Sam Malcolmson: Socceroos show why we should play with bigger boys

Australia's Mile Jedinak, center, and his team mates celebrate with their trophy after winning the AFC Asian Cup final soccer match between South Korea and Australia in Sydney. Photo / AP

Opinion

What a terrific Asian Cup final between Australia and South Korea; a great advertisement for football played in front of an 83,000 crowd in Sydney.

It was the best game I have seen for many years, better than a host of World Cup finals, played how the game should be played.

Hollywoods aren't in the Australian or Korean football psyche, the referee was astute, and the result was a hard game played the right way.

The overall quality of an excellent tournament was also another vote for New Zealand leaving Oceania to join the Asian zone. The All Whites would not have lived with the intensity and quality of the leading teams from this tournament.

An easier route into World Cups and Olympic tournaments appears to be the carrot for staying in Oceania, but it's a false advantage. You could see what the quality of the Asian zone has done for a small football country like the UAE. The gulf between Asia and Oceania is enormous.

Lifting the level of everything in New Zealand football should be the aim, not handy short cuts. Getting all our teams competing in Asia will force and encourage the rise in standards.

And what would the public really prefer - the All Whites playing teams like Fiji, or lining up against Australia, Japan and Korea?

There are associated benefits too, of competing in a high profile sport with our major trading partners - China, Japan and Korea. Somehow, it has to happen.

Messi for Man City?
Lionel Messi in the sky blue of Manchester City would look very strange - he is Barcelona through and through.

But a move to the English Premier League champions might happen if things don't improve at the Nou Camp. Despite winning their last three games in a canter including against champions Atletico Madrid, along with knocking them out of Copa del Rey, all is not well.

The relationship between the manager Luis Enrique and Messi - and some other senior players - is not good. Enrique wants to change the style and system of play and is having difficulty convincing stalwarts such as Xavi and Iniesta that the famous and successful tiki-taka style has to go.

Enrique's cause is not helped by rumours that Pep Guardiola has finished his project at Bayern Munich and could be interested in returning to the Nou Camp, where he is close to Messi and others.

However, Manchester City's owners say if they don't win a major trophy then Manuel Pellegrini will be axed with Guardiola becoming their first choice target ... which could in turn lead to Messi. Manchester City would be one of the few clubs who could afford his wages, rumoured to be a cool $30 million a year.

Messi has claimed he has no qualms with Enrique and the fans would not let Messi go for any amount of money - he has been their talisman and the world's best player for a decade. But football is full of surprising twists and turns.