Arzani, Teague and the band of brothers Victory will field in the ALM grand final
Both Daniel Arzani and Ryan Teague are clear: no matter what name is on the back of the shirt come Saturday, Melbourne Victory will field a "brotherhood" in this weekend's Melbourne Derby grand final.
A year on from their dreams of grand final glory turning to ash, Melbourne Victory will return to the final day of the A-League Men season on Saturday. Some of the faces are the same but plenty of others are new — and the figure that patrols the dugout is, in his own way, both. But as Daniel Arzani and Ryan Teague tell it, no matter the name on the back of the shirt or the journey the man wearing took to get here, they’ll be a “brotherhood” come the opening whistle.
Marching into Western Sydney and stunning the Wanderers in an elimination final before then staging an even more remarkable upset in knocking over premiers Auckland FC in the semifinals, Victory has done what they do best in recent weeks: flipping scripts, ruining fairytales, and re-writing the narrative to suit their own ends. In doing so, they’ve helped set up the first-ever grand final that will pit Melbourne’s navy blue contingent against their local foes in Melbourne City.
It’s a far cry from where this team was in December, when Patrick Kisnorbo’s stunning decision to quit the club to take up a J1 League offer sparked a six-game winless run. But under Arthur Diles, who has made belief a core part of his ascension from assistant, to interim, to permanent coach, a remarkable turnaround has taken place.
“We’ve all come together and we’ve all got each other’s backs,” Teague told JDL Media. “And I think you’ve seen that in the last couple of games; the belief and the trust that we have in each other, no matter the age of the experience, that everyone has.
JDL Media is committed to keeping its reporting on Australian football away from paywalls.
If you’re in a position to, please consider supporting this coverage at Ko-Fi.
“I don't think he necessarily [Diles] to rally us. We've all been really close to Dila when he was in the assistant coach role, but now that he moved up to the first team coach, we all wanted the best for him.
“We went through a tough patch but look where we are now. That's thanks to him and thanks to the players that are around us.”
But while Victory was able to move past the blow of losing Kisnorbo rather quickly, a comfortable win over rivals Sydney FC serving as a circuit breaker, Saturday represents their first opportunity to exorcise a few other demons.
A year ago, when Diles was serving as an assistant to Tony Popovic, they were in Gosford and, heading into injury time of their meeting with Central Coast, appeared set to be crowned champions for the first time since 2017. But then Ryan Edmondson scored in the first minute of stoppage time. And then Miguel Di Pizio scored in the 97th minute in extra time. And then Edmondson scored in the 121st minute to put a blue and yellow bow on things. A 1-0 win became a 3-1 defeat and a title denied.
Had Edmondson not scored his first of two goals, Arzani was in line to win the Joe Marston Medal that evening. Instead, he went home with nothing. Yet while that game stung, he doesn’t think it’s driving himself or his teammates into the weekend.
"We have a new squad, a lot of new faces as well,” he told JDL Media. “And I think a lot of what's fueling it is just the brotherhood and the companionship we have as a team together.
“Putting on the Victory jersey, it comes with a little bit of weight on it. You kind of expect it to go into finals. And we've got a lot of good, good, healthy egos in the team that are happy to take on that responsibility
“It's all about that companionship, that brotherhood that we have. It's so strong in the change room. We speak about it all the time and it does feel like a second family to a lot of us. Everyone's really close. Everyone really wants to help each other out. It's such a positive environment.
“Even the boys coming from abroad, they come in the first few days, and they can't believe it. They're like, 'Oh my god, this is like, one of the best football environments that I've been a part of’. I feel so blessed to be a part of this change room. And I think that plays a major role in being able to achieve things like that.”
If this band of navy blue brothers are to claim a title, however, they’ll need to triumph over a City side that, on paper, will slightly (much to Diles’ delight, probably) go in as favourites.
Aurelio Vidmar’s unit will enter the contest having finished second on the table – securing Asian Champions League Elite football in the process – and fielding the most miserly defence in the league. And they’re not bad going the other way, either, fielding an attack featuring the likes of Marco Tilio, Max Caputo, Andreas Kuen, and Yonatan Cohen, with the ability to bring Socceroo legend Mat Leckie off the bench.
Unlike Victory, who are juggling several injury issues, they have a largely settled squad and field plenty of players battle-hardened on football’s biggest stages.
“I think City is a great team,” said Arzani. “I know a lot of the boys, I played with them and played against them. I think they posed a completely different challenge to Auckland.
“Derbies, for me, always come down to the same thing: it always comes down to who wants it more on the day. There's quality on both sides; we both have really good players and game changers, and we have unbelievable defenders on both sides as well.
“Derbies always come down to who wants it more. And I think if you look at the last couple of weeks, there hasn't been a team in the league that's come close to wanting it as badly as us.”
JDL Media is committed to keeping its reporting on Australian football away from paywalls.
If you’re in a position to, please consider supporting this coverage at Ko-Fi.
There’s also the pageantry of the contest to consider, too. Never before has Victory and City clashed with a championship on the line and Saturday’s fixture sold out within hours of tickets going on sale to the general public.
It’s the biggest clash in the history of the rivalry and, arguably, especially when accounting for just what a classic encounter could mean for both clubs and the league moving forward, the biggest in the broader ALM’s history.
“Who doesn't look forward to these games?” said Teague. “This is what we could become professional footballers for. I have my family down here from Sydney as well.
“So being able to play in front of them as well on a big occasion like this, I'm super, super grateful.”
And it’s good that there’s going to be plenty of feeling in Saturday’s game, given there’s also a chance that Saturday’s decider could be a Victory swan-song for both Arzani and Teague.
Having established himself back in the Socceroos and coming off the back of two standout campaigns, Arzani is out of contract heading into the offseason and, at 26 years old, has entered his ostensible prime. If he wants to have another go overseas, be it in Europe or Asia, now would be the time.
“Who knows? It's too early for me to say, I'm not sure,” he said. “And that's my completely honest answer, I'm not just saying that because I don't want to. I don't want to tilt either way.
“It's really hard for me. When I came back to Victory, I was in a really tough spot in my career and coming here was really something special. I came into like a second family, and it's had such a positive impact on me, my view on football and my career. So that will be something hard for me to let go of. I still don't know what I want to do.”
Teague, meanwhile, has another year to run on his deal. But after making his international debut in March and establishing himself as one of the A-League Men’s premier midfielders across two consecutive campaigns, the 23-year-old shouldn't be short of suitors in the months ahead.
“I've been very clear towards the media and towards the club about my goals and what I want,” said Teague. “Obviously, going back to Europe is a key thing of mine.
“But I've got a game this weekend and I know the only way that I get these opportunities is to play well. I've got one more game [for the season] left.”
The impact of this team, however, regardless of their next steps, is evident on both Arzani and Teague. Asked if he would remember himself as a Victory player if, for whatever reason, he had to retire tomorrow, the former was quick and decisive with his answer: “Absolutely”.