How important could the International Champions Cup be for Melbourne Victory?

How important could the International Champions Cup be for Melbourne Victory?

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The last couple of days has seen the announcement that Spanish club Atletico Madrid will join English side Tottenham Hotspur, Italian champions Juventus and Melbourne Victory in the upcoming Australian leg of the International Champions Cup, something that will excite the average football fan in the country.

However, this upcoming Champions Cup could be a lot more important to Australian football than the mere excitement generated by these clubs coming to Australian shores. While there will be a significant level of excitement generated by these clubs – one only needs to remember the media excitement that surrounded Cristiano Ronaldo last year – this could be seen as a big chance for Australian football to gain a hit of credibility by keeping up with these clubs on the field.

Atletico sit second in La Liga, while Tottenham also occupy second spot in the English Premier League, while Juventus sit atop Serie A. These clubs are not minnows, and factoring in Melbourne Victory alongside these clubs will be a fantastic litmus test as to where Australian football ranks on a more worldwide scale. Currently, the Victory sit in fifth in the A-League but nevertheless the club is one of the larger ones in the country, if not the biggest, plus with the ICC being held in Melbourne, it is common sense for one of the two Melbourne sides to play rather than a team from Sydney or Brisbane.

However, it is obvious that this test will not be a perfect one. As it is the preseason for all of these sides, there is a natural expectation that a weaker than normal side will be fielded in order to avoid injuries plus allow the younger squad members to get some playing time and first team experience. Add to this Euro 2016, and some big names could be absent. This was something we saw last season, when Manchester City was accused of fielding a weaker side than normal against Real Madrid as the latter ran out 4-1 winners.

However, if Melbourne Victory can keep up regardless of opposition strength, then it will provide a great opportunity for the neutral fan to get interested in Australian football. If Victory end up securing a win over Italian champions Juventus, then the result could be more bums on seats at Victory matches when A-League season 2016-17 kicks off. This competition can essentially be seen as a way of showing the stereotypical ‘Eurosnob’ population that Australian football has more to offer than the yearly blooper reel.

The potential fan support is there already. Last year’s ICC had over 80,000 fans watch each match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and it could be possible that a repeat of those numbers is on the cards. This would put Melbourne Victory in front of its largest home audience yet and a good performance could do wonders not only for the club but also for the A-League as a whole.


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Yet there is still a natural double-edged sword in regards to this argument. While Victory doing well against these larger clubs could be regarded as beneficial, the question remains: what could happen if they perform poorly? If Victory were to get dismantled by Juve, then it could reaffirm the notion that Australian football is still far behind the rest of the world.

This naturally leaves Melbourne Victory in something of a strange position. The upcoming ICC is not something they can afford to take lightly, as embarrassment would hinder more than help, but as it is a friendly competition, any success they do have is always going to be marked with a metaphorical asterisk.

The ICC drew huge crowds to the MCG in 2015
The ICC drew huge crowds to the MCG in 2015

However, one could argue that these friendly competitions provide bragging rights for the fans above all else. Ask almost any Wellington Phoenix supporter and they will surely regale you with how their side beat English Premier League side West Ham 2-1 back in 2014 in what is one of the club’s finest moments, despite the obvious fact that it was a friendly. A-League sides upsetting the apple cart allows for the fans to have something to talk about and get other people excited and that is one of the best forms of marketing you could ask for.

This upcoming competition could be one of many things for Melbourne Victory and the A-League by extension: a great springboard, a chance to embarrass on a global stage or even simply a great thing for fans to talk about further down the road.

We have no idea what way it could end up going; at this stage everything is pure speculation and a lot could change between now and when the competition kicks off in July. But there is no denying that the International Champions Cup is an important event for Melbourne Victory and the A-League as a whole. There is just no telling at the moment how important it will truly be.

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