“It’s the biggest night in the club’s history, there’s no doubt about it,” says a visibly proud John Anastasiadis in the days leading up to Bentleigh Green’s FFA Cup Quarter Final against Adelaide City.
From as narrow a shave imaginable from VPL relegation five seasons ago to now being three wins away from owning the title of ‘ best club in the country’ its been a remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time.
In that period, head coach Anastasiadis has transformed the struggling minnows into a real force in Victorian football, which included a Grand Final appearance in the last ever VPL decider that they ultimately went on to lose against Northcote City.
But one thing has remained a constant; these footballers were the ones that couldn’t ever have imagined – for all their progress – seeing their humble club gracing the nation’s media, and captivating television audiences across the entire country.
Australia’s footballing eyes will be entirely squared on the little Cypriot club that dreamed they could on Wednesday night as they prepare to front up for what could potentially be the biggest night in the part-timer’s careers.
What a huge game it will be for @BentleighGreens & @AdelaideCityFC! Ticketing details http://t.co/jAqYSV8G54 #BGvAC pic.twitter.com/J3joclZQpS
— Westfield FFA Cup (@FFACup) October 24, 2014
“I think this is a little bit bigger [than making the VPL Grand Final] because we’re on the centre stage, we’re national,” Anastasiadis discloses.
“So it’s pretty big for us and I think all the boys, they’ve prepared right after the last game we had against Sydney Olympic. We’re pretty much ready for Adelaide on Wednesday.
“It’s been tough but the boys have prepared well, they want it and the intensity hasn’t dropped at all which is fantastic. I praise them every day for it. They feel professional, because some of them, they’ve never felt this way. They’ve always just turned up twice a week, had a game and gone home and everyone forgets about you.
“Now they’re actually training [for a purpose], they’re getting recognition and I couldn’t be happier for them.”
The term ‘the magic of the cup’ is thrown around willy-nilly these days but what does it actually mean – for the club in particular?
The true magic is the belief that it garners from the squad, who’ve willingly put in the extra hours training four times a week, fitting family, work and social life all around it.
The belief that they cannot only make it to the next stage, but also the bullish confidence that has a group harbouring genuine ambitions of winning the entire competition.
“You’ve got to have an ambition, and our ambition is to go as far as possible. So for us, we see this game as obviously the biggest in our history and if we can go to the semi-final, then anything can happen,” Anastasiadis reasons.
“It’s the romance of the FFA Cup isn’t it? We’re a romantic bunch anyway, so we want to get as far as possible, so if we can make the finals, so be it.”
From the player’s perspective, they share the same unified goal that the coaching staff and club members share, success. For them it’ll come at any cost, even if it means putting life on hold around it.
“It’s quite hard to come in still after the season, training 3-4 times a week,” club captain Wayne Wallace admits.
“But Johnny [Anastasiadis] asked the question, ‘do you boys want it?’ – [all] 17 of the boys turned around and were like ‘if we’re going to be in it, lets go out to win it’ so it’s a good vibe.”
Now in a week where the Melbourne Derby has driven a wedge between a city divided, what better way for Victoria to stitch up the social fabric by uniting as one to back the Greens to victory.
“It’s good to see that the state is behind us, we know that, and obviously Victory are playing on the same night too, so they’ll all be watching us first and then them, so that’ll be great to see,” Anastasiadis says.
“That’s just complements to the boys who’ve put in the hard yards all these years, and finally they’re going to get some sort of recognition for that.”
Bentleigh Greens take on Adelaide City in the FFA Cup Quarter Finals at Kingston Heath tonight. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30pm