As the FFA Cup drew curtains on one player’s distinguished career, it may have also acted as a springboard for a club’s future success after decades in the footballing wilderness.
Despite Heidelberg United’s 5-0 quarter-final defeat to Melbourne City, the 11,000-strong crowd breathed life into an Olympic Village that last hosted a game on the national stage 20 years ago.
All the stars aligned for Heidelberg, which got to host a Melbourne A-League club while boasting a Greek national legend in Kostas Katsouranis – who confirmed his retirement after the game – with no other matches or events in the state clashing on the night.
“I had to applaud it when I heard it [the crowd figure of 11,362], having been born and bred at this place I hadn’t seen anything like it for a long time,” Bergers coach George Katsakis said of the occasion.
“We need to be proud as a club today, we may have been losers on the park, but I think in general football terms in the community, we’ve made ourselves very proud.
“When we walked out at 8pm for kickoff I couldn’t believe myself, I was beside myself, it was fantastic.”
While the 5-0 scoreline – beginning with Bruno Fornaroli’s opener in the just the second minute – confirmed Melbourne City’s ascendancy in the contest, if a chance to Kaine Sheppard from point blank range ended in the back of the net, Heidelberg would have had an 21st minute equaliser and the momentum, potentially changing the whole outcome of the contest.
“We didn’t want to go into a game with that sort of start, most of the week we spoke about not conceding early, and within a couple of minutes you’re 1-0 down,” Katsakis said.
“Credit to the boys… once we got into the tempo and created a bit of rhythm for ourselves I thought we were really good, if we take a chance toward the end of the first half, it could have possibly been a different ball game at 1-1.
Full crowd tonight!! Hurry down to the Olympic Village to watch Heidelberg take on Melbourne City!! #HFCvMCY #FFACup pic.twitter.com/CglD2mhDcG
— Heidelberg United FC (@HUFCWARRIOR) September 29, 2015
Katsakis says the club refuses to rest on their laurels following their exit from the Cup, believing the night showed its potential to grow further in stature.
And as discussions continue regarding the merits of a second professional division in Australia, the Bergers coach said the occasion rubberstamped Heidelberg United as a prime candidate for prospective expansion or reform within the game in the future.
“It gives you a foundation to build on, it’s something every club would aspire to at this time of the year if you’ve made the last 16 or eight, and you get this far and you’re able to generate the income that we hopefully got today,” he said.
“I think it’s very important to try continue and create momentum, you can’t fall away now that you’ve experienced this and you need to keep building on it.
“Today is a great indication of grassroots football and its history and I think we’ve forgotten about its history,” he added.
“I’ve seen what we’ve experienced today and no doubt Kosta’s [Katsouranis] appearance had a lot to do with it as well… but it took an NPL club at grassroots football to bring a marquee player and deliver the message that we did, that needs to be applauded by everyone at the FFA and right through to the federations.
“There is scope for a second division, and certainly teams like Heidelberg I have no doubt will be leading the way.”