An army of Aussies, with a few foreign friends, flew 13,000km across the Indian Ocean last week.
Western Sydney Wanderers had beaten Al Hilal 1-0 at home in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final, and the consensus was that their slim advantage would be insufficient to see them crowned in Riyadh.
However, indebted to a marvellous performance from goalkeeper Ante Covic, Tony Popovic’s side drew 0-0 away to the Saudi giants to take the trophy to Australia for the first time. It also booked the Wanderers an even longer flight across the world’s third-largest ocean, with participation in December’s FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco now secured.
Innumerable supporters turned up at Sydney International Airport on Monday to greet Popovic and his triumphant charges, including overseas stars Iacopo La Rocca, Mateo Poljak and Vitor Saba. And, as you can see from the above photo, there was a carnival atmosphere.