joe Marston Medal winner Rhyan Grant says the success doesn’t have to stop there, with the ongoing Asian Champions League campaign presenting the next opportunity to add to his growing collection of silverware.

Sydney have a draw and a loss in Group H, and don’t know when their next fixture will be played due to the uncertainty around the COVID-19 crisis.

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Originally scheduled for mid-October, it’s believed the games will be pushed back into November – giving the players a well-deserved break after a chaotic finish to the A-League season.

But given it’s the final frontier for a Sydney squad that has won three of the past four grand finals, and twice done the premiership-championship double in that period, Grant says they’ll be champing at the bit to break their Champions League duck.

“We’ve won a lot of trophies but the Champions League we haven’t done as well as we would’ve liked over the years,” said Grant, who scored the goal that sank Melbourne City in Sunday’s grand final

“If we could get a good run in that it would put us in good stead to claim all these things that we’re claiming as the biggest club (in Australia).”

Beyond that, becoming the first A-League team to win three titles back-to-back is firmly on the Sydney FC agenda.

Only once before Sydney has a team won back-to-back titles – Brisbane Roar in 2011-12 – but a threepeat is certainly uncharted territory.

“Obviously to do back-to-back was an amazing achievement by the boys and the staff and all of the club,” coach Steve Corica said.

“It’s only been done once before so that was a real achievement and something we wanted to do this year.

“It gave the boys a challenge to win two trophies (and) they did it, which was outstanding. And that will be the challenge next year, to go three times … no one has ever done that.”

Who will return for season 16 of the A-League will be a serious headache for Sydney in the coming weeks – with their championship-winning squad catching the attention of foreign clubs, and a reduced salary cap meaning more pay cuts and the potential for players moving on.

“We’ll know a bit more in the next few days,” Sydney captain, and PFA president, Alex Wilkinson said. “The players have given up a lot in this last three or four month period … All for heavily reduced pay.

“I hope that we can come to an agreement that’s fair on all parties and can work something out as soon as possible.

“We’re just waiting a little bit on the clubs and FFA coming to us and giving us their position.

“Speaking selfishly from (a) Sydney FC (perspective) I hope we can keep the majority of our players.

“We’ve built such a great group and have managed to keep that core group together for so long. And that for me is the reason we’ve been so successful.”

One player who will return is star right back Grant, who declared he wants to retire at Sydney FC.

“It means everything. I’ve been here for a very long time now,” Grant said. “It’s all I know. It’s definitely my home. If I can end my career here I’ll be very, very happy. To play for one club would be an awesome achievement in my eyes. Hopefully that’s the case.”